Dietrich's gym is always a tough place for a visiting team to play a girls' basketball game and Tuesday was no exception for the Carey High School girls.
Carey took an unbeaten Northside Conference record into the post-holiday battle, but on this evening it was Dietrich with the upper hand and a 46-35 league victory, thanks in large part to a dominant second half.
Dietrich senior Nakia Norman (16 points, 7 steals) took over the game and got help from sophomore Moriah Dill (11 points) as the Blue Devils controlled the ball and outscored Carey 17-9 at the stripe.
Seniors Jessica Parke (19 points) and Amy Ellsworth (7) led Carey, but the Panthers could only get points from four players and couldn't score much after jumping out to a 16-12 first-quarter advantage.
Dietrich (10-1, 3-0) is the top-ranked 1A Division team in the Idahosports.com ranking, ahead of Richfield (8-1, 2-1) and third-ranked Carey (6-3, 3-1). Dietrich hosts Richfield on Saturday, Jan. 9, while Carey entertains Oakley on Saturday.
Camas stays in the hunt
Any time you can put a player like 6-0 sophomore Katelyn Peterson on the floor, you've got a good chance to win a game or a match—and that's the situation the Camas County Mushers enjoy every night.
Camas County (7-5, 2-3), ranked fourth in the 1A Division 2 poll, played Peterson and senior running mate Sunnie Vouch sparingly Tuesday night and still escaped with a 41-19 Northside Conference win over The Community School Cutthroats in Sun Valley.
In limited minutes, Peterson (14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists) led the Mushers of coach Matt McLam, who put nine players in the scoring column. Camas out-rebounded the Fish 33-22 led by 6 boards apiece by Brittani Hulme, Trina Miller, Darian Cantu and Stephanie Moore. Erica Phantharsen (7 points, 11 steals, 5 assists) had a big game.
Coach Willy Felton's Cutthroats (37 turnovers) had a tough time when the Camas starters were on the floor. But Felton said the team played its best defense holding Camas to a 4-4 score in the first quarter.
Natalie Goddard (8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), Maggie Flood (6 points, 5 steals), Ella Marks (7 rebounds, 3 steals), Chelsea Cloud (2 points, 4 boards, 2 steals, 5 assists) and Austin Nalen (2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) topped the Cutthroats (2-4, 0-3).
The Cutthroats travel to Carey for a league game tonight, then entertain Richfield and Dietrich next week.
