Biding her time

COEUR d'ALENE - Coaches often tell players to be ready, because their chance could be only moments away.

When that moment came for Coeur d'Alene High sophomore Madison Sumner - just like she plays on the basketball court, it was full speed ahead.

"I didn't get to play a lot (at the start of the season)," Sumner said. "They'd put me in if we were winning by a lot or put me in to see how I'd deal with the pressure."

"When she started the season, all she had was a lot of hustle," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "She played a quarter or two on JV against Bonners Ferry and their coach asked why she wasn't playing varsity, because she took over the game."

From the start of the season, her time was limited and she split time between the Viking varsity and junior varsity teams.

"I tried to keep working my hardest during practice," Sumner said. "At the beginning of the season, I was working so hard, I thought I should have been playing. But I also knew my time would come."

Her time came during the Coeur d'Alene Inn-vitational at North Idaho College in late December, when Sumner was called upon to deliver big minutes for the Vikings.

"We had a couple starters in foul trouble, so they had to go down the line to replace them," Sumner said. "I had a really good game against Skyline (of Sammamish, Wash.) and then had another the next day."

Sumner scored eight points, but was also effective on defense as the Vikings held Lake City to seven points in the second half of a 51-35 win in a semifinal game.

Coeur d'Alene blasted Federal Way the following night 80-36 to win its second straight title at the invitational.

"I've always been known more for my defense than anything," Sumner said. "I guarded Jansen Butler in that (Lake City) game and the coaches thought I did a really good job of holding her to a certain amount of points."

Butler scored 10 first-half points in the game, but was held to three points in the second half with Sumner defending her.

Sumner also played significant minutes in the team's first game against Lewiston on Jan. 3 in Lewiston, but saw her minutes go down again in the following weeks.

"I played quite a bit in that first game, but after that I kept waiting my turn," Sumner said. "I just took that as a way to keep working hard and motivated myself to play harder."

With her varsity minutes decreased, Sumner played more JV until the final two weeks of the regular season, when she went to varsity only.

"Playing JV helped bring my confidence right back up," Sumner said. "It made me a lot less nervous checking into the varsity games."

Through the struggles, Sumner never thought about walking away from her favorite sport.

"Never," she said. "Basketball is my favorite sport for sure. I don't know if I'd play it in college, but I love it. Whether practicing or working out, I enjoy it."

Sumner is also a member of the Viking cross country and track teams. The Coeur d'Alene girls finished second at the 5A meet on Oct. 29 in Eagle. Sumner finished 34th overall.

"Because of cross country, I only get a few days off before the start of practice," Sumner said. "Going into basketball, I'm usually in such good shape, that running comes naturally. When we go into a game, some are exhausted - but I'm right on top of it. I'm always running, playing basketball and off running again."

Sumner scored eight points in the first half as the Vikings beat the Post Falls Trojans in the 5A Region 1 tournament championship game last Tuesday, clinching the school's first title since 2009.

"In our last game (last Tuesday), she really did a good job of taking advantage of the opportunity she's been given," Poffenroth said. "Her passing on the court has improved. Because she's always going 100 miles per hour, we had to tell her to slow it to 97."

"This team is a defensive team way over offense," Sumner said. "Our offense is usually consisting of fast breaking, but we're really good at moving up and down the court.

Some teams might think that defense is a good time to take a break, but we're running the entire time."

With the regional championship game tied at 14, the Vikings held Post Falls to just eight points in the final 19 minutes.

"Our defense is so tight and we move our feet well," Sumner said. "It makes it tough for other teams to get by us. Coach (Dale Poffenroth) Poff does a good job of getting back offensively," Sumner said. "After Goose (Caelyn Orlandi) hit that 3, he told her at halftime to keep shooting and she finished with four 3-pointers in the game."

Coeur d'Alene (18-2) opens the state 5A tournament on Thursday against Meridian at 5:15 p.m. (PST) at the Idaho Center in Nampa. The Vikings finished runner-up to Lewiston last season after beating them in the title game two years ago.

"If we can play good defense and hit a basket here and there, we should be OK at state," Sumner said. "If we don't get the defensive stopping we need and our offense is poor - we could be in trouble."

