THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Timberlake girls better from big early tests
Before some seasons begin, it’s fun to take a look at some of the schedules of area high school teams.
Sometimes, it’s just a practice in figuring out which games are a little more interesting that others.
Maybe also known as those that could be considered a challenge for one, if not both, playing that night.
TAKE THE case of the Timberlake High girls basketball team, which played three of the four teams in the 5A Inland Empire League this season, going 3-2 in those games. The Tigers swept Lewiston, split with Coeur d’Alene and lost in their second game of the season at Post Falls. Coeur d’Alene won the 5A Region 1 title, and Post Falls also advanced to state.
Timberlake’s other two losses came at Sandpoint — a state 4A qualifier — and to East Valley of Spokane.
“We played a tough schedule, and the girls continued to get better and better,” said Timberlake coach Matt Miller, in his 15th year. “We just focused on the process of getting better each game.”
Following the 53-52 setback to East Valley on Dec. 14, Timberlake didn’t lose again the rest of the season, winning 16 straight games to finish the season 20-4.
“When you play really good teams, they show your weaknesses easier,” Miller said. “It’s more obvious to know what you’re not really good at playing good teams like that. When we play really good teams, we can see where we’re at and try to focus on getting better from that. That’s the advantage of playing that tough schedule.”
Timberlake won its third state 3A title in the last five seasons by beating Snake River 42-32 last Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“We’re always searching for the next one,” said Miller, who is a physical education teacher at Timberlake High and Timberlake Junior High. “That’s why we’re in this, to do the best we can. We’re always trying to be the best we can. If the kids continue to work hard in the offseason, we’ve got a chance to win again (next year).”
In case you’re interested in things like that, next year’s state 3A tournament is scheduled for Feb. 18-20 at Middleton High.
UNLESS SOMETHING changes in the near future, brackets will again be pre-determined in 2021 well in advance of the state tournament.
This year Timberlake, a District 1 champion, faced Sugar-Salem, the District 6 champion, in the opening round at state. Next week, it will be Kellogg, the District 1 champ, opening with Sugar-Salem, the District 6 champion, when the boys state tournament begins.
As for the idea of seeding the tournament ...
“For every year it would work, other years it wouldn’t,” Snake River girls basketball coach Jeff Steadman said. “In our case, we weren’t really deep here and had some injuries that plagued us during the season. I knew what kind of team we were, but the record doesn’t always reflect that.”
Snake River finished the season 15-11.
With the amount of distance between the northern 3A schools and teams down south, it’s almost impossible to base things on head-to-head matchups.
The best bet for now is to take on whatever challenge you can find, big or small.
It seems like it has worked out well for the kids in Spirit Lake.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.