‘Don’t underestimate us.’ Owyhee rallies past Timberline to answer ‘overrated’ chatter
Jordan Ax’s shirt said it all.
The Owyhee High girls basketball coach emerged from the locker room Friday drenched, the marks of a wild celebration after the Storm knocked off defending state champ Timberline 47-43 on the Wolves’ home court.
“It was a statement game, for sure,” Owyhee sophomore guard Josie Davis said. “This just shows the SIC who we really are.”
The Storm (14-2, 7-1 5A SIC) still showcased some of the hallmarks of a young roster. Only one senior played Friday night, and six sophomores dot the roster. But the Storm rallied in the fourth quarter to deliver Ax his first postgame water-bottle shower of the year and arguably the biggest win in the second-year program’s history.
“A lot of people still think we’re very overrated,” Davis said. “They think that we’re still a young team. ‘Oh, they still don’t understand the game perfectly.’
“Timberline is senior packed, and we’re still sophomore packed. … We know the game. We know what we’re doing out there. So don’t underestimate us.”
Owyhee jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the second quarter, using its pressure zone defense to fluster Timberline (15-3, 7-2) into a flurry of turnovers.
The Wolves slowly whittled away at the deficit and twice retook the lead in the fourth quarter. But the Storm’s young lineup weathered the blows and delivered the key buckets when they mattered most.
Junior Sydnie Rodriguez led the way with 13 points, while Davis scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Ashlynn Wright drained a clutch 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:24 left. And Riley Beck, another sophomore, delivered the knockout blow with a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Storm a four-point lead with 2:59 remaining.
“The difference between this game and others is I didn’t really have a whole lot of my fingerprints on it,” Ax said. “A lot of it was them.
“… My timeouts were just to rest them and kind of set them right mentally. But they made all the necessary plays to get it done. That’s big for this team.”
After clawing its way back from an early 11-point deficit, Timberline couldn’t find another gear. Freshman Emmi Swillie poured in game highs in points (14) and rebounds (16). But the Wolves committed 21 turnovers and finished 10-for-21 from the free-throw line, including 2-for-7 in the fourth quarter, to snap their 10-game winning streak.
“We have too many seniors to let that happen,” Timberline coach Andy Jones said. “We’ve got some young kids playing, some inexperience. But we need to be smarter down the road.
“… Owyhee made a lot of good plays down the stretch. But I told the kids we did as much, if not more, to beat ourselves than they did to beat us.”
FRIDAY’S STANDOUTS
- Avery Howell, Boise (girls basketball): Finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in a 70-16 rout of Nampa — Boise’s 15th straight win.
- Paige Cofer, Eagle (girls basketball): Scored 18 points to lead the Mustangs to a 49-32 win over Kuna to move into third place in the 5A SIC.
Eloy Chaparro, Skyview (boys basketball): Scored 17 points to lead Skyview to a 46-41 win over Bishop Kelly in a battle for first place in the 4A SIC.
- Brooke Hardy, Fruitland (girls basketball): Poured in 25 points in a 49-40 win over McCall-Donnelly for the Grizzlies.
- Kendall Clark, Melba (girls basketball): Racked up 20 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists as the undefeated Mustangs routed Nampa Christian 73-23.
This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 10:40 PM.