Poffenroth is confident that should Sumner be called upon, she'll be ready this week.

"If we've got someone causing us problems on offense, we'll put her in there," Poffenroth said. "Madison is as hard as anyone to get around. We can really put her anywhere on the court."

Meridian's tallest player is 5-10, according to Poffenroth.

"Her defense might actually be better against those taller players," Poffenroth said. "She can help us in a lot of different ways. She's so strong, it's hard to move her around on the court. She's almost like a starter - and can play with any of those kids."

Sumner, who is 5-foot-7, doesn't fear guarding someone that's bigger than her either.

"I really like guarding players like Dani (Failor of Post Falls)," Sumner said. "I just enjoy trying to move her around in the paint and using my legs. I just like the battle."

Sumner added that playing with senior guards Erin Legel and Kyeli Parker has helped her growth as a player.

"They're both good role models," Sumner said. "They're always positive and never yell at you, even if you're playing terrible. They'll always say something to keep you up."

"There's something to be said about a kid that works hard all the time," Poffenroth said. "Things don't always go the way that things should go. But she's gotten an opportunity and she's not letting go. It's good for us and good for her."

Times PST

At the Idaho Center, Nampa

Thursday

Game 1 - Vallivue (16-7) vs. Lewiston (19-4), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Highland (21-1) vs. Eagle (13-9), 2

Game 3 - Coeur d'Alene (18-2) vs. Meridian (15-8), 5:15

Game 4 - Centennial (18-5) vs. Rocky Mountain (16-9), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 9 a.m. (consolation championship at Skyview High, Nampa)

Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 (third-place game at Skyview High, Nampa)

Game 16 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7 (championship game)

At Timberline High, Boise

Thursday

Game 1 - Wood River (13-9) vs. Century (11-13), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Middleton (23-0) vs. Madison (15-11), 2

Game 3 - Moscow (11-10) vs. Skyview (17-6), 5:15

Game 4 - Rigby (20-4) vs. Bishop Kelly (20-4), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m. (consolation championship)

Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m. (third-place game)

Game 15 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 5 p.m. (championship game at the Idaho Center)

At Middleton High

Thursday

Game 1 - Salmon (13-8) vs. Timberlake (13-10), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Weiser (18-4) vs. Snake River (17-5), 2

Game 3 - Filer (15-7) vs. Marsh Valley (22-0), 5:15

Game 4 - Priest River (16-5) vs. Fruitland (16-7), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m. (consolation championship)

Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 (third place game)

Game 14 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:50 p.m. (championship game at the Idaho Center)

At Kuna High, Kuna

Thursday

Game 1 - Melba (10-11) vs. North Fremont (19-6), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Kamiah (19-3) vs. Malad (19-4), 2

Game 3 - Soda Springs (15-7) vs. Butte County (20-3), 5:15

Game 4 - Declo (20-5) vs. Nampa Christian (14-7), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m. (consolation championship)

Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 (third-place game)

Game 13 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 12:40 p.m. (championship game at the Idaho Center)

1A Division I

At Columbia High, Nampa

Thursday

Game 1 - Liberty Charter (22-0) vs. Lapwai (14-9), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Grace (14-7) vs. Troy (19-5), 2

Game 3 - Prairie (18-4) vs. Glenns Ferry (15-10), 5:15

Game 4 - Hagerman (18-7) vs. Notus (20-2), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m. (consolation championship)

Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 (third-place game)

Game 12 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 10:30 a.m. (championship game at the Idaho Center)

1A Division II

At Nampa High

Thursday

Game 1 - Tri-Valley (14-6) vs. Carey (15-7), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 - Summit Academy (17-6) vs. North Gem (9-14), 2

Game 3 - Mackay (13-7) vs. Richfield (17-7), 5:15

Game 4 - Clark Fork (12-7) vs. Dietrich (21-0), 7

Friday

Game 5 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (semifinal)

Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2 (semifinal)

Game 7 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5:15 (loser out)

Game 8 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 7 (loser out)

Saturday

Game 9 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game, 8:15 a.m. (consolation championship)

Game 10 - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 10 (third-place game)

Game 11 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:30 a.m. (championship game at the Idaho Center)