State (title) of mind
LOREN BENOIT/Press The Timberlake bench celebrates a 3-point basket in the 3A District 1 title game against Kellogg last week. After six title-game appearances in seven seasons, the Tigers placed third last year.
The lady Hawks celebrate their Region 1 Championship win over Moscow, Feb. 8, at Hawk Court. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Genesis Prep guard Rachel Schroeder looks to dribble the Jaguars back into the state 1A Division II championship game. LOREN BENOIT/Press
3A
When tipoff came in the state 3A championship game in 2018, it was the first time in quite a while that Timberlake High of Spirit Lake wasn’t on the floor that afternoon.
The Tigers made title game appearances in 2017, ’16, ’15, ’14, ’12 and ’11, but all that stopped after a semifinal loss to eventual champion Sugar-Salem in 2018.
Timberlake won titles in 2017 and ’16.
“I hope that the girls play pretty hungry,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “The state tournament is interesting. You’re always playing against good teams, no matter what happens. Hopefully we can go down and control the things we can control, and the ball bounces our way.”
Timberlake (20-2) opens against Teton (12-12) tonight at 5:15 PST at Skyview High in Nampa. The Tigers have won 10 straight since a setback to St. George’s on Dec. 28.
“We’ve all improved a lot this year,” Timberlake sophomore Brooke Jessen said. “Last year, it was devastating that we didn’t make it to the championship, so we’ve put in the work during the offseason to get back there.”
Jessen was named the Intermountain League Most Valuable Player after leading the Tigers past the Kellogg Wildcats in the District 1 championship game.
“One of my goals was to add some positive things to the team this year,” said Jessen, a returning starter. “It’s nice to see that pay off.”
Sugar-Salem (21-2) opens against Bonners Ferry (17-6) today at 12:15 p.m. PST at Skyview.
The Badgers were the final team to qualify for state, beating Kellogg in the District 1 second-place game on Monday at Bonners Ferry High.
1A Division II
Last season, in only their second trip to the state 1A Division II tournament, the Genesis Prep Jaguars came within a basket of forcing overtime in the state championship game.
With almost its entire lineup back, the Jaguars are hoping the third straight trip to state is a charm.
“I think the motivation is coming two seconds and two points from winning a state title last year,” said second-year Genesis Prep coach Brandon Haas, whose team opens against Nezperce (21-3) tonight at 5:15 at Nampa High. “I don’t need to put any more motivation on the girls. I’m pretty sure they’ve got enough of it on their own.”
Last year, Genesis Prep senior post and Washington State signee Bella Murekatete set classification records for total points (86) and points per game (28.7), and tied a record for most field goals (35) in a tournament. Murekatete had 30 rebounds in the team’s championship game against Butte County. Butte County moved up to Division I this year.
“We’ve just got to play our game,” Haas said. “If we can do that, I feel very confident. If we can get Bella and (senior point guard) Rachel (Schroeder) to play the way they do — and I’m not worried about them — having the other girls buying in, I really like how we’re playing right now defensively.”
A win today by Genesis Prep advances the Jaguars to a semifinal matchup against either Carey (19-1) or Rockland (20-4) on Friday afternoon.
5A
For the third time in four years, Lake City (20-3) has advanced to the state tournament, opening against Eagle (19-5) today at 12:15 p.m. PST at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“We’ve got a lot of balance, and have a pretty long bench,” Lake City senior guard Klaire Mitchell said. “It’s going to take everyone doing their part.”
Mitchell, Bridget Rieken and Chloe Teets — all starters — have been standouts in other sports for the Timberwolves with Mitchell signing to play volleyball (Grand Canyon) and both Rieken (Washington State) and Teets (College of Idaho) to play soccer in college.
“These girls know how to win and they are so resilient in tight games,” second-year Lake City coach James Anderson said. “I think a lot of that comes from competing in other sports. Every game at state will be a challenge, but I believe we’ll be ready for that challenge.”
Sophomore post Brooklyn Rewers has memories of watching her older sister Lauren — who is a sophomore at Hawaii — play at state in 2016 and 2017.
“She just told me to be aggressive and just play your game,” Brooklyn Rewers said. “I thought it was so cool to get to watch them play in an arena, and wanted that when I got to high school.”
Eagle, the District 3 (Boise) runner-up, has advanced to the state title game the past two years, losing in 2018 to Post Falls. Eagle beat Post Falls in the semifinals in 2017. The Mustangs are coached by Cody Pickett, a Caldwell High product who played quarterback at the University of Washington.
Mountain View, the District 3 champion, is 23-0 and opens against Meridian (14-12), which beat Post Falls in a play-in game last Saturday in Grangeville.
4A
Lakeland (10-11), in its first trip to state since 2009, opens vs. Caldwell (19-5) today at 5:15 p.m. PST at Timberline High in Boise.
“We worked a lot harder this season,” Lakeland senior guard Lauryn Cooper said. “And we had a lot more girls that worked harder this season, and we all came together as a team, and made it happen.
“Nothing huge changed; we just maybe changed our mindset and got a few new players,” she added.
Hawks senior Taylor Elpers agreed.
“After a while it wasn’t about winning anymore,” she said. “It was just about playing the game, and getting better, and then winning just came with that.”
At the beginning of the season, Lakeland coach Steve Seymour said he told the seniors it was up to them to lead the charge if the Hawks didn’t want to go through a seventh straight losing season.
Lakeland was 4-16 last year.
“We put more pressure on the seniors,” Seymour said. “I told them we have the talent to be there at the end of the season, but only if we commit.
“The seniors have done a great job.”
Caldwell is on a resurgence of late; the Cougars are making their third trip to state in four seasons. However, Caldwell went two-and-out in its previous two appearances during this run.
Middleton (22-2) and Century (24-0) of Pocatello, the tourney favorites, are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals. Middleton won the state title in 2017, Century won it in 2015 and ’16.
Burley, last year’s champion, didn’t qualify.