MOSCOW - Lewiston's Lynzee Wilson was excited to play in the arena that her older sister, former Lewiston and current University of Idaho point guard Karlee Wilson, plays in. Her excitement led to a game-high 12 points and a resounding 44-25 victory over the host Moscow Bears Friday night at Memorial Gym.

But she wouldn't leave without some parting shots.

With four minutes remaining in the game, Moscow junior Jada Simpson collided with Wilson going after a loose rebound. Wilson wound up on the floor, holding her jaw and being substituted out seconds later.

After checking back in she drilled a contested 3-pointer from the left wing, again ending up on the ground after being ran into by the defender. Wilson got up with a gritty expression on her face and went back on defense.

That's just the kind of night it was for Lewiston.

Unlike the 66-36 romp over the Bears in the valley in November, the No. 2-ranked 5A team in the state was tested. The Bears trailed 15-13 with four minutes remaining in the first half before Lewiston's full-court press finally started to force turnovers, leading to a 10-0 run and a 25-13 halftime lead.

"We realize they got a lot better, we needed to think it up," Wilson said of Lewiston's first half run. "We underestimated them a lot I think. We came around in the second half and did a lot better."

The Bengals ran away with it in the second half, holding Moscow to 11 points in the final two frames.

"We didn't shoot the ball very well early," Lewiston coach Dave Cornelia said. "I told the girls it's nice to win by 20 points and you don't play very well offensively."

Moscow kept close in the first half with Simpson weaving a path through Lewiston's full-court press, something the Bears often see from opponents and have been working on. Simpson led Moscow with nine points.

"We had this press break that I thought that half the time worked really well, which was cool to see," Moscow coach Robin Barnes said. "But, we'd get in trouble, we put that ball above our head and try to go over the top. I thought we really had some unforced errors."

Lewiston became relentless on the offensive glass and took advantage of fast breaks off turnovers to douse Moscow's hopes of an upset. In the half court, Cali Moscrip and Wilson combined for five 3-point makes. While not as good as Lewiston is used to, it was good enough to pull away for the win in this one.

"I thought the first half we were just too passive around the perimeter just trying so hard to make that perfect entry pass. We just stood around watching," Cornelia said. "I thought they were good looks, we just have to make them. More often than not we're going to make shots."

LEWISTON (13-1)

Haylee Weeks 1 0-0 2, Lynzee Wilson 4 2-2 12, Ryley Thomason 0 0-0 0, Cali Moscrip 4 0-0 11, Emilee Schlader 4 2-2 10, Kaysha Bailey 0 0-0 0, Whitney Cornelia 0 0-0 0, Halle White 1 3-4 5, Abbey Roy 0 0-0 0, Katie Havens 1 1-2 3, Jaycee Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-10 44.

MOSCOW (4-8)

Natalie McDaniel 1 3-4 5, Jada Simpson 3 2-2 9 Rachel Bayly 0 0-0 0, Gracey Meyer 1 2-2 4, Joelle Stephens 0 0-0 0, Hailey Hill 1 0-0 2, Nona Meyer 1 1-2 3, Abi Frederikson 1 0-0 2, Danica Davis . Totals 8 8-10 25.

Lewiston 13 12 10 10-44

Moscow 11 2 6 6-25

Three-point goals - Simpson, Wilson 2, Moscrip 3. Total fouls - Lewiston 15, Moscow 11. Fouled out - none.

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Kramer may be reached at sports@lmtribune.com.