A strategy that backfired last week carries Timberline into the 5A state semifinals
Timberline coach Andy Jones never had a second thought about his risky decision. And the Wolves proved him right Thursday, hanging on for a 42-39 win over Borah in the first round of the 5A girls basketball state tournament.
Nursing a one-point lead with 3:12 left in the game, Jones called a timeout and instructed his team to burn the clock. The same strategy backfired in last week’s district championship as Boise stormed back for an overtime win.
But the Wolves protected the ball this time, milked 2:30 off the clock and hit a slew of clutch free throws to survive and advance at the state tournament.
“Our guards are studs,” Timberline senior forward Sophie Glancey said. “... They felt safe holding the ball, and I felt confident in their abilities to keep the ball and be smart and make the right decisions.”
The win sends Timberline (23-2) into the state semifinals, where it will face Rigby (19-5) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ford Idaho Center.
Second-seeded Timberline led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter Thursday and looked to turn the conference rematch into a blowout. But Borah senior Jayden McNeal nearly rallied the seventh-seeded Lions (18-7).
The Eastern Washington signee drained four 3-pointers and scored all 12 of her team’s points in the fourth quarter en route to a game-high 20 points. Two of those 3-pointers pulled the Lions within one, but Timberline made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds.
“There’s probably seven of us on this team that know the feeling of losing in the first round like we did last year,” Timberline junior point guard Lauren McCall said. “And none of us wanted that feeling ever again.”
A McNeal 3-pointer with 3:22 left cut Timberline’s lead to 37-36 and kicked off the last-minute brinkmanship. The Lions let Timberline go before fouling in the final minute. A jump ball at one point ended with the possession arrow in Timberline’s favor, and after McCall missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw, Timberline guard Kailey Huergerich secured an offensive rebound to extend the Wolves’ possession.
One last McNeal 3-pointer made it 40-39 with 5.3 seconds left. She then drew her fifth foul defending the inbound play and could only watch as Audrey Taylor sank two free throws with 4.1 seconds left.
The free throws capped an off night for Taylor, who finished with five points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field, including 0-for-6 behind the 3-point line.
“Audrey will not quit,” Jones said. “Audrey is very confident that the next one’s going in — always. That’s what she thinks. That’s what she believes. I told her at the half, ‘Hey, we’re gonna need one.’
“I’m not going to tell her to quit shooting. That’s the last thing I’m ever going to tell her.”
Glancey took the blame for letting McNeal erupt in the fourth quarter. But the Northern Arizona signee also posted her 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
McCall said Timberline would hear none of her apologies after the game.
“There’s no one else in this conference, or the state, that can guard her,” McCall said. “She’s unbelievable. She’s a huge athlete. So a double-double? That’s her game anyway.”
McCall added 10 points, including a pair of free throws in a one-and-one situation with 18.3 seconds left to atone for her earlier miss. And Piper Davis finished with seven points and a steal as Borah attempted a desperation heave to send the game to overtime.
Borah’s Sydnie Rodriguez supported McNeal with 14 points, including nine on three 3-pointers in the first quarter to fuel an early 11-2 lead. But Timberline responded with a 10-0 run to take a lead it would never surrender.
RIGBY 62, THUNDER RIDGE 47: The Trojans mounted an 11-0 run in the first quarter and never looked back, routing their conference rival to return to the semifinals for the second straight year.
Kylie Dansie poured in 18 points to lead three Rigby players in double figures. Brooklyn Youngstrom had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Hadley Good added 11 points.
Aspen Caldwell scored 22 points for Thunder Ridge (20-4), which beat Rigby for the district title last week but committed 20 turnovers, was held to 13-for-46 (28%) shooting and was outrebounded 43-31 Thursday.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 10:03 PM.
