Dynasty established: Small-town program adds to dominant run with a third state title
The Soda Springs High juggernaut kept rolling Saturday.
The Cardinals won their third straight state title with a 67-56 victory over Cole Valley Christian at the Ford Idaho Center, making them the first Idaho 2A girls basketball team and ninth overall to win three consecutive championships.
Graduation losses hit Soda Springs (25-2) hard every year. But with a tradition of playing anyone anywhere, including schools multiple times their size, the battle-tested Cardinals keep hanging championship banners in their gym.
“The old girls teach the young girls the roles and what’s up,” Soda Springs coach Wade Schvaneveldt said. “And they just continue to cycle through.”
But one girl has remained a constant on all three state title teams — senior guard Sadie Gronning. And the four-year starter and College of Southern Idaho signee ensured the dynasty added to its championship total.
She racked up a game-high 31 points and put the game away, sinking 16-of-20 free throws.
The Cardinals have gone 101-7 with Gronning on the roster, including 78-3 in the past three years. But the ever-competitive senior pointed to the handful of losses as motivation.
“We haven’t had that many,” Gronning said. “But the ones we’ve had, they’ve stung pretty bad. I don’t really like the taste of losing.”
Schvaneveldt could only chuckle at the comment.
“I’ve never coached a girl better than Sadie,” said Schvaneveldt, who just completed his 18th season in Soda Springs. “Is she the best we’ve had? I don’t know, but I’ve never coached one better. She’s just a competitive kid.”
Soda Springs started the game with a decided size disadvantage as Cole Valley Christian (21-5) fielded a starting lineup that stood 5-foot-10, 5-10, 6-0, 6-1 and 6-4. But the Cardinals pushed the pace and caught fire behind the 3-point line, sinking 7-of-13 shots behind the arc in the first half. They even outrebounded the Chargers 31-30.
Cole Valley Christian erased a 14-point deficit to cut the lead to four points at halftime and with 5:47 left in the third quarter. But the Chargers couldn’t pull any closer as the Cardinals made 20 straight free throws down the stretch.
The second-place trophy marks the best finish in Cole Valley Christian history. The loss stung Saturday, but the Chargers return three starters for next season.
“It was really exciting because this is the farthest we’ve been,” said junior Anna Veeck, who scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. “It was definitely a confidence booster, and I’m just really happy that I got to play with these girls.
“It stinks, I say in the moment, because we wanted a banner. But it definitely gives us motivation for next year.”
Below are results of the third-place and consolation games involving Treasure Valley teams, and the 1A Division I and Division II championship games.
5A
▪ Eagle 59, Rocky Mountain 57: The Mustangs (17-12) held off the Grizzlies (16-11) to take the third-place trophy. Betsey King scored 23 points for Eagle.
▪ Boise 54, Post Falls 44: Peyton McFarland, a University of Utah commit, racked up 16 points to lead Boise (17-9) to the consolation title, its first state tournament trophy in four years. Allison Ross also had 12 points for the Brave, who sank 12-of-14 free throws.
4A
▪ Caldwell 44, Sandpoint 29: Senior Jade Martinez scored 15 points and swiped three steals to lead the Cougars (23-4) to the third-place trophy. Caldwell overcame a rough shooting performance by relying on its trademark defense, forcing 18 turnovers and holding Sandpoint (17-9) to 0-for-13 from behind the 3-point line.
3A
TIMBERLAKE WINS THIRD TITLE: The Tigers (19-4) jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter and held on to beat Snake River 42-32 for their third championship in program history. All three have come in the last five years.
Junior Taryn Soumas scored a game-high 16 points, and Brooke Jessen added 14 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for Timberlake.
▪ Parma 53, Filer 45: The Panthers (21-3) rallied from a semifinal loss to force 24 turnovers and capture the third-place trophy. Junior Grace Jackson poured in 18 points while shooting 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. Senior Adyson Harris scored 11 points, allowing her to finish her career with 1,019 points.
2A
▪ Melba 35, Declo 26: The Mustangs (21-4) forced 27 turnovers to win the third-place game and their fourth consecutive state tournament trophy. Junior Kate Clark paced Melba with 12 points. Kortney Trappett added seven points, and Hallie Arnold and Kendall Clark had six points each.
▪ New Plymouth 40, Bear Lake 38: The Pilgrims (20-7) overcame a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to rally for the consolation title. Junior post Alyssa Christensen hit the winning shot in traffic with four seconds left. She scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Bear Lake was held to 28 percent shooting and didn’t have a single player score in double digits.
1A Division I
LAPWAI HANGS ANOTHER BANNER: The Wildcats (25-1) took over sole possession of first place in Idaho girls basketball history with their 10th state championship after a 46-40 win over league rival Prairie.
Junior Glory Sobotta scored a game-high 17 points, and her younger sister Grace added 14 points and eight rebounds for Lapwai, which won a trophy at the state tournament for the 14th consecutive season.
Madison Shears scored 13 points for Prairie (19-5), which lost to Lapwai four times this season.
▪ Raft River 49, Rimrock 45: Rimrock (24-3) closed the gap on a 16-point lead that Raft River built in the fourth quarter, but it couldn’t complete the comeback in the consolation final. Three players scored in double digits for Raft River, including Karlee Christensen, who scored 12 points and added six rebounds.
1A Division II
ROCKLAND BREAKS THROUGH: The Bulldogs (23-3) won their first team state title in any sport, upsetting defending champ Carey 45-30.
Senior guard Madalyn Permann, a reigning first-team All-Idaho selection, led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore post Kiersley Boyer added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Rockland held the Panthers (20-3) to 23 percent shooting and a season-low 30 points.
▪ Tri-Valley 45, Salmon River 43: The Titans (21-3) held on down the stretch to win the third-place trophy, the best finish in program history. Junior Lauryn Mitchell finished with game highs in points (16) and rebounds (eight) for Tri-Valley, and Josey Jones added nine points.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
