STATE 5A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Seniors for defending champion Vikings steer youth back onto familiar path

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

“Up and down.”

“Fun, challenging, exciting.”

“Different.”

Take it from the three seniors on the Coeur d’Alene girls basketball team, this season hasn’t been one that has been smooth sailing.

As senior point guard Teagan Colvin describes …

“More than anything, as a team, we’ve all been through some stuff this year,” Colvin said. “We’ve had a couple of games that we probably shouldn’t have lost. But, we’re making it through it all and only going up from here.”

Coeur d’Alene did win its 10th state championship in program history last season, finishing the season 24-2.

Then, the Vikings graduated Madi Symons, who is now playing at Wyoming, as well as guard Libby Awbery and forward Kendall Omlin.

“Last year was really smooth for us,” senior Maddie Mitchell said. “It just came easy last year for our starters to play with each other. This year, we’ve really had to work at meshing together and getting to know how everyone plays together.”

New to the starting lineup this season has been senior guard Kendall Holecek and junior forward Kelsey Carroll, who played key minutes at state last year.

“I’ve played summer ball my entire life, but really just kept after it in the offseason,” Holecek said. “I’d go to the gym each day and just wait for my time to come.”

Then, just as the season was getting started, the injury bug hit the Vikings with freshman Brookeslee Colvin suffering an ankle sprain, then her sister Teagan Colvin missing time with a broken right hand suffered during the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas in December.

“We’ve had some rough patches with both Teagan and Brookeslee being out some games,” Mitchell said. “Us overcoming it has shown just how strong of a team we have.”

The strength became more and more apparent after Teagan Colvin was injured against Bingham (Utah) on Dec. 19. She missed the next game, a 52-47 loss to Rigby, then returned for the Fight for the Fish spirit game on Jan. 12, before sitting out again until Jan. 30, when the Vikings played at Lewiston to conclude the regular season.

“When it happened, I didn’t think my season was over,” said Colvin, who has signed with UNLV. “When the doctors told me it was broken, I had a lot of emotions going through my head. But I knew that I’d be back eventually.”

Holecek added that, if nothing else, it helped speed up the growth of the other players on the team.

“After we played Rigby, and didn’t lose by much, we knew we could play with some of the better teams in the state,” Holecek said. “Against Rigby, there were some weird emotions after watching her get hurt. After that, we thought they were one of the top teams in the state, and we barely lost to them without one of our players. We had a few mental lapses at the end of the game that would have put us right back into it. And right now, we’re playing our best defensively of the season.”

To Mitchell, that 3-1 run in the Tarkanian Classic just showed Coeur d’Alene was still capable of putting things together.

“It just showed the other teams in the country that we can be just as good as they are,” Mitchell said. “Yeah, we’re from Idaho, but we can still play up in competition.”

Coeur d’Alene won its second straight regional title last Tuesday, beating Lake City 50-31 at Lake City. The Timberwolves entered the game the top-ranked team in 5A by MaxPreps.com, but dropped to second following the loss. Coeur d’Alene is ranked fourth, Rigby third and Rocky Mountain of Meridian fifth.

Boise, which moved up one spot to No. 1, defeated Rocky Mountain for the District 3 title on Friday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.

Coeur d'Alene (17-5) plays Rocky Mountain (17-6) in a state 5A first-round game Thursday at 11 a.m. PST at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

Coeur d’Alene beat Rocky Mountain 58-54 on Dec. 2 at Viking Court.

In the first week of the season, Coeur d’Alene lost at Boise 53-43 on Nov. 17.

“Most of the teams that are in the tournament will likely be a rematch for us,” Colvin said. Just getting to play them early on, and they can see what we’ve got too, to see them and grow from there is big for us. It will be good for us because there’s a couple of them we’d like to get back, so that will really help motivate us.”

“Whoever we play is going to give us a good game,” Holecek said. “We’ve just got to continue to work hard and play defense like we did (in the regional title game), and we’ll be just fine.”

Mitchell added last Tuesday’s win over Lake City showed the rest of the team they could compete.

“Beating Lake City should give our entire team confidence,” Mitchell said. “We can’t overlook any of those other teams at state because they’re going to be coming after us with their best game. We just need to play like we’re capable of.”

While Holecek's and Mitchell’s time on the court might be coming to a close soon, Colvin will continue her playing career in Vegas.

Colvin’s top five schools included Washington State, Wisconsin, BYU and Michigan.

“It had the best coaching staff and playing style to me,” Colvin said. “It’s just a hub of entertainment and that sort of thing, so there’s plenty of opportunities for me there.”

Colvin transferred from Liberty High in Spangle, Wash., prior to her junior year after her father, Chris, accepted a teaching job at Coeur d’Alene High.

“It’s been great here,” Colvin said. “I’ve had an amazing two years here and just love this team and all the coaches. It’s been a great opportunity for me and we hit the highest of highs last year and we’re hoping to get back there this year. But I’ve really loved playing with these guys.”

Holecek intends to study business in college, while Mitchell plans to study nursing at Boise State.

“I’ve talked to some coaches about running the hurdles in college, but I don’t think it’s something I’m going to pursue,” said Mitchell, who also played volleyball at Coeur d’Alene High. “I really enjoy both track and basketball, but I don’t know if I’ll continue playing after high school.”

In addition to the three seniors, Coeur d’Alene has three juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen on its roster.

“Outside of basketball, we’re just connected, even the younger girls,” Mitchell said. “Last year, the starting five (Symons, Teagan Colvin, Omlin, Awbery and Mitchell) was really connected. Being such a close group has really helped us as we’ve continued to get better.”

Nicole Symons, in her fifth season as Viking coach, said the three seniors have brought the others along with the expectations within the program.

I’ve been really thankful for all their leadership and what they’ve been able to do throughout the season,” Symons said. “They take care of each other and the younger kids as well. They’re kind of like a second mom in that they hold each other accountable, as well as make sure everyone is on the same page.”

And while they might affect games differently, together it’s the same goal.

“What’s been great, especially this year, is that they’re each very different,” Symons said. “Last year, we had a great balance of personality and balance, and there’s a balance in each of them. Kendall works hard in practice and takes care of everyone. Maddie works her tail off in everything, but just loves to make everyone laugh. She’s the one that is always willing to do something fun in practice. Teagan, she’s a little more focused, but also leads by example. She expects a lot from her teammates, and we need a player like that. Her basketball IQ is great and she brings something different to the floor as well.”

During its four-game win streak, Coeur d’Alene is holding teams to 35.5 points per game.

“It all starts with our defense, and that’s what our coaches always tell us,” Mitchell said. “If we can play good defense, and stop the other team’s high scorers like Avery Howell (a Boise High senior and USC signee who was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game), we should be fine. If we can just shut their best players down, our offense will come out of that.”

Mitchell is also the one that keeps things light when times get tense.

“I’m a really good dancer,” Mitchell said. “Ballet, whatever comes to mind, I just do it. On the bus, I’ve got an AUX Speaker and just start playing random songs and everyone gets down with it. It’s a lot of fun.”

“I’ve been really thankful for all their leadership and being able to carry that throughout the season,” Symons said. “Both Maddie and Kendall really stepped up when Teagan was out. It’s been nice to have a lot of personalities and to have a different aspect of stuff on the court.”

“This team works really hard and I think everyone has continued to get better and better each game, which has been amazing to see," Teagan Colvin said. “And the best is sure yet to come. We’ve still got a bit more to show.”

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene High senior guard Teagan Colvin.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene senior guard Maddie Mitchell.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene senior forward Kendall Holecek.