5A SIC girls basketball preview: The top contenders to bring another title to the Valley
With the calendar turning to December, the high school girls basketball season has kicked into full gear. But the winter-long battle for supremacy in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference is only getting started.
The road to the Idaho Center and a state championship banner remains full of twists and turns. But one thing is for sure: No one will have a shot at a perfect season this year.
A deep conference already has made that impossible before Dec. 1. We still took our best shot at predicting who will come out on top in February, and the players that will make it happen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Peyton McFarland, Boise
One of the country’s top low-post threats hauled in 14 Division I scholarship offers. But the 6-foot-4 post signed with Utah in November, allowing her to focus her senior year on chasing a championship.
A four-star recruit and the 10th-best post nationwide, according to ESPN, McFarland dominates inside the paint. She averaged 12.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a year ago to earn a spot on the 5A All-Idaho second team. And her athleticism and ball skills make her a threat in the open court, too.
“(She’s an) incredibly dominant post whose mechanics have blossomed into a Pac-12 caliber player,” Capital coach Ron Marthe said.
Ava Ranson, Timberline
The conference’s leading scorer (18.0 ppg) returns to defend her crown. While she’s built her reputation on filling the basket in a myriad of ways, the Montana State signee and first-team All-Idaho selection is no one-trick pony.
The deadly, 5-10 shooter remains one of the league’s better defenders and punishes any defense that focuses solely on her, racking up 3.5 assists a year ago.
Trinity Slocum, Mountain View
The junior guard has emerged from the shadow of her older sister, entering the season with offers from Gonzaga, Michigan, Texas and Colorado State. She has a hand in everything for the Mavericks, averaging 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals as a sophomore.
“(She) is very heady and athletic,” Timberline coach Andy Jones said. “She controls the tempo and gets her team the shots they need. She is stifling on the defensive end.”
Naya Ojukwu, Mountain View
The 6-1 post broke out as a freshman, earning a spot on the all-conference first team after racking up 14.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Her size and athleticism make her nearly unstoppable once she gets the ball inside the paint. And she’s a game changer on the defensive end.
“She’s the most explosive athlete our conference has seen since Destiny Slocum,” Marthe said. “Her bounce and body control are unparalleled around the rim.”
Emma Ellinghouse, Timberline
The 6-3 center was all set to take over the Southern Idaho Conference last year after averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as a sophomore.
An ACL injury derailed those plans, but Ellinghouse signed with Division I Santa Clara in November and returns to the center of the Wolves lineup ready to make up for lost time.
THE FAVORITE
TIMBERLINE WOLVES
Last season: 19-7, 13-5 5A SIC
Coach: Andy Jones, second season
Returning starters: Ava Ranson, sr., G; Kate Walsh, sr., C
The Wolves ended a 13-year state tournament drought, the longest in 5A, by taking third last year. And it returns plenty of talent and two Division I signees to make another run deep into February.
Ava Ranson runs the show and remains one of the state’s most potent scorers. She’ll have a bounty of size to work with, including four solid post players with the return of the 6-3 Emma Ellinghouse in the middle.
Timberline coach Andy Jones cautions he will have to break in a pair of freshman starters on the perimeter. But conference, district and state titles are no longer far-fetched dreams at Timberline.
THE CONTENDERS
BOISE BRAVE
Last season: 18-8, 14-4 5A SIC
Coach: Kim Brydges, 15th season
Returning starters: Peyton McFarland, sr., P; Allison Ross, jr., G; Madi Williams, sr., F; Allie Guerricabeitia, sr., G
After reaching the state semifinals a year ago with just three seniors, Boise returns arguably the deepest lineup in the conference. McFarland demands double teams every night, and she has an experienced cast around that knows how to take advantage of all the extra space on the floor.
Allison Ross headlines the group after averaging 11.2 points and 2.5 steals as a sophomore to earn a spot on the all-conference second team. And Madi Williams (6.2 ppg, 5.7 rebounds) has committed to NCAA Division II Point Loma Nazarene.
MOUNTAIN VIEW MAVERICKS
Last season: 24-1, 18-0 5A SIC
Coach: Connie Skogrand, 17th season
Returning starters: Laila Saenz, sr., G; Trinity Slocum, jr., G; Naya Ojukwu, so., P
The state player of the year and some of the most size in program history graduated. But expectations remain high at the perennial power.
The Mavericks will return to their uptempo days with a backcourt led by Trinity Slocum and Laila Saenz, who has signed with Westmont College (NAIA). The duo have won plenty of games in blue and green and know what it takes to get back to the Idaho Center.
