Tough game for Lady Cards, fall to Salt Lake

Salt Lake 81

North Idaho 50

COEUR d'ALENE — After being away from the Scenic West Athletic Conference, the Cardinals are getting a crash course in the level of play in the NJCAA again.

Salt Lake is there.

NIC is still working its way back.

Sophomore Karina Grayer was 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, finishing with 14 points for the Bruins in the conference win over the Cardinals (7-10, 0-2) at Rolly Williams Court.

"They started hot and No. 25 (Karina Grayer) hit three 3s to start the game and we're down 16 right away," NIC women's basketball coach Nathan Covill said. "We played them pretty well even in the second quarter and then the message in the second half is that we're going to have to understand the physicality of our conference has increased. Not that they were bullying us, but sometimes, you've got to take care of the schoolyard bully. They're physical and take you out of your cuts. They make you go where they want you to go. And we've got to learn to fight through that. And we've got a group that's figured that out and another that's struggling to figure that out."

It was Salt Lake's (14-4, 2-0) first trip to Coeur d'Alene since the 2015-16 season, after which NIC departed the SWAC for the Northwest Athletic Conference.

"I'm excited they're back," Salt Lake coach Marcilina Grayer said. "It was one of my favorite trips as a player at Salt Lake and a coach. It's a tough place to play and I missed coming here. It's surreal. The woman and mentor I look up to (Betsy Specketer, who Grayer replaced in 2019) coached here and we had some great games in this gym. One thing she always said is that she loved the smell of the popcorn and the band playing. It's really an atmosphere we don't have in a lot of other gyms in the conference. You can't hear (anything), so you've got to use signals. It's a fun environment."

"This conference is really freaking hard," Covill said. "And Salt Lake, for not being ranked, they're freaking good. They went into CSI and got them and then got us. They're physical and they've spend some time in the weight room and are competitive. And that's where we need to be. This is where our kids need to be. They need to look at this experience and see that's where we want to be."

Kendall Pickford, a redshirt freshman from Lake City High who played briefly at NAIA Arizona Christian last season, had eight points and three assists for NIC, which finished 20-of-58 shooting.

"She doesn't get a lot of recognition for this, but she's been playing out of position," Covill said of Pickford, a point guard who has been playing forward for the Cardinals. "She's sacrificing a lot of her opportunities so that we can run things and I'm always going to be happy with what she brings. Addie (Kiefer), Solei (Elletson) and Maddie (Williamson), they're working at it. But sometimes it takes us too long to get into our stuff quickly enough because they're taking you out of things. And we need to be able to take care of those things. We've got to up the level of our practice to meet the standards of this conference."

Since Colorado Northwestern does not have a women's team, NIC's next game is next Saturday at home vs. Utah State-Eastern.

SALT LAKE

Heaven Samoyoa-Mathi 2-6 1-1 5, Ana Oliveria Dias 3-5 0-0 6, Mia Tarver 3-9 0-0 7, Karina Grayer 5-9 0-0 14, Laura Di Stefano 3-5 1-2 7, Summer Larson 0-2 000 0, Cambree Tensmayer 1-2 0-1 2, Bati Assefa 0-1 2-2 2, Funi Amode 0-3 0-0 0, Ines Ghanore 9-13 4-5 22, Cecilia Olevao 1-1 0-0 2, Jeanne Rodriguez 6-8 2-3 14. Totals 33-64 10-14 81.

NORTH IDAHO

Deniece Ryan 3-6 0-0 6, Maddie Williamson 3-9 0-0 6, Iratxe Amorrortu 3-10 0-0 8, Addie Kiefer 3-8 2-3 8, Kendall Pickford 3-8 0-0 8, Solei Elletson 4-9 0-0 9, Kalysta Troman 1-4 0-0 3, Diana Morales 0-3 1-2 1, Aaliyah Clemons 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Blume 0-0 0-0 0, Faye Davis 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 20-58 4-7 50.

Salt Lake    22    23    17    19    —    81

North Idaho    6    18    13    13    —    50

3-point goals — SLCC 5-24 (Samoya-Mathi 0-4, Oliveira Dias 0-1, Tarver 1-6, Grayer 4-7, Larson 0-1, Tensmayer 0-1, Amode 0-1, Gnahore 0-2), NIC 6-21 (Williamson 0-2, Amorrortu 2-4, Pickford 2-7, Elletson 1-4, Troman 1-3, Morales 0-1). Rebounds — SLCC 39 (Ghanore 8), NIC 21 (Elletson 6). Assists — SLCC 15 (Samayoa-Mathi 5), NIC 8 (Pickford 3). Team fouls — SLCC, NIC 13. Fouled out — none.

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