State girls basketball recap: Middleton wins big in 5A. Parma, Melba set up 3A rematch
Four Treasure Valley girls basketball teams punched their tickets to the state tournament semifinals Thursday afternoon.
Middleton won big in the 5A classification, while Parma and Melba each won in 3A to set up a fourth meeting this season, where the Mustangs will be trying to turn the tables. Salmon River advanced on a last-second 3-pointer at the 1A level.
Read on to find out how Boise-area teams did in the first round.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
MIDDLETON 75, SANDPOINT 35: When sophomore Mikylee Apple sank a jumper with 39 seconds left in regulation, the entire Middleton girls basketball team went bananas from the bench.
It was the first basket of Apple’s varsity career.
Even with their starters on the bench for most of the second half of the fourth quarter, the Vikings never let off the gas, dominating Sandpoint for a 40-point victory in the first round of the 5A state tournament Thursday at Mountain View High School.
“That’s where I feel like that sisterhood has really come into play,” Middleton coach Marianne Blackwell said. “It doesn’t matter who. We’re cheering for everyone, and those moments like that, Mikylee will never forget. And those girls will never forget. They cheer for each other no matter what.
“It’s so much bigger than you individually. And as soon as you realize that and feel that and want it as much for everyone else, it changes the game and you’re playing for a whole new reason.”
With Thursday’s victory, Middleton (24-1) ran its winning streak to 20 straight. The Vikings will face Mountain Home (20-4) in the semifinals Friday. Tipoff is 5 p.m. at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“I honestly thought it was going to be a closer game, but we knew that we were going to win,” Middleton senior Elsie Wyatt said. “We knew that we wanted to come out and make a statement. We were ranked third, and we were kind of bummed about that because we feel like we should have been ranked higher.
“But we wanted to come out and make sure everybody knew that we should have been ranked No. 1.”
Despite spending six straight weeks at No. 1 in the 5A classification in the state media poll — their only loss coming against 6A favorite Owyhee — the Vikings received the No. 3 seed in the state tournament, which uses the MaxPreps rankings.
But after forcing 24 Sandpoint turnovers, shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range and outrebounding the Bulldogs 38-23, Middleton left little doubt about who’s the team to beat.
“I just said, ‘Let it fuel you in a good way.’ All of these teams are respectable,” Blackwell said. “Honestly, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what number you are. You’re going to face whoever is on the other side.”
The Vikings sank three triples in the first quarter as Wyatt racked up 10 of her team-leading 15 points in the opening frame. Middleton took its first double-digit lead with 3:20 remaining in the first quarter and never relented.
Freshman Dawn Holman added 13 points, three rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot off the bench, sophomore Olivia Blackwell totaled 13 points and four rebounds, and older sister Zoey Blackwell had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Eleven players in all scored for the Vikings.
“We never doubted this, and we just came out and have done what we’ve always done, and that’s just truly work together,” Marianne Blackwell said. “When we execute and do the things that we practice every single day, we didn’t have any doubt. We really didn’t. I had never had any reservation that, ‘Oh, how is this gonna go?’ I already knew what these young ladies were capable of and I’m just so proud that they showed everybody else what they’re capable of.”
POCATELLO 59, BISHOP KELLY 55: From the outside looking in, it might have seemed easy for No. 1 Pocatello to write off No. 8 Bishop Kelly.
And that’s exactly what the Knights were hoping for.
Bishop Kelly challenged Pocatello (22-2) down to the final seconds, missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer with about 10 seconds left to fall into the consolation bracket.
“Nobody was paying attention to us at all, so we kind of used that as a motivation,” said BK coach Derek McCormick, whose teams have qualified for state 13 times in 17 seasons.
“Our girls did a good job. They’re not the kind of kids that are like that, but they used it as a great motivation to go out and show people, ‘Hey, Bishop Kelly’s a great basketball program, and we’re gonna prove it today.’ And I think they did.”
The Knights sank 9-of-20 from 3-point range to keep the Thunder on their heels. Senior guard Brooke Hutchinson connected on 5-of-7 attempts from long range and scored a game-best 23 points to go along with five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Hutchinson’s triple with 1:13 to go in the third quarter gave Bishop Kelly (17-8) its first lead, 42-40, since a 3-2 edge in the early going.
“I think Brooke’s a great player,” McCormick said. “She’s one of the best shooters we’ve had in my time here at BK. ... I think sometimes she gets underappreciated by outside people. They’re like, ‘Oh, she’s not that good.’ But she’s a great player.”
