Ranking the top teams, players, dark horses in 4A SIC girls basketball preview
The calendar may have changed, but the pecking order atop the 4A Southern Idaho Conference has not.
Bishop Kelly and Columbia start the season as the favorites in the league’s girls basketball race. The Knights earned five of the possible seven first-place votes. But Columbia is nipping at its heels, and a host of sleeper teams are lurking with loads of returning talent.
We sized up every team in the league, their chances and their storylines below. Teams are listed in order of their finish in the Idaho Statesman’s preseason coaches’ poll.
1. BISHOP KELLY
Last season: 22-4, 12-0 4A SIC
Coach: Derek McCormick, 16th season
Players to watch: Addy Laible, sr., P; Keira Lizama, sr., W; Jordyn Carnell, sr., PG; Brooke Hutchinson, jr., W
The Knights return only one starter (Lizama). But Bishop Kelly still remains the clear favorite, with a host of role players coming back after sweeping the conference and district titles and adding a third-place trophy at state.
The Knights posted 4A’s toughest defense (31.7 ppg) last year, and McCormick said all that experience should translate into another stingy half-court defense. Lizama (7 ppg, 2.2 steals) leads that defense as a pesky wing defender who can create in the open court. The 6-2 Laible (9.1 ppg, 8 rebounds) gives the Knights an imposing presence inside the paint on both sides of the floor. And Carnell (6.9 ppg, 2.2 steals) can change the game with her gritty, on-ball defense and pace with the ball.
Bishop Kelly starts the year searching for a go-to scorer. But with a variety of players capable of leading the team in scoring on any night, defenses won’t have one player to key on.
2. COLUMBIA
Last season: 15-12, 10-2 4A SIC
Coach: Neal Robertson, sixth season
Players to watch: Ellie Robertson, sr., G; Violet Soto, sr., G; Jada Myers, sr., G; Addy Bayne, sr., P
The Wildcats have lost seven straight games to Bishop Kelly. But with a group of three veteran starters and an influx of new talent, Columbia has all the tools to challenge for the first district title in program history.
Robertson (12.3 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals) provides a steady hand as a three-time, all-conference selection. Soto (8.7 ppg) and Myers (9 ppg), another three-year starter, return alongside her to form the league’s most experienced backcourt.
But the key addition could come in the paint. Bayne averaged 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a year ago for Liberty Charter, and her 6-2 frame gives Columbia the post presence it lacked against the state’s top teams.
3. RIDGEVUE
Last season: 8-15, 5-7 4A SIC
Coach: John Walker, second season
Players to watch: McKenna Durrant, jr., W/P; Jakotah Thomas, sr., G; Myra Martinez, jr., G; Hollund Miller, jr., G
The Warhawks have never made the state tournament or finished with a winning record. But after winning a program-best eight games last fall, Ridgevue returns all five starters and its top five scorers as a potential sleeper team.
Durrant (10.7 ppg, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals) leads the group as a returning first-team all-conference selection, and Ridgevue received reinforcements with the addition of Martinez (9.8 ppg), a transfer from Centennial. But the Warhawks are still young and light on experience in big games. They’ll need to learn how to close out tight contests to challenge BK and Columbia.
4. EMMETT
Last season: 4-19, 4-8 4A SIC
Coach: Mark Priano, second season
Players to watch: Natalie Goslin, jr., F; Erin Hadley, jr., W; Ryllie Smith, so., W; Kylie Brown, sr., F
A new coach, a key injury and loads of underclassmen led to growing pains last season. But the Huskies return all five starters as they look to make a jump up the standings.
All that experience includes a finally healthy Brown (8.5 ppg, 7 rebounds). She’ll pair with Goslin (7.5 ppg, 8 rebounds), a second-team all-conference pick, to form an imposing front court. And Smith (6 ppg) returns as a dangerous shooter after starting all 23 games as a freshman.
Priano said Emmett will rely on a tough defense to feed its offense. But the Huskies will need to find more consistent buckets to challenge the league’s traditional powers.
5. CALDWELL
Last season: 5-18, 4-8 4A SIC
Coach: Ashley Green, fifth season
Players to watch: Tamar Callender, jr., PG; A’Mya Gonzalez, sr., SG; Gabbie Adams, sr., F
The Cougars return three starters from a squad that snapped a 17-game conference losing streak last year. But the biggest boost comes from the return of Callender.
After an injury limited her to four games last winter, the floor general is back to set the pace offensively and defensively. She can get to the bucket at will and has the vision to find open teammates. That will benefit Gonzalez (6 ppg), Caldwell’s top shooter, with extra space around the perimeter. And it’ll create lanes for Adams (5.2 ppg) to operate in.
6. SKYVIEW
Last season: 14-11, 7-5 4A SIC
Coach: Joe Betancourt, first season
Players to watch: Naylei Rodriguez, jr., PG; Kaylee Brown, so., C; Maya Lee, sr., SG; Leah Orelus, fr., PG/G
The Hawks hit the reset button after falling one win short of making it to state. Betancourt, the former Homedale coach, takes over the program. And he starts the year with zero returning starters and just one player (Lee) with much varsity experience.
Lee gives the Hawks a bona fide shooter around the perimeter. Betancourt said Skyview doesn’t have much size in the front court but it will have plenty of ball handlers, the opposite of last year’s squad. But how quickly a group of junior varsity players adjusts to the varsity game will determine how far the Hawks make it.
7. VALLIVUE
Last season: 0-21, 0-12 4A SIC
Coach: Sean Upson, first season
Players to watch: Paige Upson, sr., G; Gracie Mower, so., F; Josslyn Rhoton, so., F
The Falcons started the season on a positive note, snapping a 22-game losing streak at Wood River. That bodes well for a program that struggled offensively (27.8 ppg) and tumbled to the bottom of the league.
Three starters return looking to prove last season was a fluke. Upson (10 ppg) stands at the center of the group as a senior captain who will run the offense. In the frontcourt, Mower and Rhoton earned valuable minutes as freshmen last year and look to make a big leap this season. And Sean Upson said he’s focused on building a solid defense that can create a few easy points while a group of unproven shooters find their stroke.
This story was originally published November 14, 2023 at 12:28 PM.
