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NAMPA - Even when everyone else knew the game was basically over, Kim Brydges never felt comfortable.

The long-time Boise High School girls basketball coach’s reasoning was valid afterwards.

“It’s state tournament time. So that’s the thing, anything can happen in the state tournament,” she said. 

But the expected happened and the Brave ended back-to-back years of first-round loss with a 52-38 win over Post Falls on Thursday in the Idaho Class 5A girls state tournament quarterfinals at the Ford Idaho Center. 

Fifth-seeded Boise (20-3) will play No. 1 Lake City (21-3) at 5 p.m. Friday on this same court.

It means the Brave will not win the consolation-title trophy for the third year in a row.

And that’s perfectly fine with them.

“Unfortunately, we stubbed our toe in that first-round game quite a few times and we end up playing for a trophy, but it’s a consolation trophy,” Brydges said. “So it’s nice to be able to advance and that’s all you want to do right now. It doesn’t have to be pretty.”

But it was a pretty impressive result for Boise (20-3).

Its three senior captains combined for 46 points.

Ashley Banks led with 18 points and four rebounds. Ava Oakland recorded 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Ella Nelson rounded it out with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.

“We all have super good chemistry,” Oakland said. “What’s really great about our team is maybe one player is not scoring as much or doing as good as they usually do. But we can all pick them up and get those points.”

Banks was particularly great. The 6-foot-4 post was perfect from both the field (7-for-7) and the free-throw line (4-for-4).

“I don’t know,” said Banks when asked what she did to have that kind of performance. “I just figured that out in the locker room, which is awesome. I’ve been working on really setting my feet and just finding the basket and looking for the backboard. I guess it paid off tonight.”

Boise only trailed for about one minute and 16 seconds and that came in the first quarter. No. 4 Post Falls (18-7) led 3-2 and 7-4 in the first three minutes of the game. But after a steal and layin by Trinidie Nichols gave the Troans a 7-4 advantage at the five-minute mark, the Brave went on an 8-0 run. It was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Nelson. They outscored 15-5 the rest of the quarter for a 19-12 lead after one. Post Falls didn’t get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“It was super big. Our coaches kept saying, ‘The first game at state is always the hardest.’ So to come out like that and gain that lead was really motivating,” Banks said. “(We) kept that throughout the entire game.”

The Trojans, which lost starting guard Americus Crane on the first play of the game due to an ankle injury, had just one player reach double figures in scoring. Lexi Heath notched 13 points for Post Falls, which will play Rocky Mountain in the consolation on Friday at noon at Mountain View High School.

LAKE CITY 44, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 39

Sophia Zufelt wasn’t about to let her team lose this one.

It had been 15 long years after all.

The sophomore guard scored six of her eight points in the final six minutes to ensure the Timberwolves’ drought came to an end. Lake City won a first-round game for the first time since 2007 - the year of its last title - during the opener of the Idaho Class 5A Girls Basketball State Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Ford Idaho Center.

“I did not know that,” Zufelt said about the drought. “But I think that we had a pretty good team this season and so we all just figured we make it pretty far and be successful.”

The No. 1 Timberwolves (21-3) hadn’t been able to put away the eighth seeded Grizzlies (12-14) all game long. Their largest lead was seven at 22-15 in the first minute of the third quarter. But Rocky Mountain wouldn’t go away, and the lead was in serious jeopardy a couple times in the fourth quarter.

A free throw by Grizzly senior guard Marli Reed cut it down to 31-29 with just under six minutes remaining. But on the ensuing possession, Zufelt immediately called for the ball by clapping her hands. She got her wish. 

Zufelt took the pass and instantly drained a 3-pointer into the bottom of the net to put the lead back up to five.

“All my shots were going in and out and they (teammates) go, ‘You got the next,’” Zufelt said. “So when I shot it, I knew it was in.”

But the lead still wasn’t safe.

Rocky Mountain whittled the lead down again. This time to just one at 36-35 on a putback by junior wing Brielle Magnuson with 3 minutes and 42 seconds left. 

However, Zufelt answered again.

She slashed towards the basketball before catching a pass from junior guard Allie Bowman to increase the lead to 38-35 with 3:25 to go. The Grizzlies didn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

“Her percentage in the fourth quarter of tight games is probably double what the yearly percentage is,” Lake City coach James Anserson said. “She tends to really step up and shoot the ball well when the pressure is on. And she stepped up and did it again.”

Bowman finished with a team-high 10 points.

Reed led Rocky Mountain with 10 points.

TIMBERLINE 42, BORAH 39

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

The state’s need to adopt the shot-clock rule rang true when the second-seeded Wolves (23-2) were able to avoid an upset by milking almost three minutes off the clock to preserve the win.

