Girls state roundup: Council, unbeaten Melba to play for state championships
The semifinals of the Idaho high school girls basketball state tournaments tipped off Friday all across the Treasure Valley, and three Boise-area teams advanced to the championships. Read on for the key highlights and a recap of how local teams fared.
You can see all the latest scores and updated brackets here.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
▪ ‘I thought it was over.’ Rocky Mountain didn’t, rallying again into the 5A state finals
▪ Coeur d’Alene uses its ‘invaluable’ junior guard to fend off Boise in double overtime
Owyhee 57, Eagle 48: Four players scored in double figures as the Storm defeated the Mustangs in an elimination game at Timberline High.
Sophomore Mikale Roy led the way with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Riley Beck notched 14 points, Adelynn Wright had 11 and Josie Davis had 10.
Owyhee will play Rigby — a 59-51 winner over Thunder Ridge — for the consolation championship at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ridgevue High.
Junior Paige Cofer finished 8-for-13 from the floor for a game-leading 21 points for Eagle. She entered the game tied with Meghan Boyd for the single-season scoring record. She finished the year with 460 points.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
▪ Columbia proved it belongs at state. But it ran out of magic in the 4A semifinals
▪ Bishop Kelly shut down opponents all season. Then it faced the 4A’s best offense
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
Weiser 50, Buhl 23: The Wolverines took advantage of 34 Buhl turnovers in an elimination game at Skyview High.
Weiser (22-4) draws District Three rival Parma at 10 a.m. Saturday for the consolation title.
The Wolverines turned Buhl’s 34 turnovers into 30 points while holding the Indians to just 21.4% shooting. Senior post Mattie Shirts accounted for nearly half of the Wolverines’ points with 24 to go with eight rebounds and five steals.
Senior guard Meghan Montgomery led Buhl (10-16) with six points.
Parma 69, Filer 46: The Panthers (20-5) dominated the boards and forced 22 turnovers to advance to the consolation championship.
Sophomore guard Rylie Calkins poured in 19 points and seven rebounds for the Panthers, and junior guard Sidney Jackson registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Parma won the rebound battle 47-41, including 21 offensive rebounds.
Senior guard Josalyn Bailey totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals to lead the Wildcats (15-11).
2A STATE TOURNAMENT
Melba 53, West Side 31: The unbeaten Mustangs will go for their second state championship in three seasons after taking down the Pirates at Bishop Kelly High.
Melba (25-0) will play Soda Springs (22-4) for the title at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
Melba senior forward Kendall Clark was an efficient 7-for-12 from the field for a game-best 19 points and eight rebounds as the Mustangs shot a combined 51.3% from the floor.
West Side (17-9) was plagued by 24 turnovers but did get a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds from senior forward Natalie Lemmon.
Soda Springs 37, Cole Valley Christian 25: The Cardinals locked down defensively to deny the Chargers a chance at repeating as state champions.
Soda Springs (22-4) will face Melba for the championship at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
Senior guard Taylor Billman and senior center Zipaya Somsen combined for 25 of the Cardinals’ 37 points.
Cole Valley Christian (19-6), which will play West Side for the third-place trophy at noon Saturday, was paced by junior Hadley Fraas with 11 points and six rebounds.
Grangeville 52, Ambrose 39: The Bulldogs held the Archers to just 27.5% shooting to stay alive in the consolation bracket at Bishop Kelly High.
Grangeville (16-9) will play Ririe for the consolation championship at 10 a.m. Saturday, while Ambrose is eliminated with the loss.
Freshman Addisyn Vanderwall and junior Abbie Frei each scored 10 points to lead the Bulldogs, and Madalyn Green pulled down 14 boards to go with eight points.
Ambrose (17-11) got a game-high 14 points from sophomore Ellie Thome, and junior Cate Perrigo chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.
1A DIVISION I STATE TOURNAMENT
Liberty Charter 36, Greenleaf 26: Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball in this elimination showdown between District Three rivals at Columbia High in Nampa.
The Patriots and Grizzlies combined for 56 turnovers, but Liberty Charter (15-7) emerged with the victory by holding Greenleaf (17-6) to just 22.2% shooting from the floor.
Liberty Charter, which was led by Addison Bayne with 13 points and nine rebounds, will play Grace for the consolation championship at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Senior Shae Olsen was the only Grizzly to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
1A DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
Council 42, Rockland 24: The Lumberjacks will play for the state championship for the second year in a row after a semifinal victory over the Bulldogs at Nampa High.
Council (16-5) will face Dietrich (22-3) — a 32-30 winner over Deary — at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Senior post Isabelle Eppich paced the Lumberjacks with 14 points and eight rebounds, and junior foward Hope Zollman contributed 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals in a rematch of last year’s state championship.
Rockland’s top scorer was Taylie Boyer with nine points. The defending state champion Bulldogs will play Deary for the third-place trophy at noon Saturday.
Kendrick 58, Garden Valley 34: The Tigers forced 19 turnovers and held the Wolverines to 23.1% shooting to advance to the consolation championship.
Kendrick (17-5) takes on Leadore for the consolation trophy at 10 a.m. Saturday at Nampa High.
Three Tigers scored in double figures, led by the duo of Rose Stewart and Hailey Taylor, who each contributed 14 points. Ruby Stewart added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Garden Valley (10-9), which was eliminated with the loss, got 10 points apiece from Katelyn Thompson and Kadence Jacobs.
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 9:15 PM.
