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CV game part of killer schedule for Post Falls girls

| December 14, 2017 12:00 AM

Remember last week’s hype prior to the Post Falls-Gonzaga Prep boys basketball game?

Imagine something similar heading into Saturday’s 6 p.m. girls basketball showdown pitting Post Falls at Central Valley.

Both are again expected to challenge for state titles.

Last year, Post Falls, with a junior-laden squad, lost in the 5A semifinals and finished third.

Central Valley, favored to win the state 4A title in Washington last year, was upset in the quarterfinals, then bounced back to win its final two games.

Central Valley features the Hull twins, 6-foot-2 wings Lacie and Lexie, who have signed with Stanford. The Bears also boast 6-foot post Hailey Christopher, who has signed with Idaho.

“I have tried not to (think about Central Valley) because it just gives me a headache,” Post Falls coach Marc Allert said with a laugh. “They are at the top of the girls basketball world in this area. I haven’t seen them play a lot but I know they kicked our butts this summer.”

CV IS 1-0 prior to tonight’s home game vs. Lewis and Clark. Post Falls is 7-0.

Post Falls boasts a veteran squad led by Gonzaga signee Melody Kempton and Seattle Pacific signee Bayley Brennan.

“They are a very balanced team with both quickness and size,” Central Valley coach Freddie Rehkow said of Post Falls. “Marc does a great job with those girls and they are very seasoned as they have extensive high school and travel club ball experience. Melody is a very skilled and talented post for whom I have a ton of respect and many concerns with. The McCliment-Call twins (Tyler and Jacksen) are good athletes and can present a concern as well with their speed and activeness. Brennan is a solid shooter who can stretch a defense, thus allowing Melody more room to operate and it also allows (Sydney) Parks the opportunity to get some points as well if we give Melody too much attention. ... We will need to run our offensive sets and make them play defense, where I believe our quickness and athleticism could cause them some problems.

I’m most looking forward to seeing where we are as a team as we’ve only played one game and they will have played seven by that time.”

Allert said he tried to schedule a game with Central Valley last year, but the schools couldn’t find a date that worked for both teams.

“Obviously everything starts with the Hull girls, but their other players are really skilled also,” Allert said of the Bears. “Their length and athleticism with the Hulls and Christopher is a problem and their guards don’t make mistakes. They basically have three Melody Kemptons running around. But, our kids are looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to see how we handle their pressure and can we execute in the half court. Also, can we guard their athleticism? This will be a very good game for us since they are real similar to Eagle as far as players and the way they play.”

Eagle beat Post Falls in last year’s state semifinals, before losing to Centennial in the championship game.

5A schools in North Idaho have been trying to schedule the top Greater Spokane League teams for years. But most years, GSL schools have little to no room for nonleague games. This year, each school has a handful of openings, and Rehkow said he was looking to play a quality squad like Post Falls.

However ...

“Honestly, with the new RPI we have in the state of Washington (which determines bracketing for state tournaments) it doesn’t really help us Washington teams much to play outside of the state,” Rehkow said. “When we play out-of-state teams we get credit for their win-loss record, however all of their opponents’ records count as .500 win-loss records and therefore may not benefit us.

“I prefer to not play in Idaho because they don’t use the shot clock like we do in Washington. That’s what’s nice about playing a team like Post Falls is that they play an up-tempo pace and the shot clock isn’t a big deal, whereas some other teams in Idaho would most likely slow the pace tremendously against a running team like ours. I believe it’s good for the border battles to happen, however I’d most likely schedule a tough Washington team before a tough Idaho team in order to not have the RPI take a hit.

NEXT WEEK’s schedule doesn’t get any easier for Post Falls, when the Trojans play in the Diamond Bracket — the top bracket for girls teams — at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 20-23.

“We basically had to send in a resume to determine which bracket we were put into,” Allert said, including info such as last year’s finish, number of returning players, returning players with honors, players being recruited by colleges, etc.

Allert said the team Post Falls opens with, Maryknoll School of Honolulu, went 33-3 last year hand has played in the last two state title games. Like the Trojans, Maryknoll is a senior-laden squad.

In the next round, Post Falls could match up with Liberty of Henderson, Nev., which boasts Tennessee signee Rae Burrell, a 6-2 guard, and Dre’una Edwards, a 6-2 post.

“My hope is we get to see different styles and play against some really good competition that will help make us better in the future,” Allert said. “I wanted to challenge this team with as tough as schedule as we could get and I think this tournament will definitely add to that. Not only will this be a great basketball experience for the girls but also a great time to be together as a team and have some fun in a different atmosphere than they are used to.”

Following this gauntlet of games, Post Falls plays host to Mt. Spokane over the holidays (Dec. 29), then opens 5A IEL play Jan. 2 at home vs. Lewiston.

“We will find out a lot about ourselves in the next couple weeks,” Allert said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.