Sugar-Salem wins 8th Idaho girls basketball state championship (video, photos)
Crystal Dayley never won one as a player.
But Dayley, who played on Sugar-Salem’s state runner-up team in 2000, is now the winningest state championship coach in program history after a 47-32 victory over Teton Saturday in the Idaho Class 3A State Championship at the Ford Idaho Center. She now has four state titles and counting since taking over 10 years ago.
It’s the eighth overall championship in school history and the third in the last five years. And with it, No. 1 Sugar-Salem (22-2) broke a three-way tie with Moscow and Shelley for the most-ever in the classification with seven.
“We have a system and the kids are bought in 100%,” Dayley said. “The parents are supportive. The community is supportive. They buy in from the time they’re young. We got kids that work hard and buy into what we want.”
The Diggers regained their throne after two disappointing seasons - by their standards. Sugar-Salem lost in the first round to eventual state champion Timberlake - in a matchup of the top-two ranked teams of the state that took place because of the then predetermined seeding. It then lost to the White Tigers again in last year’s title game.
So with six returners back, that was fresh on their minds.
“They were pretty hard for us,” said senior Hailey Harris, who was a freshman the last time Sugar-Salem won a state title in 2019. “But I think it helped us build for this year. It made us want it more than we did the last couple of years.”
Despite falling down in an 8-2 hole to No. 3 Teton (19-11) - a team it had already played four times before - in the first quarter and being in a 19-19 stalemate in the third, Sugar-Salem went on an 11-2 in the third to break the game wide open. The Diggers then outscored the Timberwolves 28-13 in the second half.
“I told the kids, ‘They can hang with you for a half, but they can’t hang with you for a game,” Dayley said. “I just thought we came out that third quarter with intensity.
“It wasn’t our offense (14 of 44). We did not have a great offensive outing at all. But defense is what won the game for us”
Sugar-Salem owned the boards 43-24, forced the Timberwolves to shoot 28.6% from the field and created 16 turnovers.
Harris nearly pulled off a double-double with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Kennedy Gillete added 10 points, while senior Natalyah Nead grabbed eight rebounds.
Sophomore wing Morgan Johnson had 11 points for Teton, which played in its first-ever state final.
(All photos by Loren Orr)
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