Making its first state appearance since 2005, the Salmon girls basketball team opened the 3A tournament Thursday with a rocky start and a 59-41 loss to Timberlake.

“Winning districts was big for us,” Salmon coach Eric Bender said. “Coming to state is a whole new experience. Timberlake has that experience.”

Timberlake’s Kelly Madsen recorded a game-high 22 points, scoring seven of the Tigers’ first nine points as they built a 16-5 lead in the first quarter. Timberlake (14-10) never trailed, leading by as many as 25. Guard Kara Wenstrom also chipped in 19 points for the Tigers.

Shots weren’t falling early for Salmon, who shot 37.5 percent from the field. Not that the shooting was much better on the other end of the court. Timberlake finished the game at 37.3 percent from the field.

“Their defense and their press kind of hurt us a little bit, too,” Bender said, “but we had a tough time getting up the floor and getting our offense running. And that hurt us a little bit. And we just didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Post Kelsey Hansen led Salmon with 16 points and eight rebounds. Hansen scored 10 of her points in the second half as her team pushed at the end. Sophomore guard Deshka Olson also had a solid offensive outing, putting up 15 points.

Salmon (13-9) knows its state run isn’t over yet.

“They’re still excited, they’re ready to play,” Bender said. “We did this at districts. We lost the second game at districts and came through the back door. So we’ll be ready.”

In the consolation bracket, the Savages will face Weiser (16-5) at 1:15 p.m. today at Middleton High School.

“We’re still in it, and we’re just so grateful to even be here,” Hansen said. We know now that it’s do or die. We have to do it. And I know that we can, and we all believe that we can. … We never quit. No matter what happens, we’re always a team that keeps fighting back.”

TIMBERLAKE 59, SALMON 41
Timberlake 16 16 21 – 6
Salmon 5 15 10 11 – 41
TIMBERLAKE (59) – Kara Wenstrom 19, Sudnie Malloy 5, Jenna Hoffman 3, Kelly Madsen 22, Lexi Posch 3, Jessica Norlander 7. FG 22, FT 9-11, F 12. 3-pointers: 6 (Wentrom 2, Hoffman, Madsen 2, Posch 1). Fouled out: none.
SALMON (41) – Katelyn Beyeler 6, Deshka Olson 15, Anna Schroeder 2, Emily Taylor 2, Kelsey Hansen 16. FG 18, FT 4-8, F 7. 3-pointers: 1 (Olson). Fouled out: none.

On Saturday at Brothers Park, the senior forward lived up to that name, recording a hat trick and propelling the Knights past Twin Falls 4-0 for a third-place finish in the 4A girls state soccer tournament.

“Rock’s our captain and player of the year last year on the east side of the state, and there’s a reason,” Hillcrest coach Dave Coffman said. “You saw in this tournament, she had a hat trick the first game as well.”

One day after suffering their first loss of the season – 2-1 to Bishop Kelly in the semifinals – the Knights (18-1-0) returned to the field and gave it their all despite fatigue.

Giving up was never an option for this Hillcrest squad.

“Coach talked to us after the game and told us it was ‘either you’re gonna stop here and you’re gonna be upset about this game or you’re gonna move on and you’re gonna play hard tomorrow because it’s not over,’ ” Hamberlin said. “It was tough, but we knew that we weren’t going to give up, we never stop and that wasn’t going to put us down.”

The Knights came out fighting as a team, with tough defense and a solid offensive attack. Sophomore forward Savannah Schumacher recorded three assists, feeding Hamberlin on each of her goals. And in the closing minutes of the game, junior Taylor Huskinson scored Hillcrest’s final goal off an assist from Hamberlin.

Coffman knows the memory of Friday’s loss still stings, and with nine sophomores on his squad, they’ll be looking to settle the score with the other Knights in the years to come.

“They want to play (Bishop Kelly) again. They want it back,” Coffman said. “And I think that will always kind of stay with them. It’s gone but not forgotten.”

