Snow women win against North Idaho

Snow’s Lala Baldwin fires a shot off during the team’s game against North Idaho College.
Photo by Kyle Parry.

EPHRAIM — The Snow College women’s basketball team split a pair of home games last week, defeating North Idaho College before falling to No. 9 College of Southern Idaho at the Horne Activity Center.

Snow opened the weekend with an 82-59 win over North Idaho on Feb. 1, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Badgers rebounded after a slow first quarter and pulled away in the second half behind a strong shooting performance and aggressive defense.

North Idaho jumped out to a 22-16 lead after the first quarter, responding to Snow’s early 9-0 run with a 10-0 surge of its own. Snow chipped away in the second quarter and regained the lead with just over two minutes remaining in the half on a Dalana Jakovljevic layup.

The Badgers closed the half on a 7-1 run to take a 40-33 advantage into the break.

Snow extended its lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 14-8, then opened the fourth on a 9-4 run to put the game out of reach. The Badgers finished the game shooting 55.7 percent from the field while forcing 27 turnovers.

Lala Baldwin led Snow with a career-high 29 points, adding three steals and three assists. Hillary Akomatsri finished with 16 points, six assists, and four rebounds, while Jakovljevic and Sydnee Smith each added eight points.

Two days later, Snow hosted ninth-ranked College of Southern Idaho and fell 88-63.

CSI took control early, building a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and extending the margin to 43-27 by halftime. Snow stayed competitive in stretches but could not close the gap as the Golden Eagles maintained control throughout the second half.

Avery Allred led Snow with 12 points, while Baldwin and Smith each scored 11. Hartlynn Richins recorded a career-high nine points to go with four assists and three rebounds.

The split left Snow at 14-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play. The Badgers return to the road Thursday to face Salt Lake Community College before traveling to Rangely, Colorado, to take on Colorado Northwestern Community College on Saturday.