‘Happy tears’ as one local team reaches state championship round in lower divisions
The Cole Valley Christian girls basketball team is in the 2A state tournament for the sixth consecutive season, but the Chargers have fallen short of a state title in recent years.
That made Friday’s 47-32 victory over Declo in the state semifinals that much sweeter.
Cole Valley (20-3) heads to the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Saturday to face Soda Springs (24-2) in the final at 1:40 p.m.
”There’s happy tears because I think they’re proud they finally did something they’ve been told they could do for years,” Cole Valley coach Annie Mintz said. “The seniors have had four years of trying to do this, and I think it just came to a head for them.”
Cole Valley has a senior-laden roster, highlighted by 6-foot-4 center Madeline Cooke, but as she has all season, sophomore Ellie Fraas led the way on Friday. She finished with a game-high 19 points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key, which gave the Chargers a 36-27 lead with 7:30 to play.
”It has been a year of building confidence for her, so her taking that shot in that moment was nice to see,” Mintz said.
[Related: Updated brackets from all six tournaments; 5A title game is a rematch]
After a hot start, the Chargers managed just five points in the second quarter and went into halftime trailing 21-18. The script was flipped in the third quarter, though, as Cole Valley outscored Declo 15-6 to take a five-point lead into the fourth.
”They’re so resilient, mentally and physically, and they don’t let anything else dictate how we play,” Mintz said.
Lyndsie Krogh and Savannah Khoury finished with six points each for Meridian’s Cole Valley, which won its first District Three championship since 2015 this winter.
▪ Soda Springs 49, Melba 41: Soda Springs overcame 16 turnovers to continue on its quest for a three-peat. Sadie Gronning scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Jorianne Balls added 16 points and six rebounds.
4A
▪ Century 47, Caldwell 28: Still sporting a shiner under her right eye from an errant elbow she took in the District Four-Five championship game, Century’s Lexi Bull looked like she was in a heavyweight fight Friday in the 4A state semifinals at Timberline High.
But as she backpedaled down the court in the third quarter, her right arm frozen above her head as a 3-pointer found the net to give the Diamondbacks an 18-point lead, she took a deep breath and finally let a telling grin spread across her face.
The Diamondbacks are heading to the 4A state championship game for the third year in a row. Century (21-3) will face undefeated Bonneville (26-0) in the final at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
”It kind of feels like our second home, honestly, and it’s kind of expected of us at this point,” Bull said. “We’ve changed the culture here at Century, and we had players come before us who set the expectations.”
Century beat Caldwell to claim last season’s state title, and it fell to Burley in the final the year before. Century coach Chris Shuler said Bull’s motivation throughout her senior year has been getting one last shot at a title.
”She’s a senior leader and you can’t ask for anything more as a coach,” Shuler said. “She came out fired up and was a leader from the get-go. She hit some big shots and did some nice work on the boards.”
Bull just missed a double-double in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Blackfoot, but she got the job done Friday. Against Caldwell, the 6-foot guard, who has signed with Wyoming, posted 19 points and 12 rebounds, went 5-of-6 at the free-throw line and added three assists and three steals.
Century opened the game with 13 unanswered points, but senior Jade Martinez willed Caldwell back into the game. All of her team-high 12 points came from 3-point range, and she knocked down two shots from beyond the arc in the final 2 minutes of the opening half to send the Cougars into halftime trailing 26-19.
”She always steps up in the big games, and she’s always that go-to player that we can rely on to do all the little things,” Caldwell coach Ashley Green said.
Caldwell (22-4) couldn’t keep the offense rolling, though. The Cougars didn’t score a single point in the third quarter until Kaydence Moore got a layup to fall with less than a minute left in the frame. By then, they trailed 37-21.
▪ Bonneville 48, Sandpoint 26: Bonneville continued its undefeated season, improving to 26-0. Last year Bonneville also went undefeated in the regular season but failed to reach the state tournament after going two-and-out at district. Sadie Lott, the District Six leader in scoring, put up 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Brooklyn Cunningham, who tore an ACL last week, subbed into the game in the final minute to score what might be the last basket of her career. Bonneville forced 20 turnovers and shot 45% from the field.
3A
▪ Snake River 62, Filer 45: The District Five champions punched their ticket to the championship game with their second double-digit win in this tournament. Josee Stedman scored 24 points on 5-for-8 3-point shooting to go along with nine rebounds and five steals.
▪ Timberlake 66, Parma 35: Coming off a double-OT win, Timberlake proved it belonged by beating the No. 2 team in the state and will try to win its third state title in the last five years. Brooke Jessen recorded 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals for Timberlake and helped the team shoot 59% from the field.
The 3A championship will be Snake River vs. Timberlake at 3:50 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
1A Division I
▪ Prairie 47, Grace 42: Prairie used a 16-6 fourth quarter to overcome a five-point deficit and return to the state championship for the seventh time in the last nine years. Junior Madison Shears played the entire game and scored 20 points to go along with four steals for Prairie.
▪ Lapwai 60, Genesee 49: Lapwai pulled away to an early 30-11 lead in the second quarter and never looked back en route to the championship game in coach Ada Marks’ first season. KC Lussoro scored 16 points, and Omari Mitchell had 12 points and five steals.
The 1A Division I championship will be Lapwai vs. Prairie at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
1A Division II
▪ Rockland 44, Salmon River 28: Rockland continued its quest for the school’s first ever state championship in any sport by defeating last year’s runner-up. Rockland used a 21-4 fourth quarter to turn a close game into a blowout. Madalyn Permann led the team with 16 points and four rebounds, while Kiersley Boyer had a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
▪ Carey 55, Tri-Valley 48: Kylie Wood led Carey with 27 points and eight rebounds as the Panthers move on to defend their state title in the championship against Rockland.
The 1A Division II championship will be Rockland vs. Carey at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 11:53 PM.