So while it wasn’t the perfect season the Knights had been looking to wrap up when they came to the state tournament, they still brought home a trophy and were able to end the season on a high note.

“We’ve never ended (the season) on a win, believe it or not,” Coffman said. “Even the year we took second, you’ve got to lose to take second. So this is a good year for Hillcrest soccer.”

In the semifinals of the 4A girls state soccer tournament Friday, Hillcrest and Bishop Kelly put their unblemished records to the test at Brothers Park.

Bishop Kelly won the battle of the Knights 2-1 and earned a spot in today’s championship game.

Bishop Kelly (21-0-0) is seeking its fourth state title in five years. It will face off with Sandpoint in a rematch of last year’s title game, which BK won 3-2 in penalty kicks.

Hillcrest (17-1-0) took its first loss after falling behind 2-0 in the first six minutes of the game.

Alyssa Stewart collected a long pass that bounced off a Hillcrest defender and put it away for Bishop Kelly’s first goal. Less than three minutes later, Celia Harrington lofted in a shot that tipped just over the hands of Hillcrest keeper Carley Blatter.

“We knew BK was good and fast, and obviously we were a little nervous in the beginning and that hurt us in the end,” Hillcrest coach Dave Coffman said. “The first six minutes we just made two mistakes, and you can’t put the best team in the state up two goals. … They’re just too good of a team. They’ve only given up how many goals all year? We knew it was going to be tough, and we had our chances and just came up short, sadly. But again, I’m very proud of how we played. But BK’s a heck of a team.”

Hillcrest got on the board the 16th minute when Erin Rickenbach knocked in a free kick that was bouncing around in front of the goal.

Hillcrest will play Twin Falls (12-3-2) for third place at 1 p.m. today at Brothers Park.

“They never once (gave up),” Coffman said of his squad’s performance. “But, you know, we’ve got another game tomorrow. And that’s the kicker. And can they and will they come back mentally for that? Because I’ve played in that third-place game a couple times, and that’s just never a fun game. Two of the most unhappy squads out here, and you have to go play. …

“They haven’t lost all year, but they’re very resilient, very strong, a very good group. They’ll get it together.”

Skyline's Moises Aguiar, right, and Borah's Eli Szuch leap high for a header during Thursday's 5A state soccer game in Eagle. Joe Jaszewski / Idaho Statesman

EAGLE – The Skyline High School boys soccer team fought to the end of its opening game at the 5A state tournament Thursday, but the Grizzlies couldn’t quite finish off a comeback, falling 2-1 to the defending state champion Borah Lions.

Skyline got a off to a slow start as Borah controlled the ball for the first quarter of the game. Midway through the second half, the Grizzlies found themselves in a 2-0 hole.

“We knew they were going to come out strong because they’re a lot bigger than us,” Skyline’s Zane Blank said. “We usually come out weak, and for the first 10 minutes they were kind of walking on us. But we just picked it up a little bit, and then in the last 10 minutes we were turning on them

Skyline coach Byraun Moretz said the Grizzlies, making their first trip to state since 2008, had to tackle nerves before they could find their groove.

Physical play – and often dirty play – was also key component to the game. Borah was given three yellow cards.

“Whenever you go to state, it’s going to be physical,” Moretz said. “But there’s a difference between physical and dirty play. We kind of got two-thirds of the dirty play and one-third of the physical, so we weren’t used to that.”

Borah struck first with about nine minutes remaining in the first half. Skyline goalie Jose Cortez dove to save a shot, and Borah’s Josh Szuch knocked in the rebound.

Eli Szuch put the Lions up 2-0 midway through the second half with a header off a cross from Wyatt Hersom.

“They had good goals,” Moretz said. “We did everything we could except maybe finishing our chances. So I was very pleased with how we played.”

Skyline cut the deficit to 2-1 with 21 minutes left on the clock. Borah was charged with a penalty in the box, giving Skyline a penalty kick, and Blank slipped the ball past Borah goalkeeper Armin Mandal.

Cortez finished the game with six saves for the Grizzlies, including a key save on a penalty kick while the game was still scoreless.

