STATE 4A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lakeland falls in third-place game in first trip to state since 2019
JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lakeland High senior Payton Sterling hugs junior Landree Simon in the closing moments of Saturday's state 4A third-place game at Timberline High in Boise. Lakeland lost to Pocatello 56-44.
By JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writer
BOISE — Before a team can take the next step toward contending for trophies, they must first learn how to win on the biggest stage of them all.
And Lakeland's program, in its second season with former Hawk Tyrel Derrick at the helm, won the program’s first game at state since 2009.
The Hawks fought back from a 1-0 regional deficit in a best-of-3 series to defending state champion Sandpoint just to get to this stage.
So, while Lakeland — at state for the first time since 2019 — lost 56-44 to the second-seeded Pocatello Thunder in the state 4A third-place game Saturday at Timberline High, it in no way felt like a letdown to the Hawks.
“I’m really proud of the steps we started to make for our program,” senior Lila Kiefer said. “With a new coach, we’re starting over. This was a good first step.”
Pocatello (19-6) used an 18-3 run and led 45-27 late in the third quarter to pull away.
Lakeland (14-11) finished 15 of 57 shooting, including 3 of 24 from the 3-point line.
“You can’t win basketball games at state shooting 26% from the field, 12% from 3-point and 47% on free throws,” second-year Lakeland coach Tyrel Derrick said. “And that’s the next stage of this program. We need to spend some more time in the gym to beat teams like Pocatello. They’re well coached, and they’ve got real good athletes.”
Kennasyn Garza had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Pocatello, which outbrebounded Lakeland 55-37.
“Both teams played hard, and sometimes that doesn’t always happen in the third-place game,” Derrick said. “That was just a fun game to be a part of.”
Lakeland junior Landree Simon had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight steals.
“Landree, her next step is finishing some of the easy stuff at the rim,” Derrick said. “She could probably average 25 points a game if she just converted the stuff inside. That speaks to her willingness to compete. She’s just going to give 110% every second.”
Senior Payton Sterling had nine points and four rebounds for Lakeland, which was trying to bring home a trophy from state for the first time since the Hawks placed third in 3A in 2004.
“Our seniors, we don’t get where we are without them buying into what we’re doing completely,” Derrick said. “We had some girls not play this year, and really our seven girls that have been playing all year are a special group of girls that have done something remarkable for themselves and this team.”
Lakeland 7 14 9 14 — 44
Pocatello 9 17 19 11 — 56
LAKELAND — Simon 16, K. Kiefer 7, Loutzenhiser 0, McMurray 0, Hatcher 2, Holte 8, Vopat 0, Forsman 0, L. Kiefer 1, Bretveld 1, Sterling 9. Totals 15-57 11-23 44.
POCATELLO — Johnson 0, Lusk 16, Bringhurst 0, Marshall 7, Quirl 0, Pool 0, Hokanson 5, Rogers 3, Hirschi 0, Garza 18, Te. Hargraves 0, Hagler 7, Tr. Hargraves 0. Totals 20-62 12-20 56.