THE FRONT ROW BY JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, February 14, 2015
Four teams from this year's Coeur d'Alene High Winter Classic girls basketball tournament have already clinched a spot in their respective state tournaments.
To get to five, two of those teams are going to have to go through each other to be one of those participants.
THIS AFTERNOON, the Post Falls girls basketball team will travel down U.S. 95 for the second time this week, this time taking on Rocky Mountain High of Meridian for a chance to move on to the state 5A tournament.
Sandpoint (4A), Grangeville (2A), Lapwai (1A Division I) and Mountain View (5A) of Meridian have already clinched berths.
Should Post Falls advance, it will be their second trip in three years. Rocky Mountain lost to Coeur d'Alene in last year's championship game. Only Lake City and Coeur d'Alene - which had to compete with Post Falls and Lewiston for that spot - failed to make it to state.
"It's been our goal all year long," Post Falls coach Marc Allert said. "The kids were really bummed after the Lewiston game (a 56-54 loss in the 5A Region 1 championship game), and we thought we had a chance to win that. We needed to regroup and everything we've been working on all season is still in front of us. We can still accomplish what we set out to do. There's just a few more obstacles in our way right now."
In December, Rocky Mountain lost 64-53 to Mountain View in the Winter Classic championship game in Coeur d'Alene. Post Falls beat Lapwai 56-50 in the consolation championship game.
Post Falls and Rocky did not play during the three-day tournament, but Post Falls did play Mountain View, losing 78-52 in the opening round.
"I didn't get to see much of them when they were up here," Allert said. "We'll watch the film and see what we can do."
It's worth nothing that the state 5A championship has returned to the Inland Empire League in each of the previous eight tournaments.
OF THE two teams that failed to make it to the state tournament from the Winter Classic, Lake City will graduate two seniors, with Coeur d'Alene not putting a senior on the court this season.
"I think with the younger girls, we've got something to build on," Lake City coach Bryan Kelly said, after his team lost the Region 1 second-place game to Post Falls on Thursday night. "I told the girls this feeling isn't very good, and don't forget what it feels like. We're going in the right direction, and I'm proud of each of them for the steps we've taken this season."
Both Lewiston and Post Falls will graduate six players in the spring. Melody Kempton, a 6-foot post that has scored 26 points in Post Falls' and grabbed at least 10 rebounds, is only a freshman.
"She's a tough matchup for us," Kelly said of Kempton. "She's going to be a tough challenge for us in the league for years to come. Our kids need to get after that and work, and I think they're going to be a big part of the league too."
Maybe not this year, but for years to come.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.