IDAHO HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAMES: Good vibes at NIC ... State all-stars shine on Christianson Gymnasium for 21st annual game

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — For some seniors, Saturday’s Idaho all-star basketball games might have served as the end of the road for their playing career.

In the case of Lake City High senior Sophia Zufelt, it’s only getting started.

“It was really cool,” Zufelt said. “Especially at NIC. We’ve put a lot of hours into this gym (practicing, as a youngster, with her North Idaho Elite AAU team). So it was really cool to get to finish it off for the last time with the Lake City jersey on in this gym.”

Zufelt scored 20 points for Team Andy’s Heating & Cooling, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the final score, though Team Coeur d’Alene Inn held off Andy’s Heating 96-94 in the girls game.

“The vibe here is always high energy and feels good,” Zufelt said. “For some reason, I knew that shot was in, but it was a little too little too late. It was still cool.”

Snake River’s Rylie Edlefsen was named the game’s MVP, scoring 25 points for Team Coeur d’Alene Inn.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Edlefsen, whose team won its second straight state 3A title this year. “It’s always fun to get to come together with girls that love the game as much as you do. None of us had played before, and we just had a lot of fun together.”

In the boys game, senior Cutter Beus of 2A Melba scored a game-high 31 points to earn MVP honors in Team Domino’s 137-101 win over Team IdahoSports.com.

“It was really super laid back,” said Beus, who will serve a two-year LDS church mission in Farmington, N.M., before hopefully moving on to the next level. “I really enjoyed playing with all the guys from the different levels from 5A to 4A, and even down to 1A.

Coeur d’Alene’s Gunner Larson added 18 points for Team Domino's.

Between games, Owyhee senior Syd Rodriguez, the girls champion, edged Lapwai’s Kase Wynott 19-18 for the combined 3-point championship. Wynott, the boys champion, hit 30 of 32 3-point attempts in the semifinals to advance.

Teton’s Ty Brown won the slam dunk title over Wynott, the Utah State-bound guard and the state's all-time leading scorer.

“I definitely wore myself out with the 3-point and slam dunk contest,” said Wynott, whose 46 points helped Lapwai to beat Lakeside for the Wildcats' record-tying 13th state championship. “I’m happy that Cutter got the MVP. He really deserved that. When I hit 30 3s in a minute, my arms were just dead. I just felt it the entire time I was here.”

GIRLS: Zufelt announced her commitment to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley of the Western Athletic Conference on Friday on social media.

“It took me a minute to make that decision,” Zufelt said. “I was still waiting on feedback from some other schools. I knew I was going to commit there most likely, but wanted to be totally sure I checked all the boxes. It’s a big campus, but it feels small. And the people there feel like a family.”

When the rosters came out initially, Zufelt was on the Coeur d’Alene Inn team.

“I didn’t get an email telling me anything, but IdahoSports.com posted it,” Zufelt said. “Avery (Waddington) texted me that I was on their team now, and I saw it, and I was like, ‘OK’. I didn’t care either way. I was just honored to be in the game.”

Coeur d’Alene High senior Teagan Colvin was selected to the game, but missed it with a stress fracture in her right fibula, suffered during the state tournament. Boise's Avery Howell, selected as the state's Gatorade Player of the Year, also missed Saturday's game. She was recently selected for the McDonald's All-American Game in Houston on April 2.

“I did it in the second round game at state against Boise,” said Colvin, who also missed a month during the regular season with a broken right hand before returning before regionals. “I could tell when it happened during the game, and the next day was pretty brutal. But it was my last one and I had to keep going with it one last time with my teammates.”

Colvin scored 25 points in the 5A title game against Lake City as the Vikings took state for the second straight year.

“It was just a crazy year,” Colvin said. “It’s just been really good to go through all that, and to be done with it was really good.”

Sandpoint senior Karlie Banks scored 16 points for Team Andy’s Heating & Cooling.

“It was fun,” Banks said. “We’ve always played against each other and to play with them was pretty cool. I kind of knew their style because I’d played against them for four years. It was really fun. We could have taken the ‘W’, but it was a lot of fun.”

Banks is still undecided on her playing future.

“I’m definitely going to continue playing somewhere,” Banks said. “I’ve got one option in mind.”

Banks added that it could be at Division II Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, where she’s drawing interest.

