Cheney girls go 2-1 at Eagle Classic

By head coach Lorin Carlon's estimate, the Cheney High School girls basketball team had a successful appearance at West Valley's Eagle Classic tournament, going 2-1 overall.

After wins in their first two games, the Lady Blackhawks finished with a 49-45 loss to 2B state title contender St. George's on Dec. 29. The Dragons used the shooting of Hailey Higashi to stake themselves to a 30-15 halftime lead, with Higashi scoring 15 of her game-high 23 points in the first 16 minutes.

In the locker room, Carlon said he told his players the second half wasn't so much about the score as it was about character - how they would respond in facing a double-digit deficit.

"It looks like we have some of that," he said.

Cheney responded with solid play on offense and defense, outscoring St. George's 18-6 in the third quarter to pull within three at 36-33. In the fourth, the Lady Blackhawks tied the game and took a four-point lead midway through the frame when Higashi got hot again, hitting a deep 3-pointer to pull the Dragons within one before regaining the lead for good.

"I would say the second half against St. George's might be the best half we've played all year," Carlon said.

Aija Loffredi led Cheney in scoring with 14 points, with Brette Draper tossing in 10 and Holly Flynn seven.

Cheney opened the tournament Dec. 27 with a 59-47 win over Northeast A League Newport. Loffredi also led Cheney with 13 points, with Kristi McGourin adding 12 points while snagging 12 rebounds and three assists.

The Lady Blackhawks followed that with a 59-33 blowout of Priest River of Idaho's 3A Intermountain League on Wednesday. Cheney opened with a 17-3 first quarter and added to that with an 18-7 third quarter en route to the win.

Maggie Smith led Cheney with 13 points, with Draper adding 11, Flynn eight and McGourin and Loffredi seven each. McGourin also pulled down 11 rebounds.

Cheney goes to 6-3 overall, 1-1 in Great Northern League play, which they return to this week. The Lady Blackhawks journeyed south on Tuesday to face Pullman (3-7, 0-2), and return home to host Clarkston (4-4, 1-1) Friday.

Carlon said both games will present different challenges for his squad. Pullman is a tough place to play, while Clarkston returns six players from its 2015-2016 team that went 16-9 and lost to Black Hills in the opening round of 2A state competition.

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