Colfax girls make charge in last half against Dragons

Piper Cai of Colfax found a clear lane to the hoop in Saturday’s league game with Springdale at Colfax. Shyah Antoine and Carmen Gfeller are tracking Cai, and Jocelyn Glover is at left for the Chargers

After scoring just 15 points in the first half Friday at St. George’s, the Colfax girls hit the ignition switch and launched a 13-point comeback in the second half to take the lead. The comeback ended when the Dragons’ Mia Smith hit a foul shot for the one-point escape by the hosts.

Colfax and St. George’s figured to put on a battle in the Friday night league round which matched teams from the north and south sides of the NE league.

Colfax went to St. George’s after being tripped by Davenport in the last south side round before the holiday break.

They lagged in the first half and hit just five points in the first quarter. They trailed 15-28 at the half. Bulldog fouls also took a toll and the Dragons connected the toss shots.

After the half, the Bulldogs ignited for a 36-24 run against the Dragons in the second half. The Bulldogs started with 10 unanswered points. Greta Geier hit a trey early in the half and Carmen Gfeller, who finished with 29, hit a bucket and a foul shot.

Colfax was still down by eight points at the start of the fourth quarter but Skyah Antoine came off the bench to hit twice in the opening minute, and Taylre Sakamoto-Howell hit a bucket. Another score by Piper Cai tied the game at 40-40 and Colfax took leads at 43-40, 47-44 and 49-48 at 2:22.

St. George’s Abby Jones fended off the Bulldogs with six bean in the last frame, and Smith hit the decider.

The one-point loss left Colfax at 5-2 in the league play, and they made up ground with a 59-37 win over Kettle Falls on the home court Saturday night.

Kettle was unable to contain the Colfax power under the hoop which saw Gfeller finish with 15 and Cai finish with 12 on repeated drives to the hoop.

Kettle Falls was led by 5-2 sophomore guard Zarah Johnson who finished with 12 points, including two shots for three points.

Colfax Friday will host Northwest Christian Friday night. The Crusader girls hammered Asotin 54-20 at Colbert last Friday night.

Colfax 59-Kettle Falls 37: 12/5 23/10 12/11 12/11 : Skylre Sakamoto-Howell 2 1-2 7, Piper Cai 6 0-0 12 , Madi Cox 1 1-2 3, Abbie Miller 0 2-2 2, Taylre Sakamoto-Howell 1 0-1 2, Carmen Gfeller 6 (3pt) 2-3 15, Greta Geier 3 5-6 11, Rachel Brown 3 1-2 7. Total 22 12-18 F-12 59. Kettle Falls Samantha Dudley 0 4-5 4, Taylor Dunlap 3 (3pt) 1-4 8, Jocelyn Glover 1 0-0 2, Zarah Johnson 4 (2 3pt) 2-4 12, Mallory Pounds 4 (3pt) 0-2 9, Mary Sauvola 1 0-0 2, Total 13 7-15 f-14 37.

St. George’s 52-Colfax 51: 15/5 13/10 12/1712/19: Kate Tender 2-2 2, Lydia Bergquist 5 5-6 15, Ceci Bergquist 2 (both 3pt) 0-0 6, Mia Smith 1 2-2 4, Cambrie Rickard 2 3-3 7, Shala Meledez 2 2-2, Abby 3 0-1, Jones 6, Daysha Melendez 2 4-4 8. Total 16 18-21 f19 52. Colfax: Skyah Antoine 2 0-0 4, Brown 0 2-2 2, Piper Cai 3 (3pt) 0-0 7, Greta Geier (3pt) 3-4 6, Carmen Gfeller 10 9-12 29 Taylre Sakamoto-Howell 1 1-2 3. Total 17 15-20 f-18 51.