Districts was last week. And this week, sixth-ranked Rigby restores order by beating Thunder Ridge in 5A girls basketball state quarterfinals
NAMPA - Rigby lost to Thunder Ridge for the first time in program history this season. The Titans actually got them twice, including at last week’s district championship.
The Trojans weren’t about to let Thunder Ridge get another one on them, especially when it matters most. Rigby dispatched last year’s state runner-up with relative ease in a 62-47 win Thursday during the Idaho Class 5A state girls basketball quarterfinals at the Ford Idaho Center.
The No. 6 Trojans (19-5) will play No. 2 Timberline (23-2) at 7 p.m. Friday back inside the Ford Idaho Center.
"It’s a true motivation, for sure," Rigby coach Todd Barber said. "These girls definitely wanted another shot at Thunder. They’re a great program, they won the district. But these girls had something to prove and wanted to show it tonight."
And Rigby did so with its best player having a subpar game. Sophomore forward Kambree Barber, who came in averaging 18 points per game, didn’t get anywhere near that. She finished with nine points on 2-of-13 (15%) shooting.
But it didn’t matter.
The Trojans had three other players step up to reach double figures. Sophomore point guard Kylie Dansie paved the way with 18 points, including going 5-for-9 from behind the arch.
Senior forward Brooklyn Youngstrom almost recorded a double-double of 12 points and nine boards, while Hadley Good added 11 points.
"We've got a deep team," Todd Barber said. "We just have some great talent and we’re lucky to have them."
History looked like it was going to repeat itself early on. Rigby fell into a 5-0 hole and had to use a timeout less than two minutes in. But the reset paid dividends.
Dansie scored seven of her points and hit two of hers 3-pointers to spark a 16-1 run that blew the game wide open. Thunder Ridge didn’t get any closer than seven points and trailed by as many as 22 after that.
"That definitely gave us motivation to get us firing and going," Dansie said.
After going five seasons without making a state semifinal (2016-2020), Rigby will now make back-to-back appearances. The Idaho High School Activities Association doesn’t have the Trojans ever doing that in their archive records, which go back to 1985.
"Coming back knowing that this is our second time in the semis, we’re, ‘OK, we didn’t get it last year, we’re gonna go this year and we’re going to fight harder,'" Youngstrom said. "We’re practicing harder this year. We’re running. We’re really cracking down on the teams (and) watching film."
Junior guard Aspen Caldwell, who is talking to several Division I schools, had a quiet 22 points. Junior Kennedy Stenquist chipped in with 14 points for the Titans (20-4), who will play Borah at 2 p.m. Friday in the consolation semis at Mountain View High School.
(Featured photo by Loren Orr)