“That kept us in the game early on,” Moretz said.

Borah (9-7-2) advances to face Mountain View (16-1-1). Skyline (9-3-2) drops into the consolation bracket and will face Lake City (9-7-1) at 9 a.m. today at Eagle High School.

“We’ve just got to look at the next game and put this one behind us,” Blank said. “We played good, but the next game we’ve got to win for sure.”

“It was a good season because at the beginning of the year in the preseason (expected finish) it said we were the bottom of the league. Nobody expected us to do anything,” Rigby junior forward Dylan Jones said. “And so that kind of gave us a chip on our shoulder, so we went out and we just played basketball. And we made it to the state tournament.”

For the second straight season, the Trojans went 0-2 at the state tournament. But they didn’t go down without a fight.

“Even though we had a big loss yesterday and it was a tough game today, we never gave up,” Dylan Jones said. “We just kept fighting until the end because we knew it could be our last game, so we might as well give it our all.”

Down 23-20 at halftime, the Trojans came roaring back in the third quarter, scoring six straight points to take the lead. From there, the game went back and fourth, but Rigby never trailed by more than four points. All in all, Rigby fought through nine lead changes and seven ties.

“That’s what I love about our team. They never give up, they’re always fighting and trying to get it done,” Rigby coach Justin Jones said. “The effort was there today.”

The game was close not just in scoring. Rigby narrowly out-rebounded Moscow 33-32. Both teams made 17 field goals. Rigby was 19-for-27 from the free-throw line, while Moscow was 18-for-27. The one statistical category Rigby did have a clear lead in was turnovers, 17-11.

“We just didn’t ever get into a rhythm offensively,” Justin Jones said. “Our execution was off a little bit, and when it’s off we kind of force things and then turn it over. We had 11 turnovers that first half.

“We’ve just struggled shooting the basketball these two days and couldn’t quite get them to fall. But again, I’m proud of our defense for hanging in there, battling and keeping us in the game to have a chance.”

Dylan Jones carried the Trojans’ offense with 24 points. Half of Jones’ points came from the free-throw line, where he made 12 straight and finished 12-for-16.

With 26.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Jones sank two crucial free throws that tied the score 48-48 and
eventually sent the game into overtime.

“He’s stepped up big time the last six, seven games and really helped us get here,” Justin Jones said. “I’m really proud of Dylan. But it’s been a team effort all year. The secret ingredient to the Rigby Trojans this year has been that team chemistry and just coming together down the stretch.”

Lane Brooks scored 22 points to lead Moscow (9-14), which advances to face Bishop Kelly in the today’s consolation final. Rigby closes its season at 16-12.

“I’m very pleased with our overall season,” Justin Jones said. “It’s tough right now to really talk about it, but this team, from where we started, to get here, is an amazing feat. … It’s going to take a few days to kind of step back and see how much we really did accomplish, but I’m very proud of the Rigby Trojans this year.”

MOSCOW 58, RIGBY 53, OT
Moscow 14 9 13 12 10 — 58
Rigby 12 8 13 15 5 — 53
MOSCOW — Lane Brooks 22, Sam Lewis 9, Roby Jung 3, Justin Parkins 9, Aaron Donaldson 4, Josh Helbling 11. FG 17. FT 18-27. F 20. 3-pointers: 6 (Brooks 4, Lewis, Jung). Fouled out: Lewis.
RIGBY — Chris Miller 1, Tate Polatis 6, Dallin Polson 4, Dylan Jones 24, Kamen McCullough 9, Nate Clark 5, JonRyheem Peoples 4. FG 17. FT 19-27. F 21. 3-pointers: none. Fouled out: Clark.

As a team, the Diggers shot just 25.4 percent from the field and were held to single-digit scoring in the second quarter.

“Maybe it’s just the state jitters, I guess,” Sugar-Salem coach Jay Miller said. “We’re normally a better shooting team. We had some really good looks, and our offense provided some great opportunities for our guys that normally hit it. Even if they miss a few in the beginning, they normally warm up to it. That was a shock there that we struggled all night long.”

