She was an ace defender, but Timberline needed more. She delivered at state tournament
Piper Davis has spent four seasons on Timberline’s varsity roster.
She finally stepped into a starring role Thursday.
The 5-foot-9 senior guard erupted for 22 points in the opening round of the 5A girls basketball state tournament, leading the No. 6 Wolves to a 59-53 win over No. 3 Rigby.
Timberline (21-5) will face Rocky Mountain (17-8) at noon Friday in the semifinals at the Idaho Center.
“Piper is making up her mind that we’re running out of time here. It’s time to exert (herself),” Timberline coach Andy Jones said. “We’ve been telling her for years you need to shoot the ball. Look to score. Be who you can be.”
Davis obliged Thursday. She entered the state tournament as Timberline’s fourth-leading scorer, often content to fill the role of a defensive specialist she held on the Wolves’ state championship team last year.
But she made her presence felt early and often at the Idaho Center, sinking 4-of-5 field goals and forcing a steady march to the free-throw line, where she finished 12-for-14.
“My past three years playing, I haven’t really been a big scorer. I’m more focused on defense,” Davis said. “This year, I really wanted to just step out of my comfort zone and try something new as my last year playing. Me being aggressive is something that’s going to help my team, and whatever we can do to defend that state title.”
Timberline gave up several inches to the much taller Trojans. Rigby (20-5) took advantage of the mismatch early, out rebounding the Wolves 22-10 in the first half for a 25-21 lead at halftime.
But Timberline held its own in the second half, building a 14-13 edge on the boards after halftime to turn the tide.
The Wolves took control of the game with a 17-4 run in the third quarter that saw freshman Emmi Swillie racked up nine points. Timberline never trailed again, and Swillie finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
“I’m not sure she’s had a better game than she did tonight,” Jones said. “She’s had some big games in easy wins. But that was a big game and a big moment. So that’s really a coming out party for her.”
Timberline remains the defending state champ and entered with 20 wins under its belt. But it finished fifth in the 5A SIC regular-season standings and failed to make the district championship game. That created some online chatter the Wolves were overrated, which they made sure to hang onto as fuel for this week’s state tournament.
“We’re kind of the underdogs,” Davis said. “Seeing that stuff on social media really fired us up, and we play better when we’re fired up.”
BYU commit Kambree Barber led Rigby with 16 points, 14 rebounds and five steals, and Mylee Graham added 15 points.
The Trojans drop into the consolation bracket, where they face Thunder Ridge (24-3) at 5 p.m. Friday at Timberline.
This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 4:48 PM.
