Lady Blackhawks down Pullman, lose to Clarkston, East Valley

The Cheney High girls basketball team went 1-2 in Great Northern League action last week. The Lady Blackhawks sandwiched a win at Pullman in between a pair of losses to the league's top-two teams, Clarkston and East Valley.

Cheney couldn't find a way to get on top of the visiting Knights last Tuesday, getting outscored in each quarter in a 60-48 loss to the state's top-ranked 2A team. East Valley's Genesis Wilkinson led all scorers with 22 points, while Maggie Smith and Hailee Huff led Cheney with 11 points each.

Friday, the Lady Blackhawks broke open a close game in Pullman in the second half, overcoming a 25-23 Greyhounds' lead at intermission with a 23-point third quarter, propelling them to a 60-53 win. Smith led all scorers with 18 points, while Holly Flynn had 12 and Huff 11.

Twenty-four hours later it was a five-point first quarter that doomed Cheney against the visiting Bantams, ranked seventh in the state. Clarkston raced to a 35-20 lead at the break and never looked back in knocking off the Lady Blackhawks 62-45. Cheney was paced by the nine points of freshman Emma Evans.

Cheney goes to 3-5 in GNL play, tied with West Valley (3-5, 8-8) for third and fourth in the league standings, and 7-9 overall. The Lady Blackhawks enter the final round of GNL play this week, beginning with their third meeting with West Valley on Tuesday, results next week.

Cheney travels to East Valley Saturday before returning for the home regular season finale on Jan. 30 against Pullman. The Lady Blackhawks close the season Feb. 2 in Clarkston with the final playoff positioning very much on the line should they knock off West Valley.

Hawks Box

1 2 3 4 Total

East Valley 14 18 18 10 60

Cheney 11 14 17 6 48

Smith 11, B. Draper 6, Lemelin 0, Huff 11, Loffredi 5, Potter 4, Evans 4, S. Draper 7, Singer 0.

1 2 3 4 Total

Cheney 13 10 23 14 60

Pullman 13 12 15 13 53

Smith 18, B. Draper 0, Flynn 12, Lemelin 0, Huff 11, Pemberton 8, Loffredi 0, Potter 2, Evans 2, Singer 0, S. Draper 5.

1 2 3 4 Total

Clarkston 18 17 17 10 62

Cheney 5 15 12 13 45

Smith 4, B. Draper 4, Flynn 1, Lemelin 2, Huff 5, Pemberton 5, Loffredi 4, Potter 0, Evans 9, Singer 0, S. Draper 7.

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