Sugar-Salem had a better night at the free-throw line than in the field. The Diggers shot 57.9 percent from the line, including going 5-for-8 in the third quarter — the one period where they outscored St. Maries 12-11.

While it seemed as though the Lumberjacks were running the table, the Diggers always seemed to find a way back in the game.

Trailing 44-35 — it’s largest deficit of the game — in the fourth quarter, Sugar-Salem went on a 9-2 run to cut the score to 46-44 with less than a minute remaining. But St. Maries’ Satchel Schetzle downed both ends of a 1-and-1 at the line to pad the Lumberjacks’ lead.

Then despite multiple attempts from behind the 3-point line, Sugar-Salem was unable to get a shot in, and Ian Heath sealed the game for the Lumberjacks with a dunk at the buzzer.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket, and we hit the back of the rim,” Sugar-Salem senior guard Kalin Miyasaki said. “We have hot nights and cold nights, and tonight was a cold night.”

Sugar-Salem did benefit from 12 steals and scored 11 points off turnovers as St. Maries turned the ball over 19 times.

“Our defense created a lot of opportunities for ourselves, but we just didn’t capitalize on it,” MIller said. “I felt pretty good about our defensive effort. We held them to 33 points for three quarters. We don’t do that very often against a state-qualifying team.”

Miyasaki led the Diggers with 10 points. He was the only player on Sugar-Salem’s roster to score in double figures.

St. Maries’ defense also held senior point guard Colt Davidson to six points. But he made up for it on the boards, grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.

Senior center Ian Health led St. Maries with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and fellow senior center Zach Lehman chipped in 11 points.

Sugar-Salem is making its first state tournament appearance since 2009, when the Diggers brought home a third-place trophy. Following their first-round loss, the Diggers must shift their focus to winning in the consolation bracket.

“We tried to help them understand that they’re here in one of the funnest competitions that the state ever offers,” Miller said. “We’re not here to do heart surgery or brain surgery, we’re here to play basketball and that’s our passion. We’ll take 10 minutes and hurt and get over it and move on to the next one and do the best we can.”

Miyasaki said his teammates are ready to bounce back.

“Whatever we do, we do together,” he said. “So we just have to find the strength in each other and the team and push through to get that consolation trophy.”

ST. MARIES 50, SUGAR-SALEM 44
St. Maries 13 9 11 17 – 50
Sugar-Salem 12 6 12 14 – 44
ST. MARIES — Warren Joiner 4, Satchel Schetzle 8, Zach Lehman 11, Jaden Guidry 2, Jake Mercer 5, Ian Heath 15, Nick Cordell 5. FG 17. FT 16-21. F 18. 3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.
SUGAR-SALEM — Kalin Miyasaki 10, Chasen Marler 9, Bo Briggs 3, Wilson Rydalch 3, Brandon Somsen 1, Colt Davidson 6, Michael Larson 6, Brandon Rhoton 4, Jason Hawkes 2. FG 15. FT 11-19. F 18. 3-pointers: 3 (Marler, Larson 2). Fouled out: none.

The Diggers put that practice to work Thursday evening and downed defending champion Priest River 50-40 in the first round of the 3A state tournament.

“That’s been our goal since districts — to have good, strong team defense all the time, good help side and just get down and move our feet and play real well,” forward Georgia Brown said.

In a final display of what their defense could do, the Diggers kept Priest River from scoring for more than a minute to end the game.

“We wanted to attack them, we wanted to play good, solid defense, and that’s what we did,” Sugar-Salem coach Todd Jensen said. “I thought in the first half our defense wasn’t as good as it could be. But in the second half, there were stretches where we did a much better job.”

Brown spearheaded the Diggers’ attack with 13 points and 12 rebounds. She and guard Vanessa Hawkes combined to score Sugar-Salem’s first 16 points and get the Diggers rolling. Hawkes scored all 11 of her points in the first half.

