It was an intense NWAC women's basketball game on Friday December 29th in the semi-finals of the LCC Holiday Classic.

In the end, the North Idaho Cards had the winning hand.

After LCC rallied from 14 down after three quarters to take the lead, North Idaho righted the ship and defeated Lower Columbia 62-57.  The Devils had two free throws to tie the game with five seconds left, but missed one and NIC hit free throws to preserve the victory.

North Idaho will play Umpqua for the Holiday Classic championship at 3 pm on Saturday December 30th.

It was a heated, turnover filled game that featured aggressive in-your-face defense.  The Red Devils had 25 turnovers and North Idaho had 21. LCC shot just 33 percent from the floor, but the Cardinals could muster just 30 percent shooting.

Ronnie Harris led NIC with 15 points and Cierra Dvorak added 10.

LCC was led by the 14 points and eight rebounds from Hayley Niles.  Madison Crews had 12 points and six assists. Cherita Daugherty had eight points, seven rebounds and four steals in her first game as a starter.

The Red Devils will take on Portland at 1 pm on Saturday December 30th.

OTHER GAMES

Umpqua 65 Centralia 48
The Riverhawks got off to an 11-0 start and withstood a Centralia rally to advance to the title game. Taylor Stricklin had 25 points to lead Umpqua.  Kylie Smith had 16 for the Blazers.

Yakima Valley 100 Portland 63
Kamri Von Oelhoffen scored 23 of her game high 27 points in the first quarter to lead the Yaks. Eliyah Fernandez had 21 for Portland.

Delena Dragons 88 Highline 31
Former Oregon State star Deven Hunter had 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead the invited team. Aileen Kaye and Nadija Demic had nine each for the T-Birds.

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
11 am: Centralia vs Yakima Valley
1 pm: Portland vs Lower Columbia
3 pm: Umpqua vs North Idaho (Championship)