STATE 5A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Upset averted ... Colvin, Coeur d'Alene catch on in fourth, down Eagle in opener

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

NAMPA – Sometimes, the sequel doesn’t quite live up to the original.

For nearly 34 minutes on Thursday, it had fans on the edge of their seats.

Then, as those with the top seed attached to their names might do, Coeur d’Alene got rolling.

Junior guard Teagan Colvin gave the top-seeded Vikings the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 5:29 remaining, and scored 13 of her 23 points in the final quarter of a 63-50 win over the eighth seed Eagle Mustangs in the state 5A basketball opening round at the Ford Idaho Center.

Eagle, which advanced to state with a 48-39 win over Lake City last Saturday in Lewiston, led 36-26 with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.

“We kind of started off slow and weren’t playing good defense,” Colvin said. “And we usually start things on the defensive end, so we had to get the pressure rolling. They didn’t want the pressure, so we needed to do more of that. I think just believing in each other more. We knew who we were and finally started to show it.”

Colvin finished 8-of-16 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“You make a few and it starts getting easier,” said Colvin, a transfer from Liberty High in Spangle, Wash. “I’m a gamer, so at the end of the game, that’s my time. That’s when I dig deep and do every single thing we could to get that win. We had to get going in the fourth. It was close the entire time, so we had to widen the gap a little bit.”

“I think we were a little nervous,” Coeur d’Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “We’re the No. 1 seed and Eagle is coming in with nothing to lose and that’s a tough eighth seed. They came in a little looser and played outstanding and hard. We got a little on our heels and had to get that corrected at halftime.”

Coeur d’Alene beat Eagle 54-31 in the second game of the season for the Vikings on Dec. 1 at Eagle High.

“I think we changed who we were as a team,” said Eagle coach Jeremy Monroe, in his second season as coach. “We were trying to put a square peg in a hole as a team in the first few games and trying to figure out ourselves as a team and who we are. We adjusted and it was a catalyst to who we were as a team. We were more physical, but kudos to Coeur d’Alene, they were more physical tonight.”

Coeur d’Alene (22-2) faces fourth seed Boise (22-2) in the second semifinal today at 1 p.m. PST. This year, the 5A semifinals are in the afternoon, with the 4A semis in the night session. It is the second year of the trial by the Idaho High School Activities Association to hold the semifinals in both 5A and 4A at the Idaho Center. Last year, the 5A semis were in the evening session.

“We’re going to have to rebound the ball,” Colvin said. “(Avery) Howell (of Boise, who has a handful of Division I offers) is a monster on the boards. We need to play defense like we did in the fourth quarter to have a shot.”

Colvin scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half. Madi Symons, who has signed with Wyoming, had 24 points and 15 rebounds, also scoring 15 in the second half.

“Our assistant coach Chris (Colvin) said we had to push and score in transition,” Nicole Symons said. “Kelsey Carroll gave us some good minutes and (Kendall) Omlin, she just gets us going on defensively. She mixes it up and knocks the ball loose and allows Teagan to get a few buckets to get us going. They just decided it was time to play. It’s never something we say, it’s them in the timeouts talking with each other and figuring out that it’s time to go and get it done.”

Senior Libby Awbery scored nine points, all on 3-pointers for Coeur d’Alene.

“Teagan’s court vision is so good,” Nicole Symons said. “She understands who switches and where it’s coming from and gets the ball to the next person that’s open. She’s a true point guard and gets everyone involved. It was a true team effort with Libby (Awbery) hitting some 3s, (Madison) Mitchell playing defense from baseline to baseline. We’ve got all the pieces, but need to put it together.”

Madi Symons picked up her second foul in the first quarter, then scored nine points in the second quarter for Coeur d’Alene.

“We just had a lot of fight tonight,” Madi Symons said. “Everyone from the top to the entire bench was into it. We had to rely a lot on our defense, and we had some fight left, so it was really good.”

Kelsey Carroll, a sophomore small forward, had five points and three rebounds in extended playing time with Symons and senior Kendall Omlin in foul trouble in the first half.

“Kelsey played really well and always gives us some big minutes,” Madi Symons said. “She showed a lot of fight and got on the glass, played good defense and is always in a good help position. She’s just always there when we need her, and that was apparent tonight.”

Junior Paige Cofer, who has committed to Division I Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) of St. George, Utah, scored 28 points for Eagle, which faces Owyhee in a loser-out game today at Timberline High in Boise.

Eagle 10 18 10 12 – 50

Coeur d’Alene 14 10 11 28 – 63

EAGLE – Johnson 3, Wallace 9, Marg 0, Cofer 28, Rasmussen 7, Thomson 0, Tommasini 3. Totals 17-36 9-12 50.

COEUR d’ALENE – Colvin 23, Mitchell 0, Awbery 9, Omlin 2, Symons 24, Holecek 0, Carroll 5. Totals 24-50 10-17 63.