On one leg, Kelsey Cessna delivers Sandpoint its first-ever Idaho girls basketball state championship

Kelsey Cessna put up 21 points in a 69-65 win over Shelley in the Class 4A final on a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus

NAMPA - Ten months ago, Kelsey Cessna was faced with a choice.

Have another complete reconstructive surgery on her left knee, which would mean having to sit and watch her final high school basketball season from the sideline.

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Or play through it.

The Sandpoint High senior wing decided on the latter.

The risky decision paid off. She led the No. 3 Bulldogs to the first state title in program history with a team-high 21 points on 50% shooting - 14 in the second half - and four rebounds during a 69-65 win over top-seeded Shelley in the Class 4A state championship game Saturday evening at the Ford Idaho Center.

“I feel so happy and grateful that I could do this. I’m just very proud of myself too,” Cessna said. “I think it’s so crazy. I don’t even know how I’m walking around either.”

Cessna tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus during her sophomore year in a game against Lewiston. An opposing player landed on her knee after she ripped the ball away during a scramble.

She had surgery and appeared to have made a full recovery. But while practicing with her club soccer team last spring, Cessna noticed something didn’t feel right. A checkup revealed some devastating news.

The cadaver the surgeons had implanted to completely rebuild her knee, didn’t take. So Cessna once again had a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus.

Doctors advised her to get surgery. But they also offered her another solution. It was one in the form of a giant brace. Cessna once again took door No. 2.

“I wanted a state title,” Cessna said. “This is what it all came (down) to I feel like. I felt comfortable on my knee. And it wasn’t hurting me bad. So I’m like, ‘I’m going to push through this and do this.’”

It wasn’t easy, though.

There were times where she couldn’t even walk. Not to mention the countless instances of her knee locking up and being stuck at 90 degree angles.

Practices and games were hit or miss, too.

But in the biggest moments, Cessna was there. And there were none bigger than Saturday. Sandpoint (20-5) was playing in its first final in 27 years. It was also 0-for-4 in those title games.

And the Bulldogs looked like they were going to let another one slip away. They were on the verge of going down double figures midway through the third at 43-36.

Not this time.

Sandpoint went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes. And fittingly, it was Cessna who capped it. Her lay-in with 25 seconds remaining in the quarter, gave the Bulldogs a 50-43 advantage. 

They never trailed again. She made sure of that.

Nine of her points came in the final period alone, including a jumper that extended the lead to 55-45 - the biggest any team had in the game.

“She was hurting throughout the year. She missed a lot of practices. She missed games. So we just had to take it kind of easy,” Sandpoint coach Will Love said. “But it was one of those things, when the game came, she was ready to go. I give her a lot of credit because she really stayed in good condition to be able to go out there and play in those games.”

Karlie Banks also finished with 21 points. The junior forward recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds. Junior guard Aliya Strock rounded it out with 10 points, including icing the game on a pair of free throws with just 1.7 ticks to go.

Shelley junior wing Brinley Cannon led all players with a double-double of 27 points and 16 rebounds. Sixteen of the BYU commit’s points came in the first half. Guards Mia Williams and Kaci Lang scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Russets (22-4), who were playing in a title game for the first time in 15 years.. They still ended up with their first Class 4A state trophy.

As far as Cessna goes, she’ll finally be getting that surgery next month. Then after that, she’s not sure what her future holds.

Only she can decide.

“She’s a tough girl,” Banks said. “She’s always been the leader for our team.

“She’s an inspiration to us all.”

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(All photos by Loren Orr)