“They’ve been recruiting her a little bit,” said Edlefsen, an NNU signee, of Banks. “We played against each other during a holiday tournament (East Idaho Holiday Shootout in Idaho Falls), and it was a close, competitive game. She’s a dog. She’s a competitor and a great shooter, and I’d love to get to play with her. I hope she goes there.”

Waddington, the Montana signee, scored nine points for Team Andy's Heating & Cooling.

Andy’s Heating    21    19    26    25    —    91

Coeur d’Alene Inn    23    23    17    33    —    96

ANDY’S HEATING & COOLING — Rhianna Iveson (Council) 0, KaLiah Frazey (Lake City 14), Sophia Zufelt (Lake City) 20, Avery Waddington (Lake City) 9, Mylee Graham (Rigby) 13, Kambree Barber (Rigby) 7, Gabi Green (McCall-Donnelly) 6, Brooklyn Dayley (Melba) 7, Karlie Banks (Sandpoint) 16.

COEUR d’ALENE INN — Reese Kunz (Teton) 7, Maddie Mitchell (Coeur d’Alene) 11, Jordyn Carnell (Bishop Kelly) 7, Kenadie Kirk (Deary) 3, Hadley Fraas (Cole Valley Christian) 7, Rylie Edlefsen (Snake River) 25, Anna DaBell (Rocky Mountain) 6, Addy Laible (Bishop Kelly) 12, Syd Rodriguez (Owyhee) 18.

BOYS: While it wasn’t quite like his performance on Friday, Coeur d’Alene’s Logan Orchard’s star shined again on Saturday afternoon.

Orchard, who scored 19 points en route to MVP honors in the District 1 All-Star Game in Mullan, finished with 11 points for Team Domino’s, which fell seven points short of tying the game’s scoring record of 144 by the Metro (Boise area) team in 2018.

“It was so fun,” Orchard said. “I’ll probably go home and sleep for a while tonight. And playing in a relaxed environment like this was kind of fun too. I think everyone enjoyed it.”

Orchard also won the 3-point contest in Friday’s game.

“These are the best players in the state,” said Orchard, who will continue his playing career at NAIA Eastern Oregon of La Grande next year. “We didn’t have as many of those players (at Mullan), but both games were a lot of fun. I enjoyed both and it was a lot of fun.”

Likewise, Lakeside’s Liam Hendrickx had 19 points in Friday’s game, then scored four on Saturday.

“This one definitely has a competitive nature,” Hendrickx said. “The score doesn’t show it much, but there’s so much talent out here. It was a lot of fun.”

Hendrickx is uncertain about his playing future beyond high school.

“If any schools want to reach out to me, it would be much appreciated,” Hendrickx said. “If not, I’ll keep going.”

Owyhee’s Liam Campbell, the USC signee, had 10 points for Team Domino’s.

Domino’s    44    31    28    34    —    137

IdahoSports    20    25    23    33    —    101

DOMINO’S — Gunner Larson (Coeur d’Alene) 18, Logan Orchard (Coeur d’Alene) 11, Cutter Beus (Melba) 31, Jace Martinez (Vallivue) 15, Liam Hendrickx (Lakeside) 4, Eli Kingery (Cole Valley Christian) 15, Russell Gibson (Eagle) 13, Jaxon Vowels (Potlatch) 4, Ty Brown (Teton) 8, Liam Campbell (Owyhee) 10. 

IDAHOSPORTS.COM — Eli Sugarman (Ambrose) 6, Tyson Hughes (Ambrose) 0, Ryker Apple (Middleton) 11, Ryan Baker (Meridian) 14, Cooper Fife (Wood River) 3, Ahlius Yearout (Lapwai) 25, Parker Childs (Sandpoint) 11, Ty Koepp (Kendrick) 0, Cache Beus (Skyview) 8, Kase Wynott (Lapwai) 22.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Domino's guard Logan Orchard drives to the basket during the second half of Saturday's 21st annual Idaho All-Star Basketball Games at Christianson Gymnasium.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Andy's Heating & Cooling forward Karlie Banks drives past Coeur d'Alene Inn defender Reese Kunz during the second half of Saturday's 21st annual Idaho High School All-Star Basketball Games at Christianson Gymnasium.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Domino's guard Liam Hendrickx attempts a layup during the fourth quarter of Saturday's 21st annual Idaho All-Star Basketball Game at Christianson Gymnasium.