STATE 5A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Rolling their way this time

NAMPA — Last year, when the momentum had shifted, Coeur d’Alene let its state 5A tournament opener slip away to Eagle High.

A day later, the Vikings dropped a consolation game to Boise High to fall well short of placing at the state tournament.

That was then, this is now.

Down by six points early in the fourth quarter, Coeur d’Alene closed with a 16-6 run to beat the Boise Brave 56-50 in the opening round at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Thursday afternoon.

Trailing 44-38 with 6:04 remaining, Coeur d’Alene switched from a full-court press to a zone defense, then went on a 12-0 run to make it 50-44 before an Allison Ross 3-pointer ended the streak with 2:04 remaining. Coeur d’Alene opened the game with a 15-4 lead in the first quarter.

“We came out hot and knew that Boise would fight back,” Coeur d'Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “They’re a good team. We got down in the third quarter, and had to calm them down and switch up our defense to slow them down a little bit."

Coeur d’Alene led 17-7 after the first quarter before Boise outscored the Vikings 15-9 in the second.

“We really talked about focusing on defense,” said Skylar Burke, who scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. “Going into the second, we really let up on that. We tried to focus on keeping them out on the paint and make them go to the baseline.”

Ashley Banks, a 6-foot-4 junior center, had 15 points and six rebounds for Boise (9-4), but failed to score in the final 6:30.

Burke and Madi Symons scored the final eight points of the game for Coeur d’Alene.

“We got some steals and lay-ins that we needed,” Nicole Symons said. “Skylar and Madi both started to play more aggressively and we hit some shots later that we needed to. They did what we asked them to do.”

In its opener in 2020, Coeur d’Alene fell 50-49 to Eagle after leading most of that game.

“Last year, we got nervous and got rattled,” Nicole Symons said. “This year, we got back to what we know. I’m super proud of them.”

Burke sealed the game at the free-throw line with a pair with 33.6 seconds remaining, then again with 20.9 seconds remaining.

Jaden Chavez had 10 points and three rebounds and Jaelyn Brainard-Adams had six points and three rebounds for Coeur d’Alene (19-1), which faces Thunder Ridge in the semifinals today at 3:30 p.m. PST. Thunder Ridge (20-4) beat Meridian (13-5) 66-55 in the second quarterfinal. Thunder Ridge handed Coeur d’Alene its only loss of the season in overtime on Dec. 29.

“The one (free-throw) I watched Madi missed it,” Nicole Symons said. “To be under pressure and relaxed at the line, that was big. That’s the biggest place you can be in any sport was right there. For them to understand what we were going to do on the make defensively, Jaden just plays relentless defense and Jaelyn was tremendous in the second half. We got our turnovers down the second half. I just wanted to get it over and get this first win under our belt.”

Madi Symons had eight points and 10 rebounds for Coeur d’Alene.

“It feels good,” Madi Symons said. “Our nerves were definitely there, so I’m glad we got that first one under our belt. For all those seniors, it’s there last chance. Their work over the last couple of seasons has given us the motivation to work hard for them this season. I’m glad we got the chance to play another game.”

Boise beat Coeur d’Alene 63-41 in a loser-out game in 2020. The Brave finished 18 of 53 shooting.

“They looked a little more mature than last year, but they looked comfortable in the first round last year too,” Boise coach Kim Brydges said. “We weren’t taking bad shots, but taking quick shots. Unfortunately, those quick shots didn’t go down for us and as a result, it gave them the ball back.”

Boise 7 15 18 10 — 50

Coeur d’Alene 17 9 12 18 — 56

BOISE — Ross 12, Nelson 3, Oakland 8, Dyer 0, Howell 5, Dingel 7, Banks 15. Totals 18-53 9-15 50.

COEUR d’ALENE — Brainard-Adams 6, Whiteman 3, Symons 8, Ja. Johnson 2, Younker 7, Chavez 10, Burke 20. Totals 18-41 17-19 56.