When Hutchinson wasn’t creating her own shot, she was facilitating for teammates. She assisted on back-to-back possessions in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. First it was a 3-pointer from senior Abby Swan and then a layup for senior Mary Behrend that pulled the Knights within 57-55 with 54 seconds on the clock.
Despite making just 4-of-13 free throws, including a 2-for-8 performance in the final minute, the Thunder eked out the victory courtesy of Kennasyn Garza. The Boise State signee totaled 11 of her team-leading 22 points in the fourth quarter. Garza made it a double-double with 15 rebounds.
Pocatello junior Abby Lusk, who holds offers from Texas Tech, UNLV and Pepperdine, added 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Bishop Kelly will try to extend its season another day against Skyline (16-9) in a 2 p.m. matchup Friday at Mountain View.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
SOUTH FREMONT 51, FRUITLAND 45: The Cougars dominated the boards, finishing with a 55-19 advantage, and held the Grizzlies to just 29.4 percent shooting to win a first-round matchup at Middleton High School.
Seniors Hayden Larson and Brianne Bailey led the way for South Fremont (22-5), with each notching a double-double. Larson totaled 14 points and 16 boards, while Bailey had 12 points and 15 rebounds. The Cougars converted 26 offensive rebounds into 21 points.
Fruitland (13-10), which fell into a loser-out match against McCall-Donnelly on Friday, was paced by senior point guard Aleksi Drollinger with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
BEAR LAKE 55, MCCALL-DONNELLY 14: The Bears forced 32 turnovers and held the Vandals to just 16 percent shooting to run away with a first-round victory.
McCall-Donnelly (13-12) made just four field goals in the game, with Emma Ormsby and Ada Mae Kershaw scoring three points apiece.
Twelve different players scored for Bear Lake (21-3), led by senior Emyri Walker with 13 points.
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
MELBA 60, NEW PLYMOUTH 42: The Mustangs defeated 3A WIC foe New Plymouth for the fourth time this season to earn a spot in the state semifinals.
Three Mustangs reached double figures — senior Tariah Carter (24 points), junior Darby Lowber (17) and junior Ellie Johnson (12). Melba (18-5) shot lights out, converting on 61.1 percent (22-for-36) of its shots, and pulled away with a 15-3 third quarter after leading by just one point at the half.
Melba will play Parma in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Bishop Kelly High School.
PARMA 49, SODA SPRINGS 24: The Panthers opened the state tournament with a dominant defensive effort, holding the Cardinals to just two points in the first quarter and 17 percent shooting for the game.
Junior forward Aarey Harris knocked down 7-of-15 from the floor for a game-best 15 points to go with four rebounds and two assists, and senior forward Haylee Gentry added 13 points and six boards to propel the Panthers into the semifinals.
Parma (21-2), which outrebounded Soda Springs 48-32, draws 3A WIC rival Melba, a team the Panthers have gone 3-0 against this season.
2A STATE TOURNAMENT
PRAIRIE 64, LIBERTY CHARTER 22: The second-seeded Pirates racked up 43 points on turnovers to dispatch the Patriots in first-round action at Columbia High School in Nampa.
Liberty Charter (17-6) committed 34 turnovers while shooting just 25 percent (6-for-24) from the field. Sophomore guard Aveyah Flores had seven points and six rebounds to leads the Patriots, who take on Lakeside in a loser-out match Friday.
Junior post Sage Elven led the way for Prairie (21-2) with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds along with six steals.
OAKLEY 59, WILDER 12: The top-ranked Hornets had no trouble in their first-round matchup against the No. 8 Wildcats (18-4).
Oakley (22-1) forced a whopping 40 Wilder turnovers and only gave up four field goals to advance to Friday’s semifinals. Junior guard Livee Berlinguet and senior forward Chloe Berlin scored 11 points apiece for the Hornets.
Junior forward Natalie Escutia had six points to pace Wilder, which will play Butte County (17-8) at 2 p.m. Friday at Columbia.
1A STATE TOURNAMENT
SALMON RIVER 41, DIETRICH 39: Sophomore guard Taylor Ewing sank a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left to lift the Savages over the Blue Devils in the first round at Nampa High School.
No. 5 seed Salmon River (17-6) advanced to the semifinals against top-ranked Genesee (21-1) at 2 p.m. Friday at Nampa. The Savages last advanced to the semifinals in 2020 and won their only state title in 1977.
Junior guard Rylee Walters led all scorers with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Walters knocked down 4-of-7 from 3-point range, while Ewing totaled seven points, six boards and three assists.
Senior center Katilyn Wanamaker notched a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead Dietrich (12-8).
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM.
