Champs share glory with fans at rally
LOREN BENOIT/Press Family and friends greet the Post Falls High School girls basketball team as they return with the 5A State Championship trophy Monday afternoon.
Post Falls High School senior Melody Kempton holds the 5A State Championship Trophy as the team arrives Monday afternoon at school. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
The Post Falls girls basketball team poses with their 5A State Championship trophy Monday afternoon at school. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
While their classmates enjoyed a long Presidents’ Day weekend, the Post Falls girls basketball team spent Monday afternoon showing off the state championship trophy.
Post Falls (24-2) completed a dream season Saturday in Nampa by upsetting the undefeated Eagle Mustangs (now 26-1) for the 5A state championship.
On Monday, the team paraded through Post Falls, escorted by a fire truck before arriving at the school gym for a brief pep rally.
Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen spoke to the team and about 100 supporters.
“A 24-2 season is a magical season, and there are a lot of things that went into it,” Christensen said. “To go down and beat the undefeated No. 1 team just makes it more special.”
Head coach Marc Allert said the championship game was the culmination of a year’s worth of teamwork and effort.
“Every single kid on the floor made a huge play in the fourth quarter of that championship game,” Allert said.
After rolling through conference play, Allert said his only question about the girls was how they would perform in close games.
“I think we pretty much proved what we can do in a close game down at state,” he said.
The Trojans were led to the title by seniors Melody Kempton and Bayley Brennan, as well as sophomore Tyler McCliment-Call. According to her coach, McCliment-Call outclassed the rest of the players on the court.
“She was the best player at the state tournament this weekend,” Allert said. “That was about as big of a three-game stretch I’ve seen while coaching.”
Allert said the seniors’ leadership in the huddle and performance on the court were critical in guiding Post Falls to the championship.
“It’s going to be really, really tough to replace these guys,” he said, “and I’m going to miss them to death.”
According to Brennan, the players feel the same way about their coach.
“Thank you coach Allert for being the best coach we could ask for,” she said.
Brennan added that she was proud of how the entire team remained focused on one shared goal: Winning a state championship.
“There’s no other group of girls I’d rather win state with,” Brennan said, “and I will never forget any one of them.”
Kempton, who will continue her career at Gonzaga this fall, echoed Brennan’s sentiments and thanked her teammates for sending her off on a high note.
“To be able to win this my senior year,” Kempton said, “really means the world to me.”
This was Post Falls’ fifth state championship in school history and second under Allert. The last title came in the 2012-13 school year.