FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9^th, 2024
 
Caldwell, Idaho.| The Knights took on the Yotes in Caldwell, Idaho this afternoon and played pretty well but lost 61-50.
 
The game started off sloppy with both teams turning the ball over a lot but the Knights hung in and actually took a 7-6 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter when Noah Harris made a free throw. At the end of the first quarter, the Knights held a 12-10 lead behind 4 points from Alexa Mee.
 
The second quarter was much cleaner than the first with the game flow improving drastically. Multiple lead changes occurred during the period making for some exciting basketball. With 4:30 left in the half, the Knights drew up a beautiful inbounds play inbounding the ball from under their own basket. It was the classic elevator play where the ball was inbounded to the taller Noah Harris who in one motion caught the ball and passed it down under the basket to Larsa Guzman who layed it up and in. The Blazers ran that play quite a bit back in the day so one can wonder if head coach, Jimmy Smith, got some inspiration from them. The last possession for the Knights in the half was a beautiful fast break alley oop from Serena Sanchez to McKeeley Tonkin. The pass was even more impressive than normal considering it was distributed from half court. At the end of the half, the Knights trailed 28-27.
 
The second half started slow for the Knights who at the first media break only managed 2 points on a bucket from Teirra Hicks. In the final 5 minutes of the third quarter, the Knights managed to pick it up offensively and ended up scoring 12 in the period keeping connected with the Yotes who took a 44-39 point lead going into the final quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Knights continued to make a game of it playing solid defense and doing enough offensively to keep up with the Yotes. With 3:09 to go, McKeeley Tonkin hit a sweet reverse layup on the feed from Teirra Hicks. Unfortunately for the Knights, the Yotes pulled away late winning 61-50.
 
The Knights were led in scoring today by McKeeley Tonkin who scored 12 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist. She was the lone Knight in double figures.
 
Next Up
The Knights will make the trek all the way to La Grande, Oregon where they will play Eastern Oregon tomorrow at 3pm.