‘I thought it was over.’ Rocky Mountain didn’t, rallying again into the 5A state finals
Trailing by five points inside the final minute, Rocky Mountain coach BJ Humphreys admitted doubt started to creep into his mind.
But the Grizzlies soon erased any doubt.
Rocky Mountain mounted its second straight last-minute rally Friday, knocking off defending champ Timberline 55-52 in overtime in the 5A girls basketball state semifinals.
The win sends the seventh-seeded Grizzlies (18-8) into the state championship game for the second time in program history. They will face No. 1 Coeur d’Alene (23-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“I thought it was over,” Humphreys said. “We kind of started to foul, and I just assumed they were gonna make free throws. And were we going to be able to hit any shots?
“And then — holy cow.”
Rocky Mountain trailed throughout the entire second half Friday, and they stared at a five-point deficit after Timberline’s Piper Davis hit a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left.
But then the Grizzlies came alive.
Averee Osterhout, Thursday’s hero, drained a corner 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. And then Zoe Archibald drilled another 3-pointer with 12 seconds left after a long rebound to force overtime.
Archibald led Rocky Mountain with 16 points despite a less-than-stellar shooting night (6-for-14). But she hit nothing but net in the game’s biggest moment.
“I was open, and we needed the points,” Archibald said. “And it was just, it was perfect.
“... I was kind of down on myself, but I needed to step up and be the point guard and be a team leader.”
Rocky Mountain kept rolling in overtime with momentum fully on its side. Cianna Legaspi gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the first half with a backdoor cut and assist from Osterhout. Legaspi scored four of the team’s seven points in the extra frame, leading the Grizzlies to the same final score (55-52 in overtime) as their first-round victory against Thunder Ridge.
Legaspi finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and junior Anna DaBell added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds as the guard-oriented Grizzlies out rebounded Timberline 40-36.
The win extends Rocky Mountain’s Cinderella postseason run. The Grizzlies started the season picked fifth in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference, they were never ranked in the state media poll and they entered state seeded seventh out of eight teams.
Yet here the Grizzlies are, fighting for the first state title in program history.
“Our coach always says we believe in us, and that’s all we really need,” Legaspi said. “It’s our circle, and we know where we’re supposed to be and how we play. So it definitely shows how much we believe in ourselves.”
Freshman Emmi Swillie led Timberline with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Kailey Huegerich chipped in 12 points and five assists.
Timberline had a chance to force a second overtime, but Lauren McCall’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the back of the rim.
The Wolves (21-6) drop into the third-place game, where they face Boise (22-3) at noon Saturday at Ridgevue.
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 3:57 PM.
