Amari Whiting sets 4A Idaho state tournament scoring record as Burley rolls to state championship

NAMPA - Amari Whiting has racked up numerous accolades and records over the last three seasons, including Saturday night by breaking her own 4A Idaho State Tournament scoring record with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists..

The Burley High School junior guard has kind of just been associated with that. It’s understandable with her being the 32nd-ranked junior recruit in the nation and a University of Oregon commit.

But the only thing she’s truly ever cared about when it comes to basketball, is winning. Whiting did just that in Burley's 58-43 victory over Skyline in the Idaho Class 4A State Championship at the Ford Idaho Center.

“I feel very blessed,” Whiting said. “I didn’t come in here trying to accomplish all these personal accolades. I just wanted one thing. That was to win. I’m proud of my teammates. I’m proud of how hard we worked this season. We got it done.”

But it was overnight as some might have thought when Whiting burst onto the scene as a freshman. Despite leading the classification in scoring in each of the last two seasons and being the 4A State Player of the Year in 2021, she only had a consolation and a third-place trophy to show for it. The Bobcats suffered a heartbreaking 40-39 first-round loss to Sandpoint in 2020 before being routed by Blackfoot in the semis last season.

“I feel like everything happens for a reason,” said Burley head coach and mother Amber Whiting. “And sometimes when you’re going through it, it sucks and it’s hard.

“I feel like everything along the way makes sure to prepare you for things like today.”

It was supposed to be the No. 2 Bobcats (25-1) getting payback on No. 1 Blackfoot in the matchup everyone all season wanted. But the Broncos were upset by the Grizzlies in the semis Friday, spoiling the highly anticipated game. 

Burley wanted to avoid suffering the same fate.

“In the first game we got down, the second game we got down, (so) mentally, we needed to dig in,” Amber Whiting said. “So I kind of got into it before we went out there and was like, ‘Look, this is ours to take. Stop messing around. Let’s go.’”

They listened.

Burley led from start to finish. The game was really over by halftime after a 17-2 run in the second quarter gave the Bobcats a 20-point advantage heading into the locker room.

Amari Whiting broke her own scoring record of 82 points on a layin off her own rebound at the 5-minute and 35-second of the third quarter. The new Class 4A Tournament record now stands at 89 points. She also broke her own scoring average tourney record, which is now 29.7 points per game. Burley then led by as many as 28 points with just a few minutes left in the third. So it seemed like it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Not necessarily.

After Burley began the fourth up 50-23, Skyline freshman wing Shay Shippen - a teammate of Whiting’s with Natalie Williams Basketball Academy - scored the next 12 points herself. It resulted in a 14-0 run and cut the deficit all the way down to 13 at 50-37 with 3:49 to go.. Whiting also picked up her fourth during that stretch of time, which made things a little interesting at the end.

“You can’t ever take it for granted,” Amber Whiting said. “I feel we got really complacent.

“We had to kind of refocus a little bit to get back to what we were doing.”

A driving layin by senior guard Lynzey Searle, who finished with 13 points and four rebounds, a few seconds later calmed things. No. 4 Skyline (15-14) didn’t get any closer than 12 points the rest of the way, resulting in the Bobcats’ third title in school history and the first since 2018.

“It’s just not me,” Amari Whiting said. “People think of Burley, they think of Amari. No. It’s me, my twins (Lynzey and Sydney Searle, my post (Rowan Ontiveros. They all helped me out each and every night.”

Shippen tied with Whiting with 25 points, along with eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who saw their Cinderella run come to an end. Few if anyone would have picked them to make it this far after losing Montana State signee Mattie Olson to a torn ACL before the season. Skyline also started the season 2-7 and only won consecutive games once heading into state. 

Senior Tailer Thomas didn’t suit up for the Grizzlies as well after injuring her knee preserving the upset of previously unbeaten and reigning state champion Blackfoot in the semis Friday.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Keck said. “They earned every moment of this.”

And in a heartwarming moment, Olson checked into the game with around 15 seconds remaining. She received the pass and her 3-point attempt just bounced off the rim as time expired.

“We aren’t here without her fight and her drive and her straight competition to pull people up to the level that it takes to be here,” Keck said. “So I have just all the respect in the world for her and I know she’s going to go on to have an amazing career after this.

“It was so hard on her to not be able to play in that game and just feel like she had let the team down. So I just felt in that moment, that’s one of those bigger than the game moments.”

(All photos by Loren Orr)

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