Cardinals keep pace in SWAC standings

RANGELY, Colo. — The Cardinals outscored the Spartans 22-9 in the third quarter to pull away for the Scenic West Athletic Conference win at Hefley Arena. 

"I felt like we didn't play well in the first half," said NIC coach Nathan Covill, whose team led 33-26 at halftime. "We were just kind of unorganized." 

Freshman Karsyn Freeman had 21 points and sophomore Chloe Collin had 13 points and seven rebounds for NIC, which had 11 offensive rebounds and shot 30 of 64. Diana Nelson, a freshman from Timberlake High, had 11 points and five rebounds for NIC, which hosts College of Southern Idaho next Saturday. 

"Chloe and Diana really got us going in the third quarter," Covill said. "Diana did a good job of cleaning up the glass and Summer (Faleafa) hit some shots. We did a good job of sharing the ball and not worrying about who was scoring." 

NIC (10-15, 5-7) remains ahead of Snow (15-11, 3-8) for the fourth and final playoff spot. The teams will play at Rolly Williams Court on Feb. 26. 

"This road trip wasn't easy on anyone," said Covill, whose team had been on the road since Feb. 6. "We got here yesterday evening and it's a quick turnaround. I'm proud of how they competed. We did what we had to do to maintain our chance to get into the playoffs." 

Colorado Northwestern is 1-26, 0-12. 

NORTH IDAHO 

Chloe Collin 5-10 2-2 13, Karsyn Freeman 9-15 1-1 21, Diana Nelson 5-8 1-2 11, Summer Faleafa 4-10 3-4 13, Sari Murphy 3-7 1-1 7, Molly Axell 0-3 0-0 0, Liv Whitemarsh 2-7 0-2 4, Kaytie Aanstad 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 30-64 8-12 73. 

COLORADO NORTHWESTERN 

Natalie Pineda 3-10 0-0 7, Ariana Strain 1-4 1-2 3, Eden Erickson 3-3 0-0 7, Taylor Jones 8-27 1-3 17, Alicia Denard 1-2 0-0 2, Anessa Maefield 0-0 0-0 0, Bayleigh Walling 3-6 0-0 6, Shunbaah Begay 0-2 0-0 0, Cassandra Perez 3-3 0-0 6, Zayriela Garcia 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 2-5 48. 

North Idaho        23    10    22    18    —    73 

Colorado Northwestern    11    15    9    13    —    48 

3-point goals — NIC 5-13 (Collin 1-2, Freeman 2-2, Faleafa 2-3, Murphy 0-1, Axell 0-3, Whitemarsh 0-2), CNCC 2-17 (Pineda 1-7, Strain 0-1, Erickson 1-1, Jones 0-3, Walling 0-2, Begay 0-1). Rebounds — NIC 35 (Collin 7), CNCC 29 (Jones, Denard 6). Assists — NIC 16 (Freeman 5), CNCC 9 (Jones 6). Team fouls — NIC 9, CNCC 12. Fouled out — none. 

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