Also contributing double-digit scoring for Sugar-Salem was guard Kimber Choffin, who finished the game with 12 points on two 3-pointers and a 6-for-6 performance from the free-throw line. Four of those free throws came in the final minutes as Sugar-Salem pulled away for the win.

“She’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter, so I’ll put her on the line anywhere,” Jensen said of Choffin. “She does a good job for us on the free-throw line. That’s where we want the ball to be. We want her to have it.”

Priest River (13-11) took its first and only lead late in the second quarter, 19-18, but a Choffin 3-pointer put the Diggers back in control. They finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run to head into halftime up 25-19.

With the win, Sugar-Salem (19-5) advances to today’s semifinals against Marsh Valley at 8 p.m.

“It feels really great because last year we lost in the first round and then we came back to beat all the other teams,” Brown said. “So it feels good to come back and win.”

Sugar-Salem, making its fifth straight trip to state under Jensen, took the consolation championship last season. The Diggers have brought home a trophy in each of those five trips, including state titles in 2009 and 2007. But Jensen said his team is taking one game at a time.

“We’re excited for the next game,” he said, “We’re ready for Round 2.”

SUGAR-SALEM 50, PRIEST RIVER 40
Priest River 9 10 13 8 – 40
Sugar-Salem 12 13 16 9 – 50
PRIEST RIVER – Melissa Trost 4, Steffie Pavey 7, Morgan Stewart 10, Courtney Oscarson 2, Kelsey Bradbury 5, Liz Halcro 8, Holly Hirst 4. FG 45. FT 6-13. F 18. 3-pointers: 4 (Stewart 3, Bradbury 1). Fouled out: none.
SUGAR-SALEM – Vanessa Hawkes 11, McKall Miller 5, Georgia Brown 13, Mikailei Inns 8, Kimber Choffin 12, Sierra Spratling 1. FG 17. FT 13-20. F 11. 3-pointers: 3 (Choffin 2, Hawkes 1). Fouled out: none.

The Tigers played seven matches at the Skyline Classic tournament and suffered their first loss of the season, but at the end of the day they walked away with a tournament championship.

“Everything is a learning lesson,” Idaho Falls coach Wendy Johnson said. “And these tournaments teach us about how much endurance we have coming into the season. … We lost that one kind of early on today and we’ve had to keep playing all day long and I’m pleased to see they’ve got some endurance in them.”

Idaho Falls, a perennial 5A power, went up against Snake River, a tough 3A team, in the championship match and earned a 25-21, 25-21 win.

The Panthers (12-2) never let Idaho Falls (13-1) get ahead by more than seven points. And although Snake River never held the lead after the first point in the first set, the second set saw six ties and three lead changes.

“That I.F. team plays almost year round,” Snake River coach Shelli Van Orden said. “And you cannot replace the experience that they have together and tournament experience and just playing time. We have yet to start our club, and so it was awesome to stay in the game with them.”

Idaho Falls entered the tournament undefeated without losing a set. Saturday morning, the Tigers downed Firth and Shelley before falling to Rigby 26-24, 26-24.

Following the loss, the Tigers had to battle back and win three more games to get into the championship.

Idaho Falls defeated Madison and Hillcrest and then turned around to beat the Rigby team it had lost to earlier in the day after Rigby had fallen into the consolation bracket with a 25-22, 25-22 loss to Snake River in the semifinals. This time, things went in Idaho Falls’ favor as the Tigers beat Rigby 25-22, 25-18.

“When we came around the second time it was kind of one of those ‘Oh boy, here it is again,’” Johnson said. “And then they finally figured it out and then after that it was, ‘OK, now we know we can play volleyball with them.’”

This year, they’re on the same side and they’re taking down the competition together.

“They work well together because they’re also best friends,” Idaho Falls coach Linda Mabe said. “So their communication is pretty good.”

The duo had never played together for the high school team before this season, but they’ve played in club tournaments together for many years. They said they have fun together on the court, which has made the switch from mixed to girls doubles an easy one.

