Open the record books. Boise girls basketball rallies for fourth straight district title
Boise High girls basketball coach Kim Brydges had to dig deep into her closet Wednesday.
Playing in yet another district championship, she worried she’d end up wearing the same clothes as the year before. But the veteran Boise coach avoided the fashion faux pas, and her Brave team rewarded her with a fourth straight championship photo.
No. 2-ranked Boise rallied to top No. 3 Eagle 55-48 in the 6A District Three Tournament championship game at the Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise, extending its dominant run in the Southern Idaho Conference.
The victory made the Brave the district’s first four-time champion in 29 years. Centennial was the last team to mount a similar run, winning five in a row from 1991 to 1995.
“I actually went back and I looked at my pictures to make sure I didn’t wear the same thing as last year, because that’s kind of embarrassing,” Brydges said. “But red and black, it’s always in style. So I found something that worked.”
Boise (21-4) rallied late to take control of a back-and-forth battle with 11 lead changes, mounting an 11-0 run between the third and fourth quarters behind seniors Kaity Haan and Avery Patricco.
Haan put her name all over the stat sheet, finishing with 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting while adding 13 rebounds, six blocks and four steals. She scored 15 points in the second half alone, flying through the air for rebounds, swatting shots into the stands and leading the Brave on the fast break as a 6-foot forward with guard skills.
“I don’t think Kaity had the best first half, definitely not scoring wise,” Brydges said. “But boy, what a warrior in the second half.”
Patricco also recovered from a slow start, scoring all of her 16 points in the final three quarters. The 5-7 guard knifed and contorted her way into crevices in the Eagle (19-5) defense, hitting an array of off-balance shots at the rim that left the Mustangs shaking their heads.
“I have no idea (how she does it),” Haan said. “It’s incredible to me how she can get those looks and hit the backboard so perfectly, and have it roll off her fingers so perfectly.”
The duo headlined a group of seven seniors who’ve never lost in the varsity district tournament, including Patricco and Alison Turcke, who played in all four championship games.
Boise’s previous three district championship teams could always rely on their ace in the hole — Avery Howell, just the second McDonald’s All-American in Idaho history. The Brave returned three starters from a year ago, but they had to find a new formula to make it back to state and the district final.
Balance remained the key to another title run. Haan and Patricco lit up the scoreboard Wednesday. But they both only average 11 points as Boise spreads its scoring around a host of options.
“I feel like team basketball is the best there is,” Patricco said. “When we’re all contributing and all doing the little things, we don’t need someone to stand out. We can play together.”
BOISE, EAGLE ADVANCE TO STATE TOURNAMENT
That balance ought to make Boise a dangerous team in next week’s 6A state tournament, where both Boise and Eagle will compete. Both teams clinched their trips to the Ford Idaho Center on Saturday with victories in the district semifinals.
Idaho won’t announce the seeds and first-round matchups until Sunday. But Boise and Eagle are all but locked into the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the MaxPreps rankings, setting up a possible rematch in the semifinals.
Sophomore Berkley Jones led Eagle on Wednesday night with 18 points, and Brooke Vargas added eight for the Mustangs.
SALMON RIVER WINS 1A DISTRICT TITLE
Trailing by seven points entering the fourth quarter, Salmon River rallied with 19 points in the final quarter, matching its total through the first three frames to knock off top-seeded Tri-Valley 38-31 in the 1A District Three Tournament championship in Cascade.
Rylee Walters scored seven of a team-high 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Ewing added nine points for Salmon River (16-6).
The win earned Salmon River its first district championship since 2019 and punched its ticket to state for the second straight year.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 11:52 PM.
