All in for No. 1
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Tyler McCliment-Call of Post Falls drives against Eagle in the championship game of the state 5A girls basketball tournament Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. McCliment-Call scored a game-high 21 points.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Melody Kempton, center, leaps into the air as she and her Post Falls High teammates celebrate a 62-53 victory over Eagle in the state 5A girls basketball championship game Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Post Falls won its first state title since 2013, and fifth in program history.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Melody Kempton of Post Falls takes the ball to the basket against the defense of Jaimee McKinnie of Eagle during the state 5A championship game Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Post Falls girls basketball coach Marc Allert hugs senior point guard Bayley Brennan after the Trojans beat Eagle to win the state 5A championship Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Allert, in his seventh season as coach, also guided the Trojans to the 2013 state title.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Bayley Brennan leaps into the arms of Melody Kempton after Post Falls won the state 5A girls basketball title Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Post Falls girls basketball coach Marc Allert talks to his team during Saturday’s state 5A title game vs. Eagle at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY The Post Falls Trojans pose with the championship banner after beating Eagle to win the state 5A high school girls basketball title Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
NAMPA — They took a gamble on going to Las Vegas to get better this season.
Saturday night, Post Falls pushed in all its chips.
And hit the jackpot.
Sophomore Tyler McCliment-Call had 21 points for Post Falls in a 62-53 win over the previously unbeaten Eagle Mustangs in the state 5A girls basketball championship game at the Ford Idaho Center.
“Our whole focus, even before this year was this moment,” Post Falls coach Marc Allert said. “Coming into the season, we had a chance to be pretty good and making our schedule, it was all geared for this and wanting to prepare for that, it was huge. We had a lot of blowout games this year, and to come down here and win three close ones, it definitely helped us.”
It is the program’s fifth state title in school history and first since 2013. It is the first time since Coeur d’Alene beat Rocky Mountain in the 2014 title game that a team from District 1 has won the 5A championship.
Post Falls finishes 24-2 while Eagle — which lost in the title game for the second straight year — finishes 26-1.
For a while at least, the game was a lot like the 2017 semifinal game, with Gonzaga signee Melody Kempton forced out of the game with a third foul in the third quarter, then a fourth in the final quarter.
“I’m just so excited right now,” said Kempton, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists. “We came in, and knew on the third day, it wasn’t going to be which team was better, it was going to be the team that worked harder. And we were determined to be the one that worked harder.”
In 2017, Eagle rallied from a 54-50 deficit to beat Post Falls 57-54 in a semifinal game.
On Saturday, senior Sydney Parks had six points and four rebounds for Post Falls, playing extended minutes in the second half with Kempton sitting with foul trouble.
“It feels amazing,” Parks said. “It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for this year. I knew last year that we were going to get it this year.”
“I knew I had a few fouls to work with, but had to be careful,” Kempton said. “I knew the teammates were going to keep it up. Everyone just really wanted it and wanted to be state champs.”
Parks’ 3-pointer with 4:21 remaining pushed the Trojan lead to 50-37.
“She came up huge for us,” Allert said of Parks, who has signed to play volleyball at NAIA Montana Tech. “She hit a couple of shots and played big on defense.”
“I just step up when I need to,” Parks said.
Senior Bayley Brennan — who has signed with Division II Seattle Pacific — had 13 points and four rebounds for Post Falls.
Brennan hit four free-throws in the final minute to push the Trojans lead to 60-53 with 10.9 seconds remaining.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Brennan said. “It has been our goal all year long and we’ve slowly been working to it. It feels so good and it’s exciting.”
McCliment-Call finished the tournament with 67 points in the three games.
“I’m just so happy we won and it feels good to get a win,” Tyler-McCliment Call said. “Going to Vegas (where the Trojans went 3-1 in the Tarkanian Classic) really helped us deal with pressure. That really helped us having that experience playing tough teams.”
Macky Morris added four points and six rebounds for the Trojans.
“Macky was just killing it on the boards, Sydney hit some shots,” Allert said. “Jacksen McCliment-Call hit a shot. Everybody did their role. Even those kids that didn’t get in, they were doing their role. Everyone is just as important and they all work well.”
Janie King scored 18 points for Eagle, which lost in the title game to Centennial last year.
“Post Falls is just a good team,” Eagle coach Cody Pickett said. “They didn’t do anything specific to frustrate us. I thought we played well, but just didn’t hit enough free-throws (the Mustangs finished 15 of 27 from the line). They’re just a good basketball team, and to beat them, you’ve got to play flawless. Our field goal percentage wasn’t great and it’s a tough atmosphere to play in. I’m proud of my team and congratulations to Post Falls. They earned it.”
Post Falls planned to celebrate its state title with a caravan through town on Sunday when the team arrived home, but due to poor road conditions it was postponed until Monday. The caravan is now scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Monday from the Kootenai County Fire & Rescue station on Seltice Way, and end at Post Falls High School, where a pep rally is planned.
Post Falls 17 6 17 22 — 62
Eagle 12 8 11 22 — 53
POST FALLS — Gleaves 0, Morris 4, Gardiner 2, Brennan 13, T. McCliment-Call 21, J. McCliment-Call 3, Kempton 13, Parks 6. Totals 22-47 14-25 62.
EAGLE — Boyd 13, B. King 0, deVera 1, J. King 18, Emerson 6, Bockholdt 0, McKinnie 9, Murray 5, Peters 1. Totals 17-40 15-27 53.