THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: All the right moves adding up for Viking girls

Decisions are something we make on a daily basis.

Good or bad, it’s just something you just have to do.

SURE, THERE have been a lot of different moments throughout this high school season that you have to stop and wonder about.

With her team holding onto a 46-45 lead in its 5A Region 1 girls basketball championship game on Tuesday, a Coeur d’Alene player made the decision to make a pass instead of driving to the basket herself. As it turned out, it was just one of a few key momentum shifts in a wild fourth quarter.

In case you missed it, Coeur d’Alene sophomore Madi Symons — who finished with 24 points on the night — passed the ball from the post out to senior guard Tori Younker, who hit a 3-pointer from the right wing in front of her team's bench with 3:07 remaining to extend the Vikings' lead over rival Lake City. Coeur d'Alene went on to win 55-49.

Two nights later, coming off that emotional roller coaster, Lake City lost again, to Post Falls at home.

Back to that 3-pointer.

“It was a pretty cool moment,” said Younker, who had scored one basket to that point. “I had all the trust in Madi, and thought she was going to take a shot because she’d been on that night. I thought she was going to finish it.”

With a bit of distance between her and her defender, she hit the shot.

“My only thought when she threw it to me was to get my feet set,” said Younker, who finished with five points. “It was something that we’ve put in a lot of hours together and we run that play every day. When she gets doubled, my job is to get set and make that shot.”

MAYBE MORE important than wins and losses, the Vikings made a deal at the start of the season to stay healthy, with an eye on a state championship next Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“The girls have done well this season,” Coeur d’Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “They made a pact to keep their circle small and stayed out of quarantine. They’ve made some tough choices and not been around certain people and friends for the good of the team. We’re healthy and going down there in good shape, so hopefully it can stay that way.”

Yeah, hopefully.

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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.