Reardan wins Christmas tournament

REARDAN – The Screaming Eagles' girls basketball team defeated Lake Roosevelt 69-14 and Bonners Ferry 59-53 to claim first place in the 78th annual Reardan Lions Club Christmas Tournament Friday, Dec. 27-28.

Reardan's pesky defense frustrated and overwhelmed the Raiders from the opening tip-off. Freshman Chasyn Waters' defensive pressure was the spark that lit the fire for the Screaming Eagle's rout. In the first quarter she stole the ball six times, each leading to breakaway baskets. Rylynn Green had the hot hand in the first quarter, scoring eight points. At the end of the quarter, Reardan led 24-3.

The Screaming Eagles extended the lead to 39-7 at halftime, 58-7 after three quarters and 69-14 at the end of the game.

Nine Screaming Eagles scored in the game with Tenice Waters, leading the way with 20 points. She also had eight rebounds and four steals. Green scored 10 points, pulled down six rebounds and stole the ball three times. Lillie Whitman and Chasyn Waters each scored seven points. Chasyn Waters also led her team with 11 steals to go along with her five rebounds. Raegan Soliday, Emersen Sprecher and Mackenzie Bjornberg each scored six points. Sprecher also had five rebounds and five steals. Isabella Abrahamson and Kipri Denison scored four and three points, respectively.

Reardan's win placed it in the championship game Dec. 28 against Bonners Ferry, a first round winner over Lakeside.

After blowing out Lake Roosevelt the night before, Reardan faced a formidable opponent in Bonners Ferry, which plays in the 4A Great Basin League in Idaho.

The game pitted Reardan's versatile scorer Tenice Waters against the Badgers' jump shooter Taren Bateman.

As in the game the previous night, Green provided the early scoring with five first quarter points. Six Screaming Eagles scored in the period, which helped Reardan take a 17-14 lead.

At the start of the second quarter, Bonners Ferry outscored Reardan 11-4 to take a 25-21 lead, but then the Screaming Eagles went on a run of their own. Over the next few minutes, they outscored the Badgers 12-2 to take a 33-27 lead at halftime. Tenise Waters found her shooting touch in the second quarter by scoring eight of her team's sixteen points. Bateman kept the Badgers close with three 3-point baskets.

The third quarter was a shoot-out between Tenice Waters, who scored 10 points and Bateman, who scored nine. The quarter was a stalemate. Each team scored 15 points, allowing Reardan to maintain its six point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Soliday opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point shot from the corner to give Reardan a 51-42 lead. Bonners Ferry fought back, but with each basket, Reardan responded with one of its own. Green and Tenice Waters hit big fourth quarter buckets to give the Screaming Eagles the 59-53 win.

Tenice Waters led all scorers with 24 points. Bateman led the Badgers with 23 points.

Besides Tenice Waters' big scoring night, she recorded 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Green scored 13 points and pulled down four rebounds. Bjornberg did a lot of the dirty work for the Screaming Eagles by fighting for rebounds and diving for loose balls. Besides scoring nine points, she pulled down 10 rebounds and had four steals. Sprecher was another menace on defense. She grabbed 10 rebounds and had four steals to go along with her four points. Chasyn Waters had five points, seven rebounds and five steals. Soliday scored four points for the Screaming Eagles.

"We had our ups and downs tonight," Sprecher said. "When we were high, we were really hot. Our chemistry as a team is getting better but we need to be more consistent with our energy to avoid the highs and lows. I really liked how we brought each other up tonight when we needed to."

Reardan head coach Bob Swannack was pleased with his team's effort.

"Tonight, we beat a very gritty and athletic Idaho 4A school," he said. "We had to earn pretty much everything because of their defensive pressure. It was a good experience for our guards to have to labor over the pressure. Their guard (Bateman) is a big time college player, and we focused most of our attention on her."

Swannack praised his team for their ability to adjust mid-game.

"We made a ton of mistakes early in the game but made adjustments to accommodate for their defensive pressure. Once again, we found a way down the stretch."

With the win, Reardan improved its record to 6-0 in the NE2B league. The Screaming Eagles' next home game is Saturday, Jan. 3 against Warden. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m.