Girls basketball: Middleton extends win streak to 21 in semis. Parma eyes first title
With Boise and Owyhee set to face off for the 6A state championship, one Treasure Valley team is guaranteed to hoist the first-place trophy on Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
But make no mistake, Middleton (5A) and Parma (3A) will be gunning for the honor as well.
The Vikings advanced to their first state championship game since winning it all in 2017, while the Panthers qualified for the title tilt for just the second time in program history.
Here’s a recap of how Boise-area teams fared in Friday’s action.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
MIDDLETON 60, MOUNTAIN HOME 51: With Middleton’s 16-point lead down to one at the start of the second half, intuition kicked in for Zoey Blackwell.
The junior guard — and coach’s daughter — went on a 10-0 run by herself to send the Vikings to their 21st straight win, earning a spot in the state championship game against top-ranked Pocatello (23-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“I was like, ‘OK, well, somebody’s gotta step up,’” Blackwell said. “I felt like it was my time, and the team needed me.”
Blackwell’s run started with a 3-pointer and also included back-to-back steals for easy layups that transformed a three-point advantage into a 44-31 lead with 3:37 to play in the third quarter. She finished 9-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-3 from 3-point range for a game-leading 23 points with eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists.
“She’s been such a leader all year. ... She knew when she could take it and facilitate,” Middleton coach Marianne Blackwell said. “I had to get after a few other girls and just say, ‘I believe in you. Now you need to believe in yourself.’ And they really stepped to that challenge and just went for it.
“I’m so proud of them, because it’s moments like that and big venues and big moments that you could totally fold. And they didn’t.”
The Vikings (25-1) pounced on the Tigers (20-5) from the opening tip, scoring 17 unanswered points for a 17-1 lead with 2:06 on the clock in the first quarter.
Mountain Home then spent the second quarter chipping away at that deficit, hitting six 3-pointers in the quarter to cut Middleton’s lead to 30-29 at the break.
“Kudos to (Mountain Home), truly, for never giving up, because a team that could go down that early could bury themselves,” Marianne Blackwell said. “So for us, it was get back to the locker room, hear that you have 16 minutes left to go get what you’ve worked so hard for. Stick to the game plan, trust in your coaches and trust in each other. And don’t veer from that.”
While the Tigers finished 6-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Vikings’ signature defense ran them off the line in the second half. Mountain Home made just one triple over the final 16 minutes and never came within single digits after Zoey Blackwell’s 10-0 run.
“Our defense wasn’t as great in the second quarter, so we had to come out and play our game and our defense (in the second half),” Zoey Blackwell said. “The mood was just to stay strong and be solid.”
Younger sister Olivia Blackwell, a sophomore guard, added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and junior wing Miley Steele collected 12 points, nine boards, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Middleton now has the chance to add a sixth state championship trophy, the most recent of which came in 2017. None of the players on the Vikings’ current roster have ever played in a state title game.
“The feeling is crazy. I’ve dreamed about this my whole life, ever since I was a little kid,” Zoey Blackwell said. “It’s exciting, and now it’s just our time to play our game.”
SKYLINE 69, BISHOP KELLY 64 (OT): The Knights lost a heartbreaker for the second day in a row, this time falling in overtime to the Grizzlies to end their season at Mountain View High School.
BK (17-9) led by six heading into the fourth quarter, but Skyline rallied behind the game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds from senior guard Shay Shippen to force overtime, where the Grizzlies outscored the Knights 12-7.
Skyline also took advantage of a 21-for-29 performance from the free-throw line. The Knights were just 6-for-11.
Senior guard Brooke Hutchinson scored 23 points for the second day in a row to lead the Knights, who lost a close one against top-seeded Pocatello in their tournament opener Thursday. Hutchinson connected on 5-of-11 from 3-point range, while teammate Julia Baerlocher hit three triples (15 points), and Mary Behrend totaled a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.
6A STATE TOURNAMENT
BORAH 37, CAPITAL 30: The Lions bounced back from a first-round loss to extend their season and top the 20-win mark for the first time since 2006. No. 4 Borah (20-6) advanced to the consolation final, where it will face Rigby at 10 a.m. Saturday at Timberline.
