Rare test sent Boise girls basketball to state. Rocky Mountain rallied late to join it
One impressive winning streak continued and another came to an end as a pair of 5A Southern Idaho Conference girls basketball teams punched their tickets to state Saturday.
Boise pulled away for a 58-47 victory, its 18th in a row, over host Owyhee in the opening game of the 5A District Three Tournament semifinals. Then in the nightcap, Rocky Mountain (17-5) rallied in the fourth quarter to snap Middleton’s 16-game winning streak 62-57.
The wins clinch Boise (21-1) and Rocky Mountain (17-5) state tournament berths. But they also set up a rematch of last year’s district championship at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Idaho Central Arena in Downtown Boise.
BOISE WILL DEFEND TITLE
The two-time defending district champs have faced little opposition the past few months, running off 17 straight wins by an average of 34.2 points per game. But the Brave found a rare challenge Saturday.
Owyhee cut the deficit to three points late in the third quarter, setting the stage for a possible upset. But Boise responded with an 8-0 run and pulled away for an 11-point victory.
USC-bound guard Avery Howell carried Boise again, scoring 21 of her game-high 28 points in the second half. She finished 11-for-18 from the field and added 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season.
Howell said she settled for 3-pointers in the first half. But when they weren’t falling, she started attacking the basket in the second half. Owyhee (15-8) had no answer.
The Storm tried double teaming Howell every time she caught the ball. That forced it out of Howell’s hands a few times. But she still beat the extra help enough times to make 8-of-10 field goals in the second half and take over the game.
“She’s a warrior,” Boise coach Kim Brydges said. “... We as a team need to do a better job of flooding back to the basketball when that happens. We haven’t seen people do that in a while. So I promise you we’ll be working on that this week in practice.”
Howell said Owyhee tipped its hand by yelling “fire” every time it tried to apply a double team, giving her a split-second head start.
“They were screaming it every time,” Howell said. “It was basically off any kind of on-ball action. I knew I had two coming at me, so I was trying to find my teammates, or I had to attack out of it. They kind of got into a little foul trouble when I started to drive off of it.”
Boise junior guard Avery Patricco added 12 points. Alison Turcke finished with eight points, and Presley Binder chipped in six points off the bench to give Boise a shot at its third straight district title.
Boise enters the championship having won 18 straight, all by double digits. But Brydges said Saturday’s test will help the Brave next week and at the upcoming state tournament.
“You try to simulate those things in practice, but that gets hard. It’s hard to make it realistic,” said Brydges, whose team is going to state for the seventh straight year. “So that’s good. We need moments like that.
“I thought the kids were really resilient. I thought we had a few individuals step up at really important moments.”
Riley Beck led Owyhee with 12 points, and Sydnie Rodriguez added 11 points and seven rebounds. The Storm fall into the district tournament losers’ bracket, where they will host Timberline at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a winner-to-state game.
The loser of that game can still qualify for state via a play-in game next weekend.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLIES FOR STATE BERTH
Middleton freshman Olivia Blackwell drained a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Vikings a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Grizzlies clawed their way back to clinch a state tournament berth for the third straight year.
The trio of Averee Osterhout, Anna DaBell and Cianna Legaspi led the comeback. Each scored a team-high 12 points, showcasing the trademark balance and depth that gives Rocky Mountain another shot at a district championship.
“Our team just believes in each other,” Rocky Mountain coach BJ Humphreys said. “We were willing to share the ball. We’ve had five different leading scorers this season. Each game, it’s somebody different.
“We’re not just relying on one player and hoping they score a bunch of points or carry the team. So I think it makes us hard to guard a provides belief in a bunch of people.”
DaBell pulled Rocky Mountain off the mat in the fourth quarter, scoring six of the Grizzlies’ nine points as they mounted a 9-0 run to retake the lead.
Middleton tied the game with 40 seconds left when Zoey Blackwell split the defense for a drive and a layup. But Osterhout and Legaspi put the final nail in the Vikings’ coffin.
Osterhout drained a pair of bonus free throws for a two-point lead. She then slid over to stop Blackwell’s repeat drive and grabbed the defensive rebound with 9.8 seconds left.
“She was a stud,” Humphreys said. “Not just her scoring the basketball. She dove on the floor a few times and made some great just hustle plays. We call them game-winning plays.”
Osterhout missed both of the ensuing free throws to ice the game. But Legaspi grabbed the offensive rebound, and Logan Sailors (nine points) nailed 3-of-4 from the line to finally salt away the state-clinching victory.
Boise has twice blown out Rocky Mountain this season, beating the Grizzlies by 29 points in a nonconference game and by 19 points last month in league play. But Rocky Mountain gets one last shot at the Brave back at the Idaho Central Arena in the one game that truly counts.
“We get to face a phenomenal Boise team and an incredible player in Avery Howell,” Humphreys said. “But we want to play for banners. We want to be in those games where you have a chance to win a banner.”
Olivia Blackwell scored 13 points off the bench to lead Middleton. Her older sister, sophomore Zoey Blackwell, added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Vikings fell just short of qualifying for the 5A state tournament for the first time in program history.
Middleton (19-4) faces Eagle at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a winner-to-state game. A loss still wouldn’t eliminate the Vikings, sending them to a final win-or-go-home state play-in game.
