Lady Indians fend off Navigators

By GEORGE KUNKE

KOPLITZ FIELD HOUSE — Balanced scoring and a huge advantage at the foul line helped South Bend derail Northwest Christian before a crowd of about 300 Saturday night at Koplitz Field House.

South Bend outscored Christian 21-2 at the free throw line. The Lady Indians were 21 of 32 compared to just 2 of 6 for NC.

The Lady Indians led 14-13 after one quarter and upped the margin to 26-21 at intermission. Both teams played erratically in the third quarter with a lot of turnovers. The Tribe won the frame 5-4. The closest the Lady Navigators could get in the fourth quarter was four points at 34-30. Myranda Curtis sank four clutch free throws and the Tribe hit eight in a row to put the game on ice.

“I felt we handled the full court pressure well tonight,” SBHS head coach Gary Wilson told the Herald. “Northwest Christian came out very aggressive in their man full court defense. I felt we did a great job on defense and also controlling the tempo of the game. We had to keep control of the lead and force Northwest Christian to put us at the foul line down the stretch. I am very proud of the girls they had to fight hard with a team that was definitely motivated to beat us.”

Katlyn Sawyer led SB off the glass with nine, Makenzie Russell had eight and Curtis seven. Sierra Cearns came up with four steals and four assists.  “Emily Sanchez played a great defensive game,” Wilson said.

Sierra Cearns netted a dozen points and Katlyn Sawyer and Makenzie Russell had 11 apiece. Curtis added eight points.

South Bend improved to 7-7 overall and 5-2 in the Pacific League and the Lady Navs sank to 8-5 and 4-3.

Lady Indians 61, North Beach 32

Four players delivered points in double figures to propel South Bend to an easy 61-32 victory over North Beach in girls basketball last Monday (Jan. 7) at Koplitz Field House.

Cearns canned a dozen points, Kessa Wilson and Curtis netted 11 apiece and Russell rammed home 10 for the Lady Indians. Russell took down 13 boards, Curtis grabbed 10 and Wilson nabbed eight. Russell also handed out four assists and made four steals. Cearns was 4 of 7 from three-point land.

South Bend jumped out to a 21-6 lead after one quarter and was never threatened by the Lady Hyaks (7-7 overall and 2-4 in the Pacific League).

“We only had seven players available (without Katlyn Sawyer), so we had to maneuver the lineup,” Coach Wilson told the Herald. “It worked out well. The defense set the tone right off the bat and it got our offense flowing. Overall, it was a good game.”

North Beach (32): Sotomish 2, Pinto, M. Pope 5, DeLaCruz 9, Grossi 4, Frost 2, Schreiber, Shale 9, C. Pope 1, Tackett. FG/11-54 (.204). FT/ 9-17.

South Bend (61): Cearns 12, Sanchez 6, Funkhouser 8, Russell 10, Curtis 11, Myers 3, Wilson 11. FG /24-56 (.432). FT/9-14.

Lady Indians 56, Naselle 40

Sawyer blitzed the nets for 23 points to lead South Bend to a 56-40 win over host Naselle Jan. 2. Sawyer was red-hot shooting the ball while nailing 9 of 14 from the field and all five of her free throws. Sawyer also grabbed 13 rebounds and made three steals.

Curtis added 12 points and Russell amassed 10 rebounds and five steals, while Cearns dished out seven assists. “It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Wilson told the Herald. “But it’s a W at Naselle. We’ll take it.”

South Bend (56): Cearns 8, Sanchez 4, Funkhouser, Patterson, Russell 8, Sawyer 23, Curtis 12, Myers 0, Wilson 1. FG/20-44 (.455). FT/14-18.

Naselle (40) — M. Green, Nelson 6, Katie Green 24, Leeland, Pine 2, Eaton, Duvall 2, Scrabeck 2 Mathews 4, Bjornsgard. FG — 17-52 (.327). FT — 6-15.

La Conner 37, South Bend 35

South Bend lost a two-point decision against La Conner 37-35 at the Willapa Valley holiday tourney Friday (Dec. 28) at Tenoski Gym.

Sawyer turned in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, Curtis scored eight and took down 10 boards and Russell tallied a dozen points for the Lady Indians (4-6).

“It would have been even through the whole game without (Katie) Novak’s three-pointers in the third quarter,” Coach Wilson told the Herald. “We held her for most of the rest of the game, but she got loose in the third quarter. We’ve improved in some areas, but still need to work on others. Overall, I think we are ready to get back into league play. We have run through an extremely hard none league schedule and now it is time to put that experience to work.”

Wilson commended Russell for “good overall play” and Sawyer and Curtis for “solid” performances.

The Tribe shot 28 percent from the floor on 13 of 47 while La Conner was at 29 percent (14 of 48). South Bend was 9 of 14 at the charity stripe and LHS was 5 of 14.

South Bend led 9-7 after one quarter and 14-10 at halftime in a poor offensive output by both teams. The Braves went ahead 27-23 after three quarters.

The Lady Indians hosted Raymond last night; Acosta visits Copilots Friday and Montesano comes to town Saturday.

Editor’s Note: Individual scoring courtesy of Coach Wilson.