STATE 3A GIRLS BASKETBALL: True Timberlake grit
<p>Timberlake’s Keelie Lawler gets a hand in the face from a Teton defender while going up for a shot in the first half.</p>
<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Timberlake High School’s Lilly Kelley breaks up a pass to Teton High’s Jenna Abbott during the first quarter of the state 3A girls basketball tournament Friday at Middleton High School.</p>
MIDDLETON — They played with the heart of a champion on Friday night.
Today, around 2:50 p.m. PST at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, they’ll get a fifth chance in six years to get to call themselves one for the first time in school history.
Allison Kirby scored 21 points and Keelie Lawler added 19 as the Timberlake Tigers rallied to beat the Teton Redskins 75-64 in a state 3A girls basketball semifinal game at Middleton High.
Timberlake (22-1) will face Marsh Valley (20-5) in today’s championship game — the Tigers’ fifth appearance in the finals in six years. Marsh Valley beat Shelley 59-44 in the other semifinal. Today’s championship is a rematch of the 2012 title game, won by Marsh Valley 64-47.
Unlike its opener on Thursday, when Timberlake pressed its way to a 35-7 halftime lead, the Tigers trailed 31-28 at halftime as Jenna Abbott scored 16 of her game-high 30 points to give the Redskins the advantage.
“We talked a lot about defense,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “We talked about defending the inside. They had one play that just killed us. We prepared for it, didn’t execute. We talked about it some more at halftime, still didn’t execute in the second half. We talked a lot about defense. We haven’t seen a lot of adversity this year, and we had some tonight.”
Teton (22-3) led by seven twice in the second quarter.
“We played really, really tough and we did it when things weren’t going our way in the terms of the game plan we had in place,” Miller said. “We didn’t execute at all, but they played hard and well enough to win tonight. I liked our heart and our grit tonight.”
Timberlake’s press forced 11 of Teton’s 18 turnovers in the second half.
“That was a big part of it,” Miller said. “I think we wore them down a little bit in the third. It took longer than I thought it would because we were playing 12 players and they were playing six and still doing good. Especially in the second half, we made some big shots and stayed on the attack. Even though they were getting good shots, we could have pouted about it, but we just got tougher.”
Sophomore Kayle Jezek gave Timberlake the lead for good on a jumper with 3:29 remaining in the third. Sophomore Lilly Kelley hit a 3-pointer on the Tigers’ next trip down the court to start a 13-2 run to close out the third.
“This was a huge win for us,” Kelley said. “We’ve always got each other’s backs and we push through for each other. Every single one of us is there for each other and if we need someone to build us up, they’re there. All of us, including seniors, juniors, freshmen and sophomores, we’re all here to win this thing.”
Kelley scored seven points, including a pair of free throws with 1:21 remaining to give Timberlake a 68-58 lead.
“Everyone contributed in some way, and that’s kind of been the whole thing all season,” Miller said. “We just played a good team that played a really good game. And we were able to just gut it out.”
Jezek had eight points and three rebounds.
“I think that experience plays a factor,” said Miller of Kelley and Jezek, who played key roles as reserves last season. “They weren’t afraid of the moment. Lilly hit that big 3-pointer. That was a big moment, and some kids might have hesitated and some wouldn’t have even taken it, but she just let it go and knocked it down. Kayle hit a big shot to get us going, and we hit some free throws down the stretch which was the ultimate closer.”
Lawler scored 13 of her 19 points after halftime for Timberlake.
“It was grit, honestly,” Lawler said. “We’d practiced hard for this game, but we didn’t execute the things that we wanted to do. But we toughed it out, we fought together like a family — like we always do — and we showed some grit. I know and am confident in each and every person on this team. I know they’re going to step up at the end of the game and hit big shots like they did. It’s not about just one person, it’s all of us contributing together. Payten (Rhodes) hit some clutch free throws at the end. I’m proud of each and every one tonight.”
Tasha Arnold had 12 points and seven assists for Teton, which finished the game 28 of 40 from the field.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Teton coach Shon Kunz said. “Kirby’s a great player, flat out. You can use any adjective you can think of to describe her, she’s a great player. She’s calm, collected and plays great defense. And we’re glad to be here. We wish the table was turned, but they’re a great team. I think we got a little discombobulated with the defense and we were switching things up. With the pressure and intensity, we let them get some wide-open shots and you can’t let a team like that get that many wide open shots because they’re going to bury them on you. You catch a good team when they’re hot, and they score 80 points. They’re a great team with great players.”
Timberlake 13 15 29 18 — 75
Teton 15 16 15 18 — 64
TIMBERLAKE — Vanderhoof 3, Kelley 7, Rhodes 5, Mallet 4, Starr 3, Jezek 8, Kirby 21, Powell 0, Gardom 2, Simpson 0, Tonkin 3, Lawler 19. Totals 26-47 16-20 75.
TETON — Arnold 12, Berry 2, Joseph 0, Abbott 30, Kunz 10, Kay 0, Kincaid 10. Totals 28-40 7-10 64.