Lady Blackhawks rally for non-league win over North Central

Keyed by a pair of Maggie Smith 3-pointers, the Cheney High girls' basketball team overcame a nine-point halftime deficit and rallied for a 52-39 win over visiting North Central of the Greater Spokane League's 3A classification last Thursday.

The Lady Blackhawks and Indians exchanged leads several times in the first half. After NC took an 18-12 advantage, Hannah Lemelin's 3-pointer pulled Cheney within one at 18-17 before the Lady Blackhawks shooting touch went as cold as the outside temperatures and NC finished the half with an 8-0 run.

Cheney regained their shooting touch in the third quarter. Smith's 3 tied the game at 27 a piece 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the frame, with a 3 from Ajia Loffredi and another 3 from Smith giving the Lady Blackhawks a 33-27 margin.

NC closed the gap to 36-33 with a 3-pointer before the buzzer, but keyed by four points from Smith and four from Emma Evans, Cheney went on a 10-2 run to open the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Smith led all scorers with 15 points, nine coming on three 3-pointers. Loffredi added seven with Evans, Brette Draper and Hailee Huff each scoring six points.

Cheney headed into the Christmas break at 3-3 overall. The Lady Blackhawks returned to action this week with three non-league games in the Eagle Holiday Classic at West Valley High School. They return to Great Northern League action by hosting Pullman (2-6) on Jan. 3 before hitting the road against Clarkston (4-1) Jan. 5 and West Valley (4-4) Jan. 9.

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