Boise needed a last-minute savior. A sophomore stepped up and delivered a district title
Down by three points with less than a minute left, Avery Howell knew Boise was running out of chances. So she rolled the dice and came up with a game-changing play that spurred the Boise High girls basketball team to its first district title since 2004.
The sophomore led a late rally as Boise upset No. 1-ranked Timberline 44-36 in overtime to capture the 5A District Three Tournament championship Friday at Capital High, using a three-point play with 54 seconds left in regulation to turn the tide.
Howell had just watched Timberline (22-2) burn 1 minutes, 20 seconds off the fourth-quarter clock. With the Wolves set to inbound, Howell turned to Boise’s Ashley Banks and asked if she planned to press Timberline post Sophie Glancey in the backcourt.
The 6-5 senior declined. Not willing to let Timberline milk another second, she switched with Banks and promptly swiped the inbound pass, broke free into the frontcourt, sank the layup and drew the foul.
She converted the free throw to tie the game and cap a wild momentum swing. No. 5-ranked Boise (19-3) then dominated the four-minute overtime, outsourcing the Wolves 8-0 to bring home an elusive district championship.
“It wasn’t looking awesome,” Boise coach Kim Brydges said. “But that’s OK. Don’t ever count out the Brave.
“Avery is just such a competitor. She wants to win everything every single time, every drill we do. And that’s contagious. That was a big play by a big player.”
The 5-11 sophomore with offers from Boise State and Montana finished with 10 points and 23 rebounds, controlling the paint on the night when Boise out rebounded Timberline 40-24. She also had three assists and two steals, including the one that changed the course of the night.
Timberline led throughout the second half until Howell’s last-minute gamble. But Boise held the Wolves scoreless the final 5:03 of regulation and then the entire overtime period, posting a goose egg on the scoreboard for the final 9:03 of the district championship game.
Brydges said that stands in stark contrast from two losses to Timberline in the regular season, when the Wolves created open look after open look.
“We learned to be more patient on defense and let them play offense for two minutes,” Howell said. “If they want to do that, that’s fine. We’re going to keep getting stops.”
Ella Nelson and Banks each added 10 points for Boise. And Ava Oakland chipped in seven, including four in overtime, as Boise brought home the district title for the first time in 18 years.
Boise was previously 0-5 in the district championship since 2004, falling in the finals in 2021, 2015, 2014, 2011 and 2010.
“I’ve been in this game quite a few times and always come up a little bit short, and not for a lack of trying,” said Brydges, who took over Boise in 2005-06. “This group is special. It’s a no-drama group. They are a lot of fun to work with.
“After the COVID year last year where our season was truncated and we just felt like we were battling against so many obstacles, I think everybody is just enjoying every single moment out there on the court, whether that’s practice or game time.”
Audrey Taylor led Timberline with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting behind the 3-point line. And Glancey added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Both teams already qualified for next week’s state tournament before Friday. The game also held no impact on state seeding as Idaho will use regular-season MaxPrep rankings to determine matchups for the first time this year.
Timberline is guaranteed the No. 2 seed and will play a yet-to-be-determined opponent at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center. Boise must wait for the result of Saturday’s play-in game between Owyhee and Post Falls to learn its seed, opponent and tip-off time.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 10:54 PM.
