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The power of 3

by Jason Elliott Sports Writer
| February 15, 2018 10:59 PM

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Post Falls sophomore Jacksen McCliment-Call (22) leaps to celebrate a big play by the Trojans, while coach Marc Allert looks on during Thursday’s victory over Capital at the state 5A girls basketball tournament at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Jacksen McCliment-Call of Post Falls soars in for a layup against Capital in a state 5A first-round game Thursday night.

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Melody Kempton of Post Falls gives her teammates a pep talk prior to Thursday’s state 5A first-round game vs. Capital.

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Melody Kempton of Post Falls goes up for a layin in Thursday’s state 5A girls game vs. Capital.

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Tyler McCliment-Call of Post Falls shoots against Capital in a state 5A first-round game Thursday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

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JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Post Falls coach Marc Allert talks to his team during a timeout during Thursday’s state 5A first-round game vs. Capital.

NAMPA — In an instant, it appeared gone.

All the hard work at practice and in the offseason.

Scheduling tougher competition to get better, including a 3-1 run at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.

For what, a consolation title?

Not this year.

Trailing 50-48 with 2:20 remaining, Tyler McCliment-Call hit a 3-pointer, followed less than a minute later by a 3-pointer by Bayley Brennan and the Post Falls Trojans fought back to down the Capital Eagles of Boise 58-55 in a state girls 5A tournament opening-round game at the Ford Idaho Center.

McCliment-Call scored 11 points in the first half, then scored nine of the Trojans’ final 13 points in the fourth quarter.

“Tyler was really good at the beginning of the game and the end of the game,” Post Falls coach Marc Allert said. “And she wasn’t too bad in the middle either. She did a good job tonight. That’s the nice thing. We’ve got three kids that can score and Tyler really stepped up. Mel (Melody Kempton) did what she normally does and Bayley (Brennan) had an off night, but Tyler — and everyone else — filled in for her.”

Senior Melody Kempton, the Gonzaga signee, picked up her fourth foul late in the third quarter as Capital fought back from a 29-22 halftime deficit to take a 41-38 lead after the third.

“I just talked to her about keeping herself out of bad situations,” Allert said. “They’re going right at her and I thought she did a good job of just being smart. Being a senior that’s been through it, she knows how to play in that situation.”

Kempton finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots for Post Falls (22-2), which faces Borah High of Boise (19-5) in tonight’s late semifinal at 7 p.m. PST.

“I was so angry,” Kempton said. “I just wanted to get back in there, but I couldn’t. It was very frustrating and I started to have flashbacks to last year (a semifinal game against Eagle where she fouled out late).”

Post Falls finished third at state last year in the program’s first trip to state since winning the title in 2013.

Macky Morris, who rolled her left ankle in the Region 1 championship game vs. Lewiston, came off the bench to grab eight rebounds, six coming in the second half. Bayley Brennan was held scoreless until a jumper with 5:24 remaining in the game. Brennan’s 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining gave Post Falls a 54-50 lead.

“Macky got a huge rebound and Bayley hit a huge 3-pointer,” Allert said of Brennan. “That’s just part of being a senior and I knew at some point, she was going to make the shots. Luckily, it happened toward the end. Macky just did her thing. She goes out and makes all those hustle plays. It really doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but she got some huge rebounds, and an offensive rebound. That was a huge play to put us up six.”

“I’m very relieved right now,” said Brennan, who finished the night 3 of 14 from the field. “I was frustrated, not in my team, but in myself. I was just really nervous that game. The first game is always the hardest, and that was a close game. We haven’t been in a close game in a while, and hopefully we got the nerves out and we’ll play our game tomorrow.”

Beverly Slater had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Capital (18-6), which faces Highland of Pocatello in a loser-out game today.

“Post Falls is just a good team across the board,” Capital coach Blas Telleria said. “There’s no doubt about that. None of these teams down here question how good they are. Obviously, they’ve got some good players that have stood out, so it doesn’t surprise me that they had someone else step up, because that’s what good teams do.”

Capital was the fourth-place finisher out of District 3 (Boise).

“I thought our girls played hard and didn’t back down,” Telleria said. “They knew they had a challenge with Post Falls, and I thought our girls played hard and aggressive. One bucket here and one bucket there, like in any game, changes the perspective.”

Capital 15 7 19 14 — 55

Post Falls 15 14 9 20 — 58

CAPITAL — Ferguson 0, Bendinelli 8, Johnson 13, Ralston 138, Woozley 0, Slater 20, Baumgartner 0. Totals 18-59 14-20 55.

POST FALLS — Gleaves 0, Morris 2, Gardiner 0, Brennan 7, T. McCliment-Call 22, J. McCliment Call 2, Kempton 20, Parks 5. Totals 23-59 9-16 58.