Timberlake stays on track toward 3A crown
<p>Timberlake High's Sydnie Malloy tries to pull the ball from the middle of a pile of her teammates and Snake River players.</p>
<p>Timberlake High's Caitlyn Nichols drives to the hoop in front of Snake River High defenders during the first half of the 3A semi-final state basketball game Friday in Nampa.</p>
NAMPA - Timberlake senior Cassie Thompson has spent the first two days of the state 3A girls basketball tournament at Skyview High making her case for the top player of the tournament.
She and the rest of the Tigers will make their case to be the top team in the state today after defeating the Snake River Panthers 42-30 in a semifinal game Friday at Skyview High.
Thompson scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to advance the Tigers to their first state title game in school history.
"It's huge for us because this is something we've never done before," Thompson said of advancing to the finals. "It would be awesome to be a part of the first girls basketball team to win a state title."
Snake River opened a 3-0 lead, but failed to maintain an attack as the Tigers scored 15 straight points to take a lead they never relinquished.
"We wanted to come out and pressure their guards," Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. "It really took them out of their game plan."
Timberlake (20-4) will face Sugar-Salem, which beat Marsh Valley 38-34 in the other semifinal, today at 2:50 p.m. PST at the Idaho Center.
“It’s a good feeling,” Miller said. “It’s a big for our program. We’re excited to get there.”
Timberlake forced 29 turnovers, 16 coming in the first half. Snake River battled to within six late in the third quarter, but was unable to hit another field goal until a jumper by Jocelyn Harper made it 34-25 with two minutes remaining.
Senior Caitlyn Nichols had 10 points, six rebounds and eight steals for Timberlake. Thompson had three blocks, two coming on 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
“Cassie changes the game when she’s in there,” Miller said. “When she’s on the court, she fans everything out top and lets us do our thing on defense. Caitlyn just plays hard,” Miller said of Nichols. “She’ll be our team leader in steals once her career ends. There’s no measuring stick for what her and Cassie mean to our program.”
Timberlake 19 6 5 12 — 42
Snake River 5 7 11 7 — 30
TIMBERLAKE — Wenstrom 7, Malloy 0, Mason 0, Hoffman 0, Nichols 10, Thompson 20, Peters 2, George 3. Totals 15-41 11-20 42.
SNAKE RIVER — Lund 0, Christensen 11, Martin 2, Bair 0, Dance 2, VanOrden 7, Thompson 0, Harper 8. Totals 12-37 5-8 30.