Lady Cats continue to find success on the road

It has been nearly a month since the Superior High School girls’ basketball team has played a home game this summer league season. Although Superior has been away from the home crowd support, the Lady Cats have continued their success on the road.

Superior played a double-header in North Idaho Thursday evening and left the Silver Valley with two more wins against Mullan and Lakeside. Superior faced Mullan, a 1A school from North Idaho, in the first of two games. Superior senior Kaitlynn Koke lead the team with 16 points in the 43-11 victory over Mullan. Seniors Cary Chamberlain and Malinda Steinebach added 6 points each in the win.

Superior head coach Jeff Schultz said the upperclassmen started each game and set the high-paced tone with aggressive defense.

“The older girls only played the first half of each game,” Coach Schultz said. “And only gave up 1 point combined in each first half.”

Superior outscored Mullan 34-0 in the first half, and against Lakeside, Superior lead 29-1 at halftime before winning 43-28. With the upperclassmen only giving up 1 point in both games, Coach Schultz decided the large halftime leads meant more time in the second half for the younger girls.

“It is a great time for young girls because most of our young girls are in junior high,” Coach Schultz said. “They just need to keep working and not be nervous on the court.”

Although the young girls contributed in each win, the upperclassmen still lead in scoring against Lakeside, a 1A school from Plummer, Idaho. Seniors Kelsey Stenberg and Chamberlain lead the team with 8 points each. Senior Kaitlynn Koke added 7 points in the victory. A total of 13 girls traveled for the North Idaho games, which is the largest roster to play this summer league season.

The Lady Cats continued their winning ways last weekend against Whitehall, Harrison and West Yellowstone. Originally, Coach Schultz scheduled two more games against Ennis and Sheridan, but both teams couldn’t make it. Coach Schultz said it was unfortunate to only play three games instead of five, but he said the team learned a lot from the games they did play.

Superior started their three game stretch against Whitehall, a Class C team. Coach Schultz said the team shot poorly against Whitehall, but the defensive effort came through for a 48-31 victory. Superior senior Ashley Blaylock lead the team with 17 points. Junior Nichole Stroot scored 9 points and Koke added 8 points in the opening victory.

In the second game of the weekend, Superior faced Harrison, a Class B school, in what Coach Schultz called a barn burner of a game. Superior won the back and forth game 44-43 at the last second.

Superior was up 6 points with 1 minute to play. After a string of missed shots, Superior let Harrison back into the game and the score was tied with 5 seconds remaining. With the scored tied and seconds to play, Koke was fouled with 1 second left. Koke missed her first foul shot and it all came down to her second shot. She made it and Superior squeaked by with the 1 point victory.

Coach Schultz said those close games are the ones that the team learns the most from. “They are a lot like us with their up-tempo style,” Coach Schultz said about Harrison. “They were District Champs last year and are only missing one girl from that team.”

Stroot lead Superior with 15 points in the tight game against Harrison. Koke added 13 points and Blaylock scored 7 points in the win.

Superior then played West Yellowstone, a Class C team. Coach Schultz said the team shot a lot better against West Yellowstone and their sharp shooting lead them to a 55-35 victory. Koke lead all scoring with 15 points. Myranda Kuhl and Stroot each scored 10 points as the only others to score in double digits in the victory.

Coach Schultz said the victories over the Class C schools is important because there is a chance that Superior, which will play in Class C next season, will meet those teams at Divisionals. The next time Superior faces West Yellowstone or Whitehall, a trip to state might be on the line.

Superior (21-1) returns home Thursday July 14 to face Hot Springs at 7 p.m. But before Superior makes it back home, they travel to Thompson Falls Tuesday July 12.