PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Coeur d'Alene High junior Symons sets sights on Wyoming

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

Saddle up. Madi Symons is a Cowgirl, now.

Symons, a rising senior at Coeur d'Alene High, committed to play basketball at Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference on Monday evening.

Symons had offers from Texas-Rio Grande Valley — a Western Athletic Conference program — in Edinburg, Texas, as well as Idaho and Southern Utah of the Big Sky Conference and San Diego in the West Coast Conference.

“I really love the community there,” Symons said of Laramie. “It’s a real family atmosphere and the town is very similar to Coeur d’Alene.”

Symons also took unofficial visits to UNLV, Boise State, Southern Utah, Idaho, San Diego, San Diego State and Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz.

“Wyoming just felt like home when I was there,” Symons said. “Everyone was nice and super supportive of women’s sports, which isn’t always the case. The coaching staff at Wyoming is awesome. They’ve got really nice facilities, and the community support was really great.”

Symons, a 6-foot wing/post, averaged 18.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a junior at Coeur d’Alene, and was named to the All-Idaho basketball second team for the second straight year. She eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring mark for her career at Coeur d'Alene in December.

“They want me as a combo guard,” Symons said of Wyoming. “I won’t have the ball as much and I’ll be able to play inside a little bit as well.”

During an unofficial visit to Laramie, Symons had the chance to watch Wyoming’s WNIT game against UCLA on March 24, an 82-81 loss in triple overtime in the Round of 16.

“It was a last-minute trip and a really good game to see,” Symons said. “It was a really fun atmosphere to be in.”

Madi’s parents are Corey Symons, the head men’s basketball coach at North Idaho College, and Nicole Symons, the girls basketball coach at Coeur d’Alene High. Corey Symons played at Falls Christian Academy and at NIC before transferring to Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash. Nicole, the former Nicole Nipp, played her first three years of high school basketball at Coeur d’Alene, transferring to Lake City when it opened for the 1994-95 school year, and also played at Northwest.

“Playing in a big conference was one of my big things that I wanted,” Madi Symons said. “Family is really important to me and having that support has been great. But I also wanted to create my own path. It’s a big conference and there’s going to be some hardships with it. But I’m excited for what’s next.”

The earliest Symons can sign is Nov. 9, the first day of the early signing day for women’s basketball. Heather Ezell, an assistant at Wyoming for seven seasons and the associate head coach for the last three, took over as Cowgirls head coach on March 25 after longtime coach Gerald Mattinson announced his retirement.

“I’m super excited to have fun for my senior year, but also blessed to be at Wyoming and the coaching staff gave me the chance to play there,” Symons said. “I’m excited for the next journey.”