‘It was a buzz saw.’ Coeur d’Alene cruises to 5A state title. The final score was a record
A freight train. A brick wall. An unstoppable machine.
Pick your metaphor. Rocky Mountain ran into it Saturday.
The Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball team opened the 5A state final on fire and never slowed down, routing the Grizzlies 65-27 at the Ford Idaho Center.
The 38-point blowout is the largest in a 5A state championship game in Idaho history. And it fell just one point shy of tying the all-class record for championship games.
“It was a buzz saw from the beginning,” Rocky Mountain coach BJ Humphreys said. “We were overwhelmed from the start. Championship Saturday is a different beast. It’s our first time here, and I think it showed.”
Junior point guard Teagan Colvin buried a 3-pointer from the wing on the game’s opening possession, and it was all Coeur d’Alene from there.
The No. 1-ranked Vikings (24-2) forced four turnovers in the opening three minutes, seven in the first quarter and 18 on the night. They built leads of 15 points in the first quarter, 22 in the second quarter and 34 in the third quarter.
High school rules dictate a running clock in the fourth quarter once a team leads by 30 or more points. But those mercy rules don’t apply at state, extending the rout.
“We came out with such defensive intensity that we got them on their heels,” Coeur d’Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “We took them out of everything that they wanted to do. They were flustered, and then we just kept playing with the pedal down on them.”
Colvin led the onslaught, scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including a 5-for-8 performance behind the 3-point line. But she wasn’t alone.
Wyoming signee Madison Symons added 15 points, and junior guard Maddie Mitchell added 11 points as an array of Vikings stepped up and buried shots early and often.
Coeur d’Alene finished the night 24-for-47 (49%) from the floor and 11-for-23 (48%) on 3-pointers.
“About midway through the first quarter, I threw up my hands and was like, ‘What in the world?’ ” Humphreys said. “I mean, everybody’s hitting them. And they were from deep and from everywhere.”
Saturday’s championship celebration provides a bit of redemption for Coeur d’Alene. The Vikings stood as one of the favorites for a title last year only to get upset by Post Falls at district and failing to make it even to a state play-in game. But Coeur d’Alene added a pair of key offseason additions as Colvin, who holds 30 Division I offers, and Kendall Omlin transferred into the program from Eastern Washington.
The new unit closed the season on a 14-game winning streak. Their only losses came to a pair of California teams in the top division at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, one of the country’s top tournaments.
“We talked about it, and sometimes you want your kids to experience a little pain and a little suffering,” Symons said. “So that when success does come, they understand the gratitude and are humbled by it. Because not everybody gets to experience that.”
The loss ended a Cinderella run for Rocky Mountain (18-9). The Grizzlies were picked to finish fifth in a 5A Southern Idaho Conference preseason poll, and they entered the state tournament seeded seventh out of eight teams.
But they headed home with a second-place trophy Saturday, tied for the best finish in program history. Rocky Mountain also lost to Coeur d’Alene in the 2014 championship game.
Junior guard Cianna Legaspi led Rocky Mountain on Saturday with 10 points, and senior Brielle Magnuson added seven points.
“I think the moment got us a little bit, but I’m so proud of our team,” Humphreys said. “One game doesn’t define our season. We’ve been incredible.
“We’re not champions today. But we’re winners.”
BOISE ROLLS TO THIRD PLACE
The Brave (23-3) wrapped up the 5A third-place trophy with a 66-37 victory over Timberline. Avery Howell led Boise with 26 points and 16 rebounds for her 18th double-double of the season, including three straight at state. Boise’s Kaity Haan added 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Wolves (21-7) were led by Emmi Swillie’s 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
OWYHEE GOES COLD
The Storm shot 8-for-39 (20.5%) from the field and trailed by as many as 21 points before losing to Rigby 45-28 in the 5A consolation final.
BYU commit Kambree Barber led the Trojans (22-5) with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Emma Atchley and Adelynn Wright each had nine points for Owyhee (20-6).
SANDPOINT GETS FIRST TITLE
Aliya Strock sank a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds left, finally ending Shelley’s comeback attempt and securing Sandpoint a 69-65 victory in the 4A state championship.
Karlie Banks and Kelsey Cessna each scored 21 points for Sandpoint (18-5), which won its first title in either boys or girls basketball. Banks also had 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Junior and BYU commit Brinley Cannon scored a game-high 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting for Shelley (22-4). She also had 16 rebounds, three assists and four blocks.
BISHOP KELLY TAKES THIRD
The Knights (22-4) topped Columbia 42-37 on Saturday for the third-place trophy, finishing the season 4-0 vs. their 4A SIC rivals.
Bishop Kelly’s Jordyn Carnell scored a team-high 10 points off the bench, while Violet Soto led Columbia (15-12) with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 11:26 PM.
