Cheney earns hoop split at Lakeland

In their final game before the Christmas break, the Cheney boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Rathdrum, Idaho, Dec. 21 to take on the 3A classification Lakeland High School, earning a split against the Hawks.

The Lady Blackhawks played a solid four quarters on both sides of the ball to earn their second win of the season, a 53-31 blowout in the opener. In the nightcap, the Cheney boys were outscored 23-11 in the third quarter as Lakeland pulled away for a 63-49 win.

Cheney’s girls held Lakeland to single-digit scoring in all four quarters, knocking down five 3-pointers in the first half to build a 28-17 lead at the break and never looked back. Brette Draper led the Lady Blackhawks with 14 points, with Peyton Stark adding 13 and Hannah Lemelin chipping in nine.

In the boys’ game, the Hawks hit five, 3-pointers in the 23-point third period to turn a 34-27 halftime lead into a 57-38 advantage. Cheney attempted to rally in the final eight minutes, outscoring Lakeland 11-6 but couldn’t overcome the gap.

Riley Jones led Cheney in scoring with 13 points, with Jamiel Worthem adding 12 and Morgan Wichman eight.

Cheney’s boys drop to 3-3 overall, 0-1 in Great Northern League play while the girls improve to 2-4 on the year, 0-1 in the GNL. Cheney’s second league contest at Clarkston Dec. 17 was postponed due to bad road conditions, and will be made up on Monday, Jan. 25.

Both Cheney teams take a needed break and resume action early next week. The boys travel to Deer Park for a rematch with the Northeast A League Stags on Dec. 29, who they beat 69-42 on Dec. 8

The girls have twice as many games, but not as far to travel, heading to the West Valley holiday tournament Dec. 28-29. Cheney opens against La Salle at 12:30 p.m. Monday, and wraps up tournament play against Lake Roosevelt Tuesday at 5 p.m.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.