CALDWELL, Idaho - Katelin Shannon broke a tie with a driving lay-up with 19 seconds left, then made a key steal and two free throws in the waning seconds, helping The College of Idaho open the 2012-13 women's basketball season with a 68-64 win over Montana Tech inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Box Score
The win for the Lady Yotes (1-0) was their first-ever victory in a home game to open a season - as The C of I was 0-5 in such games coming into the afternoon.
Leading 51-44 after a fastbreak basket from Felicity Jones, the Yotes watched as the Orediggers (2-1) rattled off 10 straight points, including three-straight Kelsey DeWit buckets, to take a 54-51 lead with nine minutes to play. The Coyotes would claw back, getting a driving lay-up from Kylie Hardison and a Dayna Drager trey to regain the lead at 59-58.
Tech would tie the score at 62-62 inside the final minute on a Laini Kalumbi lay-in, but Shannon countered, driving down the baseline for the duece to give the Coyotes the lead for good. The senior would then swipe the ball away from Mandy Machinal at the head of the key and was fouled, hitting both free throws to ice the game.
Chakala Carthen had a stellar C of I debut, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds, with Drager adding 17 in the victory. The Yotes hit just 34-percent of their field goal attempts, but forced 23 turnovers.
DeWit had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for the Diggers, with Kalumbi scoring 13.
The C of I returns to action next weekend, traveling to Salt Lake City for the Westminster Fall Classic.