After Borah senior wing Jayden McNeal hit a 3-pointer with 3 minutes and 22 seconds remaining to pull her team within one at 37-36, Timberline coach Andy Jones called a timeout.

When Timberline returned to the court and ran a few plays, the strategy became clear.

“We got to the point where we had a one-point lead and had to shorten the game,” Jones said about the decision. “Momentum was not heading our way.”

The move backfired on the Wolves during last week’s district championship against Boise when Avery Howell stole the inbounds pass and converted on the old-fashioned three-point play. But it worked out for them this time - albeit with a few lucky breaks. 

They were on the right end of the possession arrow on a jump ball. Then when the Lions (18-7) finally fouled with 52.5 seconds left, Timberline junior guard Lauren McCall missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw. Lucky for her, junior wing Kailey Huergerich grabbed the offensive board to extend the possession. 

“Our guards are studs,” Timberline senior forward Sophie Glancey said. “... They felt safe holding the ball, and I felt confident in their abilities to keep the ball and be smart and make the right decisions.”

After a free throw by senior guard Audrey Taylor, who is signed to play at Northern Arizona University, and a costly Borah turnover, McCall got another opportunity. With the arena roaring, she calmly sank a pair of big frees to make it a two-possession game at 40-36 with 18.3 ticks remaining.

“We really kept our composure,” McCall said. “I think that’s our biggest thing in our past, not keeping our composure. I think it was really good for us and everyone had each other’s backs. That was the biggest thing for us.”

However, Borah still wouldn’t go away. McNeal drained another 3-pointer with 4.1 to go. But the Lions were unable to force a turnover on the inbounds pass and had to foul. Taylor made her free throws and junior wing Piper Davis intercepted a desperation pass from the Lions as the final horn sounded.

“Judging on a scale of 10, 4,000,” said Borah coach Georoge Rodriguez when asked how bad Idaho needs a shot clock. “I understand the tactics, but for a team to play man-to-man defense for two minutes straight and not be rewarded in some way, especially in the magnitude of the state tournament, it’s frustrating.”

Borah jumped out to an 11-2 lead four minutes in the game thanks to sophomore guard Sydney Rodriguez drilling three 3-pointers. Timberline rallied back, though, with a 10-0 run to end the first quarter. The Wolves then appeared to break open the game in the third quarter with an 11-2 run of their own. They were up 35-24 before Rodriguez buried a trey at the buzzer that ended up kickstarting the Lions’ rally in the fourth quarter.

McNeal finished with a game-high 20 points, including four 3s. Rodriguez also had four 3-pointers for 14 points.

Glanecy, who is also signed to Northern Arizona University, paced Timberline with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. McCall tallied 10 points.

CLASS 4A QUARTERFINAL SCORES

NO. 1 BLACKFOOT 53, NO. 8 BISHOP KELLY 35

NO. 4 SKYLINE 55, MOUNTAIN HOME 47

NO. 3 PRESTON 42, NO. 6 SANDPOINT 24

NO. 2 BURLEY 50, NO. 7 MIDDLETON 39

CLASS 3A QUARTERFINAL SCORES

NO. 1 SUGAR-SALEM 59, NO. 8 FILER 35

NO. 5 PARMA 54, NO. 4 WEISER 38

NO. 3 TETON 50, NO. 6 FRUITLAND 38

NO. 2 SNAKE RIVER 59, NO. 7 KELLOGG 45

CLASS 2A QUARTERFINAL SCORES

NO. 1 GRANGEVILLE 58, NO. 8 DECLO 38

NO. 4 ABERDEEN 56, NO. 5 RIRIE 45

NO. 3 COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN 48, NO. 6 SODA SPRINGS 37

NO. 2 MELBA 47, NO. 7 NORTH FREMONT 44

CLASS 1A (DI) QUARTERFINAL SCORES

NO. 1 LAPWAI 70, NO. 8 LIBERTY CHARTER 19

NO. 4 RAFT RIVER 37, NO. 5 OAKLEY 24

NO. 3 PRAIRIE 65, NO. 6 NOTUS 28

NO. 2 BUTTE COUNTY 51, NO. 7 WALLACE 32

CLASS 1A (DIi) QUARTERFINAL SCORES

NO. 1 ROCKLAND 38, NO. 8 CAREY 25

NO. 5 DEARY 42, NO. 4 KENDRICK 39

NO. 3 RICHFIELD 44, NO. 6 LEADORE 32

NO. 2 COUNCIL 58, NO. 7 TRI-VALLEY 38

(All photos by Loren Orr Photography)