Wildcats advance in district tourney behind dizzying defense

The Lapwai Wildcats led the Kamiah Kubs by 20 at the start of the fourth quarter, but that didn’t mean that Josh Leighton was done coaching.

Leighton directed Lapwai guard Skylin Picard to cover the back of the Kamiah attack. Picard did just that, getting in perfect position to grab the loose ball and sprint down the court for a fast-break layup to put the Wildcats up by 22 points with about seven minutes to go.

After falling to Kamiah by one point at home on Jan. 21, the Wildcats convincingly beat the Kubs 57-36 on Saturday in the semifinals of the 2A Whitepine League district tournament at Lewiston High School.

“Our confidence was really good,” junior guard Madden Bisbee said. “We played as a team. We communicated.”

Bisbee leads Lapwai attack

Bisbee led Lapwai with 19 points, all off shots from the floor. The junior sank three 3-pointers, grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds and dished out five assists.

“She’s been playing like that all year,” Leighton said. “That’s kind of her normal game with her hustle, her desire.”

The Wildcats and Kubs didn’t make it easy for each other, but Lapwai was relentless from the jump.

Although Kamiah’s defense kept Lapwai on its toes, limiting Picard to eight points, Leighton said the main factor that prevented Lapwai from carving out a larger lead sooner was missed baskets in open opportunities.

Nonetheless, Lapwai led 11-3 after the first quarter thanks to 3-pointers from Bisbee, Andrea Domebo and Lois Oatman.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats continued to dominate with an 18-point frame. While the Wildcats watched several early baskets bounce in and then out of the rim, they capitalized on frequent trips to the foul line and another Bisbee trey.

Lapwai pushed its lead to 20-plus points in the second half as the Wildcats continued to drain shots and defend well.

Junee Picard, Amasone George and Ella Payne made 3-pointers and Bisbee and Skylin Picard continued to manufacture offense with key passes and clutch shots.

Lapwai’s game plan was to limit Kamiah star Emma Krogh. Kamiah’s junior guard managed 26 points, but no other Kub scored more than four.

With the game well in hand, the Wildcats still hustled.

In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Krogh went coast-to-coast with an open shot at the basket before Oatman caught up to her and slammed the ball out of bounds as she went up to the rim. It was a foul, but the Lapwai-heavy crowd loved it.

Krogh grinds out 26 for Kamiah

Kamiah shot 24% as a team and Krogh led all scorers, albeit with slightly fewer than the 35 points she posted in Kamiah’s quarterfinal win over Troy on Thursday.

“If Emma wants a bucket, she’ll get a bucket,” Kamiah coach Shelby Cloninger said. “But they definitely made it tough for her.”

The next-highest scorers for the Kubs were Kelsee Hunt and Lily Campbell with four points apiece.

Cloninger said her team walked into the game nervous, despite far and away exceeding expectations this season.

“Going into (the Jan. 21 win over Lapwai) they had no worries,” Cloninger said of her Kubs. “We were talking about it in the locker room, and they’re like, ‘I’m nervous.’ I’m like, ‘Why? You have nothing to lose.’

“They have to show up.”

Basketball family ties

While Cloninger was certainly not happy in the moment to see Lapwai’s Skylin Picard take a loose ball to the rim or make any of the other plays she did on Saturday, she is pleased to see a basketball family friend succeed.

Cloninger said she knew Skylin Picard’s family and coached her in a Boise weekend tournament.

“She’s a phenomenal player. She makes it tough for us every time,” Cloninger said. “I have to change my defense around and bring Emma (Krogh) to solely face-guard her so she doesn’t score 30 on us.

“Skylin is always a threat, and just continues to get better.”

Up next: Lapwai vs. Prairie Pt. 3

Kamiah will turn around and face Logos at 6 p.m. Monday in the consolation round at Lewiston High School, while Lapwai will play the Prairie Pirates to determine a district champion at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, also at Lewiston High School.

The Pirates and the Wildcats split the regular season series, winning on their respective home floors.

Leighton said Lapwai’s 50-46 win over Prairie on Jan. 29 required a strong defensive effort to limit the Pirates’ powerful post duo of Sage Elven and Kylie Schumacher.

“They’re bigger than we are, so we have to change what they do, like we did tonight,” Leighton said.

Bisbee said she has seen her team’s confidence grow throughout the season, leaving little doubt as to what Lapwai can accomplish.

“We can win State,” Bisbee said. “We have the confidence, we’re ready to play. We want to make it to state, we want to win State.”

KAMIAH (17-5)

Emma Krogh 7 10-16 26, Maddie Fredrickson 0 0-0 0, Emily Puckett 0 0-0 0, Lily Campbell 1 1-2 4, Kelsee Hunt 1 2-2 4, Audrey Puckett 0 2-8 2, Addison Skinner 0 0-2 0, Hope Michaelson 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 15-30 36.

LAPWAI (19-3)

Charlize Kipp 0 0-0 0, Ella Payne 1 0-0 3, Amasone George 2 3-7 8, Skylin Picard 2 4-4 8, Andrea Domebo 3 0-0 7, Lois Oatman 2 0-0 5, Cavell Samuels 1 0-0 2, Junee Picard 2 0-0 5, Jennilla WhiteTemple 0 0-0 0, Madden Bisbee 8 0-2 19. Totals 21 7-13 57.

Kamiah 3 11 11 11—36

Lapwai 11 18 16 12—57

3-point goals — Bisbee 3, Payne, George, Domebo, Oatman, J. Picard, Krogh 2, Campbell.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.