Caldwell girls continue hot streak in 4A state tournament with ‘natural drive to scrap’
Adriana Dennett’s 3-pointer seemed like it would never drop in the final seconds of the first quarter in Thursday’s 4A state quarterfinal game at Timberline High.
Dennett’s shot bounced around the rim and hung suspended against the backboard before finally making its way through the net to send Caldwell into the second quarter with a two-point lead. The Cougars never truly relinquished that lead in a 49-45 victory over Preston in the girls basketball state tournament.
The Indians briefly tied the game in the second quarter and twice cut the Cougars’ lead to two in the game’s final 2 minutes, but Courtney Williams scored nine of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup that she turned into a three-point play with a successful free throw for a 49-44 lead with 57 seconds left in regulation.
Williams, a 5-foot-11 junior, didn’t start, but she completed a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds and went 7-of-13 from the free-throw line.
“She has started a lot of games for us, but her best games this season have been off the bench, so that doesn’t surprise me,” Caldwell coach Ashley Green said. “She is one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached as far as energy and constant movement, and that really showed up for her today.”
[Related: Updated brackets from all six tournaments; Eagle pulls first-round upset in 5A]
Caldwell (22-3) engineered a 6-0 run in the closing minute of the first half to go into halftime with a 25-18 lead. Preston, meanwhile, continued with what quickly became a theme Thursday and coughed up the ball three times during the Cougars’ late run.
Preston (19-8) went into halftime with 13 turnovers and finished the game with 19.
Caldwell’s run was sparked by a steal from Xiana Campos, which led to an easy layup for center Aaliyah Kennedy. Jade Martinez followed suit with a steal, and her sixth point of the first half gave Caldwell a 23-18 lead with 40 seconds left until halftime. Preston’s ensuing possession ended with a pass that was lobbed into the stands, and Belle Bower beat the buzzer with a layup to send Caldwell into the locker room with the lead.
With the Cougars clinging to a three-point lead in the third quarter, Martinez answered the bell with a 3-pointer, which gave Caldwell a 31-25 lead. It was also Martinez who fired the pass that led to Williams’ game-clinching and-1 in the final minute of regulation.
Martinez finished with nine points, three steals and three assists. Her scrappiness was on display against a team with a clear height advantage, but that rarely slows the Cougars.
Caldwell — last season’s state runner-up — has won 19 of its past 20 games, including its first win over rival Middleton in two years, which clinched the program’s first District Three championship.
“That’s our natural drive to scrap tooth and nail until our last breath,” Green said. “That’s just what we do and who we are.”
Cassee Pugmire led Preston with 12 points and added eight rebounds. Kylie Larsen led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in seven points. Sophomore guard Hailey Meek finished with nine points.
Caldwell will return to Timberline for Friday’s 4A semifinals at 6:15 p.m. against Century. Preston, which won a play-in game to make the field, moves into the consolation bracket and will face Blackfoot at 1:15 p.m.
▪ Century 36, Blackfoot 34 (OT): Century’s Kassidy Gardea scored a game-high 15 points in Thursday’s second 4A state quarterfinal, and the final two may have been her biggest of the season. After teammate Preslie Merrill tied the game on a baseline jumper with 40 seconds left in overtime, Gardea drew a foul on the other end of the court with a little more than a second on the clock. She stepped to the free-throw line and knocked down both tries, and all Blackfoot had time left for was a desperate full-court heave, which fell just short of its target.
The win advanced Century (20-3) to Friday’s semifinal against Caldwell. Lexi Bull knocked down her only 3-pointer of the night to give Century a 27-26 lead with 30 seconds left in regulation. She finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Tenleigh Smith led Blackfoot (18-9) with 10 points, while Isabella Arave added six points and knocked down three free throws to tie the game at 29 with 1 second left in regulation.
▪ Sandpoint 40, Burley 39: Sanpoint led Burley by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats wouldn’t go away. Carrie Baker knocked down her second 3-pointer to cut Sandpoint’s lead to 39-37 with 25 seconds left in regulation. With 8.7 seconds on the clock, Lynzey Searle again pulled the Bobcats within two with a pair of free throws.
After the teams traded a couple of quick fouls, Burley trailed 40-39 when the Bobcats intercepted an inbound pass and managed to call a timeout with 5.5 seconds left, giving them one last chance. But the ensuing inbound pass went off the fingertips of a Burley player and out of bounds, allowing Sandpoint to drain the clock.
Sandpoint (17-7) advances to the 4A semifinals at 8 p.m. Friday to face Bonneville. Burley (15-10) will face Middleton in the consolation bracket at 3 p.m.
Dawson Driggs led Sandpoint with 10 points, while Maddie Morgan added nine and Kelsey Cessna chipped in eight. Point guard Amari Whiting led Burley with 13 points, and Baker added nine.
