POCATELLO — Kimber Hall went down his bench and congratulated each of his starters.
The Preston starting five received praise as the players sat out the fourth quarter after helping the team build an insurmountable advantage against Pocatello. Preston closed out its two-game losing streak with a 64-38 win over Pocatello on Wednesday at The Palace. The road Indians earned the victory after leading for 30 minutes, 31 seconds of the game.
“It was a team win tonight,” Preston coach Kimber Hall said. “The girls did a really good job. ... Everyone got involved.”
Preston’s charge was led by Bethany Dow, who finished the game with 16 points, seven blocks and six rebounds. The senior post was a force on both ends of the floor, helping Preston jump out to a 32-19 lead at halftime.
Dow poured in six points and three blocks in the third quarter as Preston pulled away from Pocatello. Preston outscored Pocatello 24-9 in the third, including opening the quarter on a 16-0 run over the first 5:32.
“She means a lot to us,” Hall said of Dow. “She is long with her arms. She can block shots from the front or the back. She alters shots even when she doesn’t block them.”
Dow’s final bucket came at the 4:26 mark of the third frame, putting Preston ahead 44-19 as she tallied her 15th and 16th points with a right-handed shot.
The senior finished 8 of 10 from the field, with all her points coming in the paint. Dow was 4 of 5 on shots with her right hand and 4 of 5 on shots with her left hand.
“I don’t think of my right hand as my strong hand,” Dow said. “I feel out defenders and can go to either side when I finish.”
Liz Lindhardt added 10 points and seven rebounds as Preston’s offense thrived around the rim. Pocatello’s Destiny Harris was out Wednesday with a hamstring injury, hampering Pocatello’s abilities to defend the post.
“We are trying to find a post player who can step in and take Destiny’s place, which is really hard to do,” Pocatello coach Brock Gunter said. “We had to change our whole style with her out. We have to get better defensively.”
Pocatello finished the game 13 of 50 from the field and did not score more than 10 points in any quarter. Pocatello tallied more turnovers (14) than made shots in the loss. Pocatello had 10 turnovers at halftime, compared to eight made shots.
Abigail Pearson scored a team-high nine points for Pocatello.
UP NEXT
Preston (7-5, 4-2 4A District 4-5) plays Friday at Marsh Valley. Pocatello (1-8, 0-7 4A District 4-5) plays Friday at Burley.
PRESTON 64, POCATELLO 38
Preston 14 18 24 8 — 64
Pocatello 9 10 9 9 — 37
Preston (64) Alder 13, Wood 10, Nelson 2, Despain 2, Meek 2, Moser 2, Dow 16, Pugmire 7, Lindhardt 10.
Pocatello (38) Spillett 7, Wilkes 7, Pearson 9, Murdoch 5, Cates 2, Davis 8.



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