Redemption: How Cole Valley slayed its state tournament demons to win its first title
A perennial state tournament favorite, the Cole Valley Christian girls basketball team had little to show for it but a series of “what ifs?” and “almosts.”
Until Saturday.
The Chargers mounted a late rally to blow past Aberdeen 58-45 in the 2A state championship at the Ford Idaho Center, bringing home the first state title in program history and erasing years of heartbreaking losses.
“Almost every year, we are projected to win, and we finally took it,” Cole Valley Christian senior Lyndsie Krogh said. “It feels surreal.”
The Chargers (21-5) nearly let another golden opportunity slip away Saturday. Aberdeen (22-6) drilled three straight 3-pointers to take an eight-point lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter, and all the ghosts of years past crept out the shadows.
But the Chargers responded with a 13-0 run and outscored the Tigers 29-8 the rest of the way to earn their redemption and that elusive state championship banner.
“We’ve had some really talented teams over the years that just, for one reason or another, haven’t quite gotten the job done,” Cole Valley Christian coach Matt Beglinger said. “Man, this group just felt different. They believed. You could tell from Thursday on, they were loose and they were taking ownership.
“I felt like as the season went on, it was less of the coaches holding them accountable and more of them holding each other accountable. And that’s a sign of a championship team.”
Krogh and Ellie Fraas started on the Cole Valley Christian team that reached the Idaho Center two years ago before falling to Soda Springs. Fresh off the best finish in program history, the Chargers entered last year’s tournament as the No. 1-ranked team only to go two-and-out and start the whispers that they couldn’t get it done at state.
Cole Valley Christian again finished as the unanimous No. 1 team in this season’s state media poll. But Idaho used MaxPreps rankings to seed its state tournaments this year, and the computer rankings had the Chargers as the No. 3 seed.
That, combined with a loss to Melba in the district championship last week, allowed Cole Valley Christian to enter without a target on its back. That fit the Chargers just fine, Fraas said.
“That really motivated us,” Fraas said. “If we had won against Melba, it would have made us feel invincible going into state. And so we wouldn’t have fought as far as we did.”
The senior duo of Krogh and Fraas provided a steady veteran hand Saturday. Krogh recorded a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Fraas added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Seven of Fraas’ 11 points came in the fourth quarter as the Chargers ran away.
“They’ve been the cornerstone of the program,” Beglinger said. “Honestly, since their freshman year, people could see that they’re talented. They’ve always been a duo. They’ve always kind of had this almost sibling rivalry.
“But as this year has gone on, they have played so well together. Lyndsie led us for a big portion of the game. And to have Ellie show up at the end there, it was those two bringing us home, which was really appropriate and fun to watch.”
Fraas’ younger sister, Hadley Fraas, may have stolen the show though. The sophomore poured in a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-12 shooting. She scored seven straight points in the third and fourth quarters to put Cole Valley back on top, and the Chargers never trailed again.
“She is the definition of a gamer,” Beglinger said. “She always wants to guard the best player. She’s always ready to go full position on the block. Every time she gets down, she gets back up. And you saw her a couple times take it to the hoop. She’s just fearless.”
Grangeville 54, Melba 39: The Mustangs (20-5) fell in the 2A third-place game, snapping their streak of five straight seasons with a state trophy.
Brooklyn Dayley led Melba with 11 points, and Keylee Wilson added 10 points and seven rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to overcome 24 points and 10 rebounds from Grangeville’s (19-4) Bailey Vanderwall.
SUGAR-SALEM BACK ON TOP
The Diggers (22-2) dominated the second half, running away with a 47-32 win over Teton in the 3A championship to win the program’s third title in the past five years and eighth overall.
Tied at halftime, Sugar-Salem outscored its district rival 28-13 in the second half and outrebounded the Timberwolves (19-11) 43-24. Senior Hailey Harris scored a game-high 17 points and added nine rebounds. Kennedy Gillette had 10 points, and Meg Fillmore chipped in nine.
Snake River 43, Parma 39: The Panthers led by 11 midway through the third quarter before succumbing to a Snake River (22-6) rally in the 3A third-place game.
Freshman Rylie Calkins led Parma (14-12) with nine points. Sidney Jackson added eight points, and Austyn Harris finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
Rylie Edlefsen had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds for Snake River.
Weiser 38, Fruitland 25: The Wolverines avenged two regular-season losses to their SRV rival in the 3A consolation final to bring home their first trophy since 2010.
Mattie Shirts led Weiser (21-7) with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Tobie Noyer added nine points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four steals.
Abbi Roubidoux paced Fruitland (18-7) with nine points.
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 5:10 PM.
