The best yet to come for area hoops?
That whole wait until next year idea almost came true a lot sooner than most expected for the Post Falls High girls basketball team at the state 5A basketball tournament last weekend.
It didn’t, but there was plenty to be proud of when it came to the Trojans, as well as some of those other teams that traveled south last weekend.
IN THE case of Post Falls, which finished third in 5A after a win over Madison of Rexburg, the Trojans will return everyone that played next year.
Yes, everyone.
The Trojans’ semifinal game against Eagle — won by the Mustangs 57-54 — was maybe the second-best game I got a chance to watch last weekend, with Eagle making a couple more shots down the stretch.
Some teams, they could have folded in that third-place game, but the Trojans didn’t, giving their fans something to look forward to when they get started again next year.
Even Lake City, which graduates two seniors, showed it has the pieces to compete with the best teams in the state, advancing to the consolation championship game before losing to Mountain View of Meridian.
Genesis Prep, in its first appearance at state, came up short in a semifinal game to Salmon River, but came back to finish third after clipping Nezperce 35-33 in the third-place game. Not too shabby for a first time in a state setting.
St. Maries won its opener, then couldn’t quite capture the magic the next two days, finishing 1-2. The Lumberjacks will graduate three seniors in the spring. Lakeside, with the most experience back with five seniors on its roster, went 0-2 in its third straight appearance at state, after winning the consolation title each of the past two years.
AND THEN there’s the case of the Timberlake Tigers.
Timberlake advanced to the state 3A title game for the sixth time in seven years, then beat Sugar-Salem in what was the closest title game of the weekend.
Sure, seniors like Allison Kirby and Keelie Lawler had played in the title game all four years, but they are just a part of what that program has built.
The Tigers have had great players in the past, like post Cassie Thompson, who went on to play at Portland of the West Coast Conference and other players that have gone on play different sports at the next level.
Looking back to that first year when Kirby and Lawler advanced to the title game, they were just happy to be in the title game.
Then, the team expected more, and got it each year, winning a second straight 3A title last Saturday, after the Tigers finished second in their first four trips to the finals.
And sure, Timberlake rolled in its first two games of the tournament by a combined 88 points, beating Teton 67-16 and Parma 79-42 to get to the title game, but the Tigers showed just how good they really are for finding a way in the final game against Sugar-Salem.
But it just wasn’t those four-year seniors that were the driving force of those wins. It was everyone, from the five starters on the floor to the rest of the players on the bench waiting for their shot to affect the outcome.
THAT OUTCOME might not have been what the five local squads that finished outside of the Ford Idaho Center wanted, but it could very well serve a purpose as the teams get going again next fall.
They might have to wait until next year, but if nothing else, these teams from the North opened some eyes that they’re not going away anytime soon.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.