Facing #9 North Idaho College, the Lady Bruins won in unique, perhaps unexpected, fashion last Friday. Getting just two points from star guard Haley Holmstead, fellow backcourt mate Sofia Hepworth picked up the slack as she led the Bruins with 21 points en route to a 60-58 victory.
With the Cardinals down by six at half, 6’2 Turk Tugce Canitez helped them quickly erase the deficit. The Bruins got the lead back to 7, but NIC wasn’t done. A floater from ShaKiana Edwards-Teasley with just over a minute to go cut the Bruin lead to one. A turnover by SLCC with 23 seconds left gave NIC one last chance, but Hepworth came up with a clutch steal then finished it at the foul line.
The Cardinal men apparently thought that warm-ups continued after tip-off, as SLCC’s first 8 points came via layup. Trailing 29-20 lead at the 7:53 mark, NIC charged back, taking the lead with 1:35 left in the first half, 35-34.
Down by three at the beginning of the second frame, Salt Lake returned to their chip-shot ways, erasing the Cardinal lead. NIC built the lead back up, holding a 5 point advantage with 14 minutes to go. After 13 minutes of neck-and-neck action, NIC’s Michael Hale missed a layup with 28 seconds to go and SLCC up one. Two Patrick McCollum free throws made it 85-82 Bruins, and they won 87-82.
In addition to the on-court action against rival College of Southern Idaho, special activities were held on Saturday to honor those who have, and are, battling cancer, particularly breast cancer. Holmstead immediately made up for Friday, scoring SLCC’s first six points. Facing an intense full-court press all evening, it was either bang-or-bust for the Bruins, as they consistently either turned the ball over or got easy layups. Unfortunately for CSI, the layups happened often enough for the Bruins to build a 30-21 lead at half.
Having figured out the press, the Bruins gained a 14-point edge with 11:37 left. Just four minutes later however, the advantage was just two. SLCC calmed down though, and pulled away to win 72-63.
Jumping out to an 11-0 lead to start their game, the men looked to make quick work of Southern Idaho. Foul trouble cost them though, as Alfonzo Hubbard, Jason Gamblin and Patrick McCollum each picked up two early violations. With them on the bench, the Bruins struggled to put the ball in the hole, and CSI soon had their first lead, 26-25. A jumper at the buzzer gave CSI a 42-37 lead at half.
The Golden Eagles led by as many as 11 in the second half, but SLCC didn’t give up, and trailed just 72-70 after McCollum made three foul shots with 1:25 to play. After an intense minute, CSI’s Kenny Buckner put back a miss with 26 seconds left to make it a five point lead. The Golden Eagles ended up winning by four, 79-75.
The softball team continued their winning ways last weekend, winning all 8 contests as conference play began. On Thursday, they knocked off North Idaho College 5-4 and 6-1. In the opening game, North Idaho got on top, but SLCC came charging back via home runs from DJ Richardson and Kylee Brinkerhoff. Ariel Zimmerman got another win. The offense really got going in the second game and Dezlee Roberts allowed just four hits en route to victory.
In day two action against the Cardinals, Zimmerman was nasty, striking out 15 in game one. Kylee Brinkerhoff hit a three-run dinger, and Krystin Jachim contributed the other two RBIs as SLCC won 5-0. The sweep of NIC didn’t come easy, as the Cardinals took SLCC to ten innings in the second game of the day. The Bruins prevailed though, winning 7-6. After three scoreless extras, Brinkerhoff hit a single to win it.
On Saturday, Western Nevada was the victim, as SLCC won 10-0 and 10-2. Zimmerman got another win in game one, and Kylee Bufton joined the home run party. In game two, the offense got going early, and Kylee Colvin got the win on the mound.
Softball stats taken from slccbruins.com.
