Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Sugar-Salem
T-2. South Fremont
T-2. Teton
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kinley Brown, Teton
Tatum Streit, Teