Idaho (IDHSAA) high school girls basketball state playoffs: Semifinals scores, bracket updates, recaps

Sandpoint reaches first title game at 4A in 27 years, Rocky Mountain wins another overtime game, Lapwai upset and more from Friday's state action

BOISE - It was the first time Jessica Carlson had stepped foot on the unmistakable basketball floor of the Ford Idaho Center in a quarter of a century.

Brinley Cannon had only been able to watch from the stands.

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The Shelley High School girls basketball coach and her star player left with memories they won’t soon forget.

The duo helped the Russets end a 15-year state championship game drought with a 60-48 win over Bishop Kelly in the Class 4A state semifinals Friday evening. No. 1 Shelley (22-3) will play No. 3 Sandpoint (19-5) in the final Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Ford Idaho Center.

“It means a lot,” said Cannon who totaled a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds. “All our fans are here supporting us and it just means a lot that they came. We’re just glad to bring Shelley back and we’re just having a great time doing it.”

Cannon, a BYU, commit, was part of a four-win team two years ago. Carlson took over in the middle of the 2019-20 campaign when the previous coach quit. The only win she had that season was against the Thunder Ridge junior varsity team.

The Russets just had their first winning season in seven years last year. This was the first time back at state since 2016 and the first time ever competing in the Class 4A state tournament. They were in the 3A for years before moving up in 2018.

“It was a little hard to imagine,” said Cannon with a laugh. “There were some days where I never thought that this could happen. I’m just grateful. We’re just excited to be here.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair for the first three quarters. It featured five lead changes and six ties, including 39-39 going into the final period.

But Shelley broke the stalemate by beginning the quarter with an 11-0 run to suddenly make it a 50-39 advantage less than three minutes in. Six of those points came in the first 73 seconds and all from the hand of Cannon. She got the run going with a 3-pointer before getting the old-fashioned 3-point play on the very next possession. Cannon got the layin with contact before draining the free throw to convert on the and-one.

“When you get six points from a player, the energy boost that gives your team is just huge,” Carlson said. “I will not ever underrate that. She pulled through in some great moments.”

The Knights (21-4) were able to get within six at 52-46 on a Jordyn Carnell layin. But that’s as close as they got. The state’s top-offense (63 points per game) was a little too much for the state’s best defense (30.2 ppg).

“I thought we battled, I thought we had a good shot to win that game, especially when it was 39-39,” said Bishop Kelly coach Derek McCormick. “We just made a couple mistakes and they took advantage of it. That’s what basketball is all about.”

Mia Williams added 11 points and three rebounds for the Russets.

Keira Lizama was the only player to reach double figures with 10 points for Bishop Kelly, which will play Columbia in the third-place game Saturday at noon at Timberline High School

PHOTO GALLERY

(All photos by Loren Orr)

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SANDPOINT 47, COLUMBIA 32

The cheers from the Bulldogs’ locker room could be heard at the tail end of the tunnel at the Ford Idaho Center.

It was hard to blame them. This was something 27 years in the making.

“I grew up in Sandpoint and Sandpoint is not a basketball town,” Sandpoint coach Will Love said. “But we’re making it a basketball town. There have been a lot of people that have put in some hard work to put in the infrastructure. It’s so rewarding. I’m so happy for these girls. They’ve been the ones working hard since fourth and fifth grade to get it to this level.”

Sandpoint had been close in recent years. It made back-to-back trips to the semifinals both in 2015-16 and 2020-21. But the Bulldogs lost all four times by double digits.

But they had a little luck on their side this time around.

Love had former coach Duane Ward on the bench with him Friday. Ward guided the Bulldogs to the only previous four state title games in program history, including the last one in 1996. Sandpoint has never won a state championship, though. Three of those finals losses came to the great Emery Roy on his way to winning an Idaho record 10 state titles. But it can write that wrong Saturday evening.

“I can’t believe that we’re actually going back to a state championship,” said junior forward Karlie Banks who posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. “And to be the first in I don’t know how many years, is crazy.”

The Bulldogs never trailed. But they didn’t break away from the Wildcats (15-11) until the second half.

Sandpoint put up more points in the third quarter with 20 than it did for the first 16 minutes (19). Its defense also held Columbia to single digits for almost the entire second half. The Wildcats were able to score 21 points, but most of that came with the Bulldogs’ backups in the game after leading by as many as 26 points.

Columbia went just 11-of-43 (25.6%) for the game, didn’t have a single player break double digits in scoring and committed 15 turnovers.

“They’ve played this level of defense pretty much against everybody except for the 5As (teams),” Love said. “Ultimately, that’s our calling card.

Senior point guard Aliya Stark also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points and four rebounds.

Junior guard Ellie Robertson scored nine points for the Wildcats, who despite the loss still made history. This was their first-ever semifinal game. They won their first-ever state tournament game in a 51-45 upset of favorite Blackfoot just 24 hours earlier. The program didn’t even have its first winning season until making state two years ago.

This season, Columbia had one of its key players quit the team and lost another to injury a week ago. But it can still bring home a state trophy with a win over Bishop Kelly in the third-place game Saturday at noon at Timberline High School.

“We won’t even have one in the trophy case,” said Columbia coach Neal Robertson. “So this is for the whole entire school. We’ve been a program about firsts and we have an opportunity to get another first right here.”

CLASS 5A

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 55, TIMBERLINE 52, OT

BJ Humphreys didn’t even realize it.

It didn’t dawn on the Rocky Mountain coach that his team had won by the exact same score 24 hours earlier. It was also in overtime no less.

But none of that mattered. The only thing that did was that the seventh-seeded Grizzlies (18-8) are back in the title game for the first time since 2014. They’ll play No. 1 Coeur d’Alene at 8 p.m. Saturday back inside the Ford Idaho Center. It’s actually a rematch of the 2014 final.

“It’s huge,” Humphreys said. “We want to be a Boise, a Timberline. Those programs who come here year after year after year.

“I hope it creates some of that culture in our program that this is what our program does.”

Rocky Mountain has also become known for hitting big-time shots lately. It hit two of them this time.

Junior guard Averee Osterhout, who hit the game-winner in overtime against Thunder Ridge Thursday, worked her magic again. The Grizzlies were trailing 47-42 with just under a minute left in regulation when she swished a 3-pointer 15 seconds later.

Zoe Archibald was next.

After Timberline’s Kailey Huegerich missed two free throws, Osterhout drew a foul of her one. But she missed the front end of the one-and-one. Luckily, senior guard Brielle Magnuson got her hand on the loose ball just enough to tip it to the feet of Archbald, who was standing just outside the 3-point line. She immediately picked it up and let one fly.

Nothing but net.

The trey sent the game to overtime. The 48-48 score was the exact same one at the end of regulation against Thunder Ridge a day earlier.

“The confidence that she has in herself is definitely admirable,” said junior guard Cianna Legaspi, who finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. “She’s a really consistent shooter. She has one of the highest shooting percentages on our team. So it was expected of her to take that shot.”

Legaspi scored four of her points in the overtime - all on free throws - for a seemingly insurmountable 55-50 lead with only 17 seconds remaining. But the Wolves (21-6) showed why they were the defending state champions.

Freshman forward Emmi Sillie, who nearly bagged a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds, hit a putback with 4.6 ticks to go. Rocky Mountain then failed to inbound the pass and turned it over with a 5-second violation. It gave Timberline one last chance.

Sillie received the inbounds pass and kicked it out to Lauren McCall, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in last year’s state title win over Boise. But the senior guard, who is signed to San Diego University, was unable to connect this time around. Her step-back 3 clanked off the back of the rim and the celebration for the Grizzlies was on.

“I was a little bit nervous,” Archibald said. “But I definitely still believed in our team that we can get this W. We’re a great defensive team and I knew we had it.”

Archibald finished with a team-high 16 points, including 4-of-7 from downtown. Junior forward Anna Dabell also racked up a double-double of 10 points and 13 boards.

Huegerich added 12 points for Timberline, which plays Boise in the third-place game at Ridgevue High School

CLASS 3A

NO. 2 TIMBERLAKE 60, NO. 6 TETON 39

Malia Miller and Ciara Soumas nearly outscored the opposing team themselves with a combined 35 points as the White Tigers (22-2) advanced to their ninth final in the last 12 years.

Miller had a game high 22 points, while Soumas added 13.

Abi Barkdull was the only player for the Timberwolves (18-10) to reach double figures in scoring with 10.

NO. 1 SNAKE RIVER 38, NO. 4 SUGAR-SALEM 36

Rylie Edlefsen netted 10 points for the Panthers (22-3), who outscored the defending champs 8-2 in the fourth quarter to get back to the final after a 3-year absence.

Kennedy Gillette had a game-high 16 points for the Diggers (16-7) in the loss

CLASS 2A

NO. 2 SODA SPRINGS 37, NO. 3 COLE VALLEY 25

Taylor Billman and Zipaya Somsen equaled the scoring of their opponent with a combined 25 points for the Cardinals (22-4), who are back in the championship for the first time since 2020.

Billman had 13 points with Somsen right behind her at 12.

Hadley Fraas put up 11 points for the Chargers (19-6) in the loss.

NO. 1 MELBA 53, NO. 5 WEST SIDE 31

Kendall Clark almost chalked up a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds as the Mustangs (25-0) are in their state final in three years.

Natalie Lemmon had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pirates (17-9) in the loss.

CLASS 1A DI

NO. 3 RAFT RIVER 46, NO. 2 PRAIRIE 40

Three players for the Trojans (23-3) reached double figures in an upset of the perennial power.

Caroline Schumann led the way with 14 points and four rebounds. Ryan Udy and Logan Jones both finished with 11 points and four boards.

Kristin Wemhoff and Lexi Schumacher had 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Pirates (20-6).

NO. 5 OAKLEY 38, NO. 1 LAPWAI 32

The Hornets (21-4) stunned the defending champion, which hadn’t lost to a team in its own classification all year. The Wildcats (24-2) had won 22 consecutive games.

Oakley did so by not having a single player reach double figures in scoring. Addie Milton, Falon Bedke and Kylan Jones all finished with eight points.

Meanwhile, Jaelyn McCormack-Mark and Lauren Gould scored 14 and 11 points for Lapwai, which shot just 13% from the field, including 8.33% in the second half..

CLASS 1A DII

NO. 6 COUNCIL 42, NO. 2 ROCKLAND 24

Isabelle Eppich and Hope Zollman combined for 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Lumberjacks (16-5) advanced to their second straight final.

Eppich had 14 points and eight boards, while Zollman finished close behind at 13 points and four rebounds for Council, which lost to the Bulldogs (21-4) in last year’s state title game.

Taylie Boyer had nine points for Rockland.

NO. 4 DIETRICH 32, NO. 1 DEARY 31

Hailey Astle logged 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals as the Blue Devils (22-3) returned to the state final for the first time since 2014.

Jessika Power chipped in with 10 rebounds for Dietrich, which erased a 6-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Triniti Wood had a game-high 13 points for the Mustangs (18-3)