Sophomore Nakiyia Percell led the Lions with 11 points and seven rebounds. Kya Davis added nine points, and Amayah Defares chipped in eight points and four assists as Borah held Capital to 10-for-41 (24%) shooting.
Miriam Stafford led Capital (13-15) with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Eden Francis chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
RIGBY 56, EAGLE 53: The No. 7 Trojans started the game on an 11-1 run, and No. 3 Eagle could never dig out of that hole in an elimination game at Mountain View.
Kinzley Larsen scored a game-high 25 points and Bailey Barber added 10 points for Rigby (17-8), which finished the night 19-for-43 (44%) from the floor.
Berkley Jones paced Eagle with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Porter Wood added 10 points as Eagle closed the season 19-7.
[Related: 6A first-round recap | 5A to 1A first-round recap]
[Related: Championship predictions | Scouting reports on all 48 teams]
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
MCCALL-DONNELLY 53, FRUITLAND 48: The Vandals scored their first state tournament win since 1979 to even the season series with their 4A SRV foe after a win in a loser-out match at Middleton High School.
McCall-Donnelly (14-12) will battle for the consolation trophy against Kimberly (17-8) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Middleton.
Senior wing Lexie Arnold scored a game-high 14 points along with eight rebounds for the Vandals, and junior center Emma Ormsby (12 points, 11 rebounds) and junior point guard Izzy Tinney (11 points) also reached double figures.
Freshman forward Kennedy Fitch paced the Grizzlies (13-11) with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, and senior guard Aleksi Drollinger chipped in 13 points, three rebounds and three steals.
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
PARMA 39, MELBA 33: Trailing by as many as seven points in the second half and five points entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers mounted a late rally to clinch their second trip to the state championship game in program history.
No. 2 Parma (22-2) will face No. 1 Malad (24-1) for a shot at its first state title at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
The Panthers outscored their conference rival 15-4 in the final eight minutes to improve to 4-0 vs. Melba this season. Aarey Harris led the Panthers with 18 points and four steals, and Kaidance Kaiser added nine points and four steals.
Idaho State commit Tariah Carter scored a game-high 19 points and added seven rebounds for Melba (18-6), which will face Grangeville (18-7) in the third-place game.
NEW PLYMOUTH 48, SODA SPRINGS 36: The Pilgrims extended their season another day by taking down Soda Springs in a loser-out contest at Bishop Kelly High School.
New Plymouth (19-8) takes on North Fremont/Ririe in the consolation championship at 10 a.m. Saturday at BK.
Eight different players scored for the Pilgrims, led by junior Mycee Christenson with 14 points and five rebounds. Senior Sam Withers added nine points. New Plymouth held the Cardinals (11-13) to just 22.4 percent shooting, including a 2-for-17 performance from 3-point range.
2A STATE TOURNAMENT
LAKESIDE 49, LIBERTY CHARTER 40: The Patriots’ season came to an end with a loss to the Knights at Columbia High School in Nampa.
Senior guard Jennabelle Reece paced Liberty Charter (17-7) with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, but the Patriots were plagued by 28 turnovers and a shooting percentage of 28 percent.
BUTTE COUNTY 61, WILDER 25: The Wildcats struggled with turnovers for the second straight day, resulting in a loss in an elimination game at Columbia High School in Nampa.
Wilder (18-5) committed 38 turnovers — a day after making 40 miscues in a loss to Oakley — that Butte County turned into 32 points.
Senior guard Emely Ramírez led the way for the Wildcats with nine points, three rebounds and two steals, and junior forward Natalie Escutia had six points, four rebounds and a steal.
1A STATE TOURNAMENT
GENESEE 44, SALMON RIVER 32: A scoreless fourth quarter doomed the Savages in a semifinal loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs at Nampa High School.
Salmon River (17-7) will now play No. 2 Carey (17-8) in the third-place game at noon Saturday at Nampa.
After sinking the game-winning 3-pointer in the Savages’ tournament opener against Dietrich, sophomore guard Taylor Ewing scored a game-leading 15 points, with four rebounds and two steals, against Genesee. Junior guard Rylee Walters contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Junior guard Chloe Grieser earned an impressive double-double of 28 points and 20 boards to carry Genesee (22-1) to the championship, where it will face Rockland (20-5).
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 9:18 PM.
