PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL, STATE PLAY-IN GAMES: Priest River advances; Post Falls, St. Maries fall short

Rocky Mountain 44

Post Falls 40

GRANGEVILLE - The Post Falls Trojans were just three minutes from guaranteeing themselves a bid in the state 5A tournament on Tuesday in Lewiston.

After winning on Thursday, the Trojans put themselves in a position to advance again on Saturday before it got away again.

Freshman Melody Kempton had 12 points and nine rebounds and senior Shayna Allert scored eight points for the Trojans, which lost to the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies 44-40 in a state play-in game on Saturday at Grangeville High.

"We just kind of looked out of sync all day long," Post Falls coach Marc Allert said. "We had some foul trouble and had players in different spots, but it seems liked we were out of sync today."

Post Falls finishes 18-7.

Maya Rodgers scored 14 points for Rocky Mountain (18-8), which advances to face Centennial in the opening game of the state 5A tournament on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. PST at the Ford Idaho Center. Rocky Mountain of Meridian was last year's state runner-up, losing to Coeur d'Alene in the championship game.

Post Falls led 22-15 at halftime, but could not convert its chances late to put the game away.

"They came out more aggressive in the second half, and we got a little tentative in the second half," Allert said. "We had several opportunities late in the game and missed a couple of shots. We had our chances, and just couldn't convert."

Seniors Olivia Ellison had eight rebounds and Madie King scored six points for Post Falls.

The Trojans were also without senior Sam Runkle, who tore ligaments in her left ankle in the Region 1 title game at Lewiston.

"I feel bad for this group of seniors," Allert said. "I've been around them since they started playing in the third grade. I wasn't quite prepared for this one."

Rocky Mountain 6 9 13 16 - 44

Post Falls 8 14 11 8 - 40

ROCKY MOUNTAIN - Hall 3, Clegg 5, Moser 6, Rodgers 14, Richman 5, Fielder 8, Thompson 3.

POST FALLS - Allert 8, O. Ellison 4, A. Ellison 0, Brennan 0, King 6, McComb 0, Anderson 0, Kempton 12, Reynolds 3, Gennett 3, Parks 4.

Priest River 42

Weiser 26

GRANGEVILLE - Senior Elisa Williams scored 14 points and senior Angel Clark headed up the defensive pressure as the Spartans jumped out to a 25-6 halftime lead in beating the Wolverines in a state 3A play-in game at Grangeville High.

Priest River (16-7) advances to the state 3A tournament, and will open vs. Filer on Thursday at 2 p.m. PST at Skyview High in Nampa.

"We pressed 'em, used a little pressure defense, and I'm sure they had a ton of turnoves," Priest River coach Gary Stewart said. "They were bigger than us, but we had a speed advantage."

Katlyn Summers added six points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Spartans, making their sixth straight trip to state.

Weiser finished 10-15.

Weiser 5 1 7 13 - 26

Priest River 15 10 5 12 - 42

WEISER - Bouvia 0, Shirts 6, Kerner 1, Reed 6, K. Davis 0, C. Davis 1, Huggins 4, Gluch 1, Mink 4, Mills 0, Brown 2.

PRIEST RIVER - Hurd 0, Luckey 3, Gamma 0, Clark 4, A. Summers 7, Krampert 3, Carey 5, Williams 14, Akre 0, K. Summers 6, DeMent 0, Warren 0.

Marsing 48

St. Maries 41

GRANGEVILLE - The St. Maries Lumberjacks were right in the mix for their first state tournament appearance since the 2001-02 season, then they went cold from the floor.

Emily Tank scored 13 points for the Marsing Huskies in a 48-41 win over the Lumberjacks in a state 2A tournament play-in game at Grangeville Junior High.

"We just couldn't hit a shot (1 for 12 in the fourth quarter)," St. Maries coach Jay Sines said. "I thought our girls played really hard, we just couldn't make the shots toward the end of the game that had been falling all game long. We had a couple of defensive breakdowns, but other than that, I thought we'd played well."

Kelsey Auer had 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks and Shelby Holder had six points and three steals for St. Maries, which finishes 10-13.

Marsing (17-7) advances to the state 2A tournament at Bishop Kelly High in Boise and will face Ririe (21-2) in the opening round on Thursday.

Marsing7 13 16 12 - 48

St. Maries 14 10 12 5 - 41

MARSING - Sauer 2, Glorifield 12, Tank 13, Glazer 12, Dines 5, Farns 2, Reynolds 2.

ST. MARIES - Sines 1, Ghramm 2, Peet 2, Cordell 4, Kel. Auer 13, Holder 6, Flach 1, Wilson 2, Kay. Auer 7, Gladden 2.