Ah shoot, Tigers
Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Brooke Jessen of Timberlake puts up a shot against Parma on Friday in the semifinals of the state 3A girls basketball tournament at Skyview High in Nampa.
Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Taryn Soumas, who sank a 3A classification record seven 3-point shots, shoots a 3 against Parma in the semifinals of the state 3A girls basketball tournament Friday night at Skyview High in Nampa.
Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Timberlake’s McKeeley Tonkin drives against the defense of Parma’s Grace Johnson in the semifinals of the state 3A girls basketball tournament Friday night at Skyview High in Nampa.
NAMPA — Of all the good nights Timberlake has had in the state 3A tournament, Friday just wasn’t one of them.
Missed shots.
Unable to get key stops on defense.
Finishing the game 16 of 57 from the field, including 10 of 36 from the 3-point line.
Taryn Soumas scored 21 points, hitting a classification record seven 3-pointers for Timberlake, but the Tigers fell to the Parma Panthers 54-44 in the state girls basketball semifinals at Skyview High.
“One of the biggest challenges was the pressure they put on us,” Soumas said. “We’re not used to that in our league games at home, but still think we played as hard as we could. We came here ready to work hard, and think we did that tonight.”
Parma forced Timberlake into 14 turnovers, while Parma had 12.
“We weren’t us,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “We weren’t doing anything that we normally do consistently all season tonight. We were just completely out of character on both ends. We tried to get back to looking like us, and it looked better because we made some shots, but I don’t know how much we responded to looking like us.”
It was the second straight year Timberlake lost in the semifinals. The Tigers fell in the semis to eventual champion Sugar-Salem on the same court in 2018. Timberlake (21-3) will face Homedale (13-11) in today’s third-place game at 10 a.m., back at Skyview High.
“I’d like for them to feel like they’re feeling right now,” Miller said. “They’re probably feeling pretty disappointed, and they should. Hopefully by the time we tip things off tomorrow they’ve forgot about it and on to the next game. Homedale’s going to be ready to play and played a good game today (against Sugar-Salem). They’re going to be ready and raring to go.”
Soumas scored 12 points in the second half, all coming on 3-pointers.
“I like how aggressive she stayed,” Miller said. “That was big plus for us tonight. We’ve got some kids that we usually count on to be aggressive for us that weren’t. And she was that all night tonight.
“We came super far and have come a long way,” Timberlake senior guard McKeeley Tonkin said. “Parma’s a long team, and they anticipated the pass really good. Parma’s super athletic, which is something we don’t see in our league that much.”
Forward Madison Jackson had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Parma (23-2), which will make its first state title game appearance today at 2:50 p.m. PST against defending champion Sugar-Salem at the Ford Idaho Center.
“She’s amazing, and makes everyone around her better,” Parma coach Michael Calkins said. “It was a great team effort tonight.
Parma held Timberlake sophomore post Brooke Jessen to nine points. The Panthers led by as many as 13 points, and never trailed in the game.
“We could have worked harder for the ball,” Miller said. “We had our opportunities tonight, but played a little soft to do anything tonight inside. They were just a little tougher and a little more physical, and we acted like we didn’t want any part of that.”
“They’ve got a strong post presence and a strong outside shooting presence,” Calkins said. “They’re the real deal and a beast inside and out. We came in and put a gameplan together and the kids executed it to perfection tonight.”
Parma 14 9 12 19 — 54
Timberlake 8 13 12 11 — 44
PARMA — Richards 0, G. Jackson 7, Au. Harris 0, M. Jackson 21, Weber 0, Ad. Harris 12, Hancock 1, Johnson 6. Totals 20-48 9-19 54.
TIMBERLAKE — Tonkin 4, Soumas 21, Suko 5, Hammond 0, P. Kronenberg 0, Carhart 0, Jessen 9, Jeffs 0, Willis 5. Totals 16-57 2-5 44.