▪ Bonneville 53, Middleton 43: Sydnee Hunt led the way with 24 points and was one of three Bonneville players in double digits as the Bees improved to 25-0 on the season and advanced to the semifinals. Bonneville will face Sandpoint.
Hunt scored 13 of her points in the first half, and she finished the game 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Sadie Lott added 13 points — 11 of which she scored after halftime — and Sage Leishman chipped in 12.
Bonneville and Middleton had to overcome slow starts in the first half, as the Bees went into halftime leading 19-13. They got things going in the fourth quarter, though, as the Bees outscored the Vikings 23-22 in the frame.
Zoey Moore went 4-of-8 from 3-point range and led Middleton with 12 points. Payton Hymas added eight and Ashley Campbell finished with seven.
3A
▪ Snake River 56, Fruitland 44: Snake River never trailed and held a comfortable margin over Fruitland over the course of the entire game. Junior Josee Stedman scored 25 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Snake River held its opponent to 36% shooting and forced 14 turnovers.
▪ Filer 55, Teton 52 (OT): Filer won in overtime after relinquishing a five-point lead in the fourth quarter and missing a layup at the end of regulation. Jazmyn Smothers and Ella Fisher both scored 14 points for Filer, while Waklee Kunz put up 22 for Teton.
▪ Timberlake 45, Sugar-Salem 40 (2OT): Timberlake won a double-overtime thriller to end Sugar-Salem’s hopes of repeating as state champion after Taylor Suko hit a 3 with 5 seconds left in overtime to tie the game. Timberlake was led by Taryn Soumas, who had 15 points and five steals.
▪ Parma 51, Kimberly 38: Parma outscored Kimberly 20-6 in the fourth quarter to put the nail in the coffin. Adyson Harris scored 23 points, putting her four away from 1,000 career points.
Snake River-Filer and Timberlake-Parma are the semifinal matchups.
2A
▪ Soda Springs 49, New Plymouth 30: Soda Springs outscored New Plymouth 18-5 in the second quarter and forced 19 turnovers to keep hopes of a three-peat alive. Sadie Gronning, a College of Southern Idaho signee, had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Jorianne Balls also had 13 points for Soda Springs.
▪ Melba 56, Grangeville 43: In a game that featured 46 turnovers and 40 free throws between the two teams, Melba came out on top behind four players scoring in double figures. Kate Clark led the way with 16 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting.
▪ Cole Valley Christian 47, Bear Lake 40: Cole Valley Christian didn’t make a single 3-pointer but still won off of a strong inside game, scoring 24 points in the paint. The District Three champions were paced by Savannah Khoury, with 16 points, and Madeline Cooke, with 14 points.
▪ Declo 40, Ririe 36: The District Four champions continued their hot streak. This was Declo’s ninth win in 10 games. Kate Mallory led the team with 14 points, while Sydney Ramsey stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Soda Springs-Melba and Cole Valley Christian-Declo are the semifinal matchups.
1A Division I
▪ Prairie 45, Raft River 35: Madison Shears scored 13 points in a game where Prairie only shot 31% from the field and Raft River shot 25%. There were seven lead changes over the course of the game, but Prairie ultimately prevailed, outscoring Raft River 16-11 in the final frame.
▪ Grace 46, Liberty Charter 34: Grace extended its winning streak to nine games, putting it at 20-3 on the season. Grace was led by Maniah Clegg, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Breanna Hill, who had 17 points.
▪ Lapwai 63, Riverstone 23: Lapwai didn’t let Riverstone score double digits in any quarter, forced 38 turnovers and improved its record to 23-1. The No. 1 team in the state was led by Grace Sobotta with 14 points and KC Lussoro with 13.
▪ Genesee 58, Rimrock 45: Genesee held a 25-point lead in the third quarter and didn’t let Rimrock come close to a comeback. Genesee scored 28 points off of turnovers. Bailey Leseman, an All-Idaho player last year, had 16 points and four steals.
Prairie-Grace and Lapwai-Genesee are the semifinal matchups.
1A Division II
▪ Salmon River 47, Lighthouse Christian 38: No details provided.
▪ Rockland 59, Kendrick 47: Rockland was led by Ember Farr with 16 points but had good contributions from Kiersley Boyer (15 points) and last year’s All-Idaho guard Madalyn Permann (14 points and three steals). Rockland was outrebounded 44-30, but forced 24 turnovers to overcome the difference.
▪ Tri-Valley 46, Lakeside 22: This is Tri-Valley’s first state tournament opening-round win. Its 1A Division II-leading defense dominated again, holding Lakeside to 18% shooting. Josey Jones had 16 points, six rebounds and three steals for Lakeside.
▪ Carey 42, Mackay 39: Mackay held a 33-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Carey came back and won. Kylie Wood, last year’s Sawtooth Conference player of the year, had 22 points and five rebounds for Carey.
Salmon River-Rockland and Tri-Valley-Carey are the semifinal matchups.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
