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Timberlake turns up tempo, takes third in 3A

by Jason Elliott Sports Writer
| February 18, 2018 12:00 AM

NAMPA — You can’t measure the heart of a champion by the color of the trophy.

So after a semifinal game that took the wind out of the sails, and a shot at a state 3A three-peat, Timberlake coach Matt Miller wasn’t quite sure just how his team might respond.

They responded with the same amount of heart that put them in position for all those deep tournament runs over the past eight years.

Freshman Brooke Jessen had 23 points and senior Shelby Starr added 15 points and seven rebounds, leading Timberlake past the South Fremont Cougars 65-46 in the state 3A third-place game at Skyview High in Nampa.

“I was really happy with our energy,” Miller said. “We knew it was going to be a tempo game, and wanted to play fast and they wanted to play slow. We knew we were going to have to spend a lot of energy after playing three games in three days. I was worried about how much energy we were going to be able to bring to the game, and they did a fantastic job. They played 94 feet for the entire day.”

Timberlake had played for the championship in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, winning the last two titles. The Tigers lost to Sugar-Salem in the semis on Friday.

“To the girls, we’ve got a lot of second-place finishes, and those are filled with a lot of tears,” Miller said. “With third, you get to end on a win and smiles, so there’s a neat part to that. I know it’s got to be bittersweet for everybody, because we felt we were good enough to win a championship this year. It just didn’t work out that way. But it’s nice to end on a win.”

Jessen scored 20 of her 23 points in the second half for Timberlake, which finishes 21-4. South Fremont concludes 16-12.

“Everyone was finding me for an open shot, so it felt good,” Jessen said. “It’s kind of heartbreaking, but we played our hearts out and it feels good to finish third.”

“She played well, especially in the second half,” said Miller of Jessen, who finished 10 of 12 from the field on the way to a game-high 23 points. “She’s such a skilled player and has so many attributes. We’ve been trying to get her to play more aggressive and she did that tonight. She showed what she can do. She just had an all-around great game.”

Starr had 13 of her 15 in the first half for Timberlake, which went 27 of 57 from the field and forced 19 turnovers.

“I thought we came back really focused,” Starr said. “We were all pretty sad, but we came back and made a statement.”

“She was attacking and getting to the free-throw line and making things happen on defense,” Miller said of Starr. “She played with a rhythm tonight and that was good to see.”

Kaylee Jezek, one of three senior starters for Timberlake, had 10 points and eight rebound.

“I’m just really glad that I finished my senior year strong and with the people I love the most,” Jezek said. “We definitely wanted to make a statement and prove that we’re still a really good team and finish what we started.”

Olivia LeCheminant scored 21 points for South Fremont.

South Fremont 13 12 10 11 — 46

Timberlake 17 18 20 10 — 65

SOUTH FREMONT — Parker 3, Hikida 3, Rowbury 6, Christensen 7, Johnson 0, Hobbs 6, Speth 3, LeChemeinant 21. Totals 15-33 13-20 46.

TIMBERLAKE — Tonkin 6, Starr 15, Kelley 2, Kronenberg 0, Soumas 6, Bronson 0, Jessen 23, Bremer 0, Allen 0, Linehan 0, Jezek 10, Willis 1. Totals 27-57 7-11 65.