Prep basketball recap: Boise escapes upset. Eagle gets revenge. Owyhee rolls into semis
The Treasure Valley’s high school girls basketball tournaments kicked into full swing Thursday night.
See who’s moving on in the 6A tournament, get caught up with all the nightly scores, and see who earned our daily game balls for their clutch performances below.
[Related: 6A to 1A girls basketball district brackets, scoreboard]
6A SIC GIRLS BASKETBALL DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
BOISE 46, CAPITAL 36: The state’s second-ranked team faced a dire situation.
Boise trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter down by eight. But the three-time defending district champs turned on the jets in the final eight minutes, mounting a 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter and avoid a first-round upset in the 6A District Three Tournament.
Boise (19-3) senior forward Kaity Haan said the Brave overlooked eighth-seeded Capital (10-12). The Brave crushed their crosstown rival by 22 points nine days earlier. But the Eagles caught fire behind the 3-point line in the third quarter and looked to stun the heavily favored Brave.
“We realized the clock was ticking down, and that this is district. It’s not the regular season,” Haan said. “Every game matters. We all kind of collectively realized that a little way too late.”
Boise’s full-court press rode to the rescue, forcing six of Capital’s 19 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone. Boise coach Kim Brydges credited Morgan Montgomery’s and Libby Nelson’s work at the top of the formation with flustering Capital, allowing everyone else to pounce on any mistakes and turn the tide.
“It’s the playoffs, and Capital was playing well,” Boise coach Kim Brydges said. “I don’t know what their shooting percentage was, but they hit quite a few possessions in a row and kind of put us on our heels.
“… The energy that we needed, we didn’t have it until the mid-third quarter, fourth quarter. So I’m glad we found it.”
Haan started the comeback with an and-one layup to open the fourth quarter before adding a runner, a layup off an inbound play and another and-one bucket. Haan didn’t score in the first half but finished the night with 14 points and seven rebounds, including 10 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“She fed off the energy of her teammates, and she just made some big finishes when we needed them the most,” Brydges said. “And when she plays with fire, everybody else does as well.”
Montgomery also added 14 points, and Nya Pellant-Latham finished with eight points as Boise escaped with its 10th straight win.
The Brave advance to face Borah in the district semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Kuna High. The winner clinches a state tournament berth.
Miriam Stafford led Capital with 16 points and four rebounds. The Eagles drop into the losers’ bracket, where they battle Rocky Mountain at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on the Grizzlies’ home floor in an elimination game.
EAGLE 55, TIMBERLINE 32: Fueled by a three-point loss at Timberline last month, the Mustangs started Tuesday night on a 14-1 run and never looked back to run away with a first-round victory in the 6A District Three Tournament.
Sophomore forward Berkley Jones did the bulk of the damage, scoring eight of her team’s first 14 points and turning back-to-back turnovers into uncontested layups for a 13-point lead less than 5 minutes into the game.
“That one we lost to them in January, it hurt,” Eagle (18-4) coach Jeremy Munroe said. “They wanted some payback. So they did a good job getting after it early and building on it.”
Fifth-seeded Timberline (14-9) cut the deficit to seven points on Danali Aggarwal’s 3-pointer with 1:51 left in the third quarter. But the Wolves never got any closer as the fourth-seeded Mustangs responded with a 14-0 run to restore their double-digit lead and erase any chance of a comeback.
Jones and senior forward Porter Wood formed a potent and efficient duo for Eagle. Jones poured in a game-high 20 points, all in the first three quarters, on 8-for-13 shooting. Wood added 19 points and nine rebounds while sinking 8-of-15 field goals.
“You can see their presence on the floor, their intensity, what they bring,” Munroe said. “They’ve led us that way all year. They are a big reason why we are where we are.”
Fanci Sackett paced Timberline with nine points, while Aggarwal added six.
The win sets up a rematch with rival Owyhee, the state’s unanimous No. 1-ranked team, in the district semifinals at noon Saturday in Kuna. The Storm routed Eagle by 20 points in their only previous meeting Jan. 9, giving Eagle another shot at payback.
“They’re legit. They’re a solid team. You can’t sugarcoat it,” Munroe said. “With what they do and who they are, you’ve got to play your best basketball and get after it.
“I think we have a shot if we do that.”
OWYHEE 55, RIDGEVUE 23: The state’s top-ranked team wasted little time scoring its first win at the district tournament, running away with its 12th straight win and dispatching 10th-seeded Ridgevue.
Riley Beck led a balanced scoring effort for the Storm (21-1) with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Madi Brooks added eight points, and Josie Davis chipped in seven points and three steals.
BORAH 41, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 30: The Lions nursed a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then Borah locked down on defense, holding the Grizzlies to three points the rest of the way to finally take control of a game with eight lead changes.
Kya Davis had a hand in everything for the third-seeded Lions (18-4), recording game highs in points (13), rebounds (nine), assists (four) and blocks (two). Karli Hall and Brinley Chase both added eight points for Borah, which out rebounded Rocky Mountain 33-24.
Logan Sailors was the only player in double figures for Rocky Mountain (13-10) with 10 points.
THURSDAY’S GAME BALLS
Schools are encouraged to submit scores and stats nightly by emailing sports@idahostatesman.com.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Addy Bayne, Columbia: Recorded another double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 49-38 win against Skyview in the first round of the 5A District Three Tournament. She sank 10-of-21 field goals while adding two assists and two blocks.
Elsie Wyatt, Middleton: Converted 9-of-18 field goals to score a game-high 24 points in a 77-12 rout of Nampa in the opening round of the 5A District Three Tournament. She also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Tariah Carter, Melba: The Idaho State commit helped clinch the Mustangs their ninth straight trip to state with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists in a 64-40 win over New Plymouth in the 3A District Three Tournament semifinals.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Brandon Leal Perez, Wilder: Drained 5-of-6 3-pointers and finished 7-for-12 from the field to score 21 points in a 50-36 win at Gem State.
BOISE, IDAHO, HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCORES
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Owyhee 55, Ridgevue 23
Eagle 55, Timberline 32
Boise 46, Capital 36
Borah 41, Rocky Mountain 30
Middleton 77, Nampa 12
Columbia 49, Skyview 38
Bishop Kelly 60, Caldwell 21
Emmett 36, Vallivue 23
Cole Valley Christian 33, Homedale 17
McCall-Donnelly 62, Payette 23
Parma 46, Marsing 14
Melba 64, New Plymouth 40
Wilder 41, Compass Charter 29
Liberty Charter 41, Vision Charter 16
Council 51, Riverstone 15
Victory Charter 37, Idaho City 20
BOYS BASKETBALL
Columbia 69, Vallivue 59
Wilder 50, Gem State 36
Salmon River 67, Genesee 53
Cascade 69, Greenleaf 49
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM.