Naya Ojukwu remains a double-double threat each night, but she’ll have to shoulder more of the load inside the paint this year after graduation losses.
THE DARK HORSES
EAGLE MUSTANGS
Last season: 22-5, 14-4 5A SIC
Coach: Cody Pickett, seventh season
Returning starters: Betsey King, sr., PG
The defending state champs lost six seniors from the most accomplished group in program history. Eagle has eight more seniors to rely on to try to get back to its fourth straight state championship game, but only three have played significant varsity minutes.
Betsey King leads that group after topping the SIC with 4.2 assists per game a year ago. She’s also a threat as a scorer (8.0 ppg) and on defense (1.7 steals). But Eagle coach Cody Pickett knows it will take time to break in an almost entirely new lineup around her.
MERIDIAN WARRIORS
Last season: 15-14, 9-9 5A SIC
Coach: Stu Sells, first season
Returning starters: Jaleesa Lawrence, jr., W; Gracie Kolka, sr., W; Sophia Klinger, sr., F; Trinity Berger, sr., F
Continuity helped Meridian snap a six-year state tournament drought a year ago. The Warriors went through a coaching change in the offseason and lost DeAnn White to graduation. But they return nearly everyone else, including four multiyear starters, to gun for another state tournament appearance.
Meridian will have to adjust to a new coach in Stu Sells, who comes to the Warriors from Cole Valley Christian and led Vallivue to a 4A state title in 2006. But early results show Meridian is a threat. The Warriors scored an upset of Mountain View on Nov. 19, snapping a 17-game losing streak to the Mavericks.
THE UNDERDOGS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GRIZZLIES
Last season: 12-13, 9-9 5A SIC
Coach: BJ Humphreys, first season
Returning starters: Makayla Debry, sr., G; Anna Smith, sr., G; Jada Reed, sr., PG
The Grizzlies have yet to find consistency on the sideline with their third head coach in three years. But the starting lineup has plenty of familiar faces with three senior starters back on the floor.
BJ Humphreys is the beneficiary. He comes to Rocky Mountain after playing and coaching at The College of Idaho, as well as assistant coaching positions at Eagle, Centennial and Caldwell. He said he’ll bring a fast-paced offense and aggressive defense to Linder Road.
BORAH LIONS
Last season: 7-16, 5-13 5A SIC
Coach: Whitney Kenyon, second season
Returning starters: Jayden McNeal, so., G; Maggie Sawyer, so., G
The Lions enter a youth movement after the graduation of Nyalam Thabach, who averaged 16.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a senior, joining UC Santa Barbara this winter on a scholarship.
Borah started five sophomores early in the season. That gives Borah coach Whitney Kenyon a fresh group of talent to mold, but she cautioned patience as the team grows and gains experience together.
CENTENNIAL PATRIOTS
Last season: 6-16, 4-14 5A SIC
Coach: Candace Thornton, fourth season
Returning starters: Abigail Nichols, sr., G
The Patriots have set a goal of snapping their two-year state tournament drought. But in order to get there, they’ll have to shore up a defense that surrendered a league-high 57.8 points per game a year ago.
The good news is Centennial starts largely fresh with just one returning starter and three players with varsity experience. But it’ll need to get a cast of new faces up to varsity speed quickly if it expects to make a run in January and February.
SKYVIEW HAWKS
Last season: 2-21, 0-18 5A SIC
Coach: Cindy Pasta, 23rd season
Returning starters: Olivia Taylor, jr., G; Marrisa Naylor, sr., F; Jayden Glaze, so., F
The move to 5A hit the Hawks hard as they didn’t win a single game against a 5A opponent, and have yet to this year either.
Those lumps provided a year of experience, and Skyview fields a quick and fast lineup that will serve it well in the open court. But it still will have to fight its way to the hoop against the conference’s larger teams in the halfcourt.
CAPITAL EAGLES
Last season: 6-18, 4-14 5A SIC
Coach: Ron Marthe, second season
Returning starters: Allie Laufenburger, so., G; Gracie Strickland, so., P
After scoring a conference-low 30.4 points per game last year and graduating the program’s all-time leader in assists (Lauren Baumgartner), and with little varsity experience returning, Capital finished at the bottom of the conference coaches’ poll.
Capital coach Ron Marthe said this would be a rebuilding year for the Eagles. But with a young lineup able to grow up together, the future looks brighter for Capital.