“They’re both totally different games,” McGriff said. “Mixed has more pace than girls doubles. But we feel we’re a strong team, so we hope we can do well in girls doubles.”

As Idaho Falls’ No. 1 girls doubles team, McGriff and Wright have won all of their matches this season, including the championship at the Eastern Idaho Tennis Invitational on Saturday at Sunnyside Park.

“It was awesome,” Mabe said. “We’re very proud of Leah and Payton and their win for Idaho Falls.”

McGriff and Wright defeated Wood River’s Lauren Reutter and Margaret Reutter 6-3, 6-1 for the title.

“We expect them to have a really good season,” Mabe said. “Without wanting to jinx anything, we have high hopes for districts and also state for them.”

The duo is also eyeing a trip to the state tournament. Even as sophomores, state isn’t intimidating — they’ve been there before.

Last year as freshmen, McGriff and Wright both went to state as members of Idaho Falls’ two mixed doubles teams. Wright and her partner, Kyle Mabe, brought home third place to add to their district championship.

McGriff and Wright are also looking forward to the Capital Invitational at the end of the month in Boise, where they’ll get a sneak preview of the competition at state.

“There’s definitely good competition in Boise,” McGriff said.

Idaho Falls also made an appearance in the boys doubles championship. Jake Lockie and Ryan Wallace were defeated by Pocatello’s Nick Howell and Sander Hadley 6-4, 6-7, 6-0.

In mixed doubles, the Hillcrest duo of Kallie Ball and Riley Salmon won the championship with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Sarah Erickson and Desmond Miles of Madison. Wood River’s Karl Wilander won the boys singles title, defeating Hillcrest’s Breydan Wright 6-0, 6-1. In girls singles, Bonneville’s Kaylee Fenner lost to Pocatello’s Karlie Standley 7-6, 6-4.

The Grizzlies’ No. 2 singles player extended her win streak this season to nine straight matches with a first-round win.

But in her second match of the day, Strubel took her first loss of the season 6-2, 6-3 to Wood River’s Sloan Storey.

“I hate losing, but it has to happen sometime,” Strubel said. “Tomorrow I’ll be fresh, so hopefully I can to a lot better.”

The loss dropped Strubel, a junior who also plays soccer and basketball at Skyline, into the tournament’s consolation bracket. But she hopes to get back to winning. Her goal for the rest of the season is to win as much as she can, including her conference matchups, so she can go to the state tournament for the first time.

“We’ve just had one conference match so far, so I haven’t been able to size up the competition very well, but I’d say she’s definitely in the running,” Skyline coach Saul Chessin said of Strubel’s shot at state. “It’s my expectation that she can make it to state. But I’m kind of biased and I always have high hopes. But she’s a good competitor. … I would say of anybody, Gracie would definitely be in the running.”

Strubel got a look at some of her conference competition Friday. Her first-round win was a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Idaho Falls’ Alexandra Spruill.

Strubel’s hoping the match is an indication of how the rest of her conference schedule will go.

“She was really good, so I’m sure next time it’ll be pretty tough,” Strubel said. “I.F. is good this year.”

On a team with a below .500 record — the Skyline girls are off to a 3-4-1 start — Strubel has been the constant.

In a 5-1 loss at Highland on Tuesday, Strubel was the lone win. She also accounted for one point in a 4.5-1.5 team loss to Century last weekend.

Chessin said No. 1 singles player Jolyn Kelsch and the doubles team of Emily Webb and Whitney Barker have also been strong.

“Those three teams and players are kind of the bread and butter of the team,” Chessin said. “But Gracie definitely has been the most consistent performer for sure.”

Prior to the tournament, Strubel had lost only 25 games in eight matches. And only once was she pushed to a third set.

“She works really hard,” Chessin said. “She really plays to win no matter what.”

Chessin added that it’s impressive when a player can be as consistent as Strubel has been this season.

“Gracie is good, solid player,” he said. “She’s just a good athlete in general and she’s coming around as a tennis player. She has a lot of potential and she’s improved a lot over the last couple years. She’s a very consistent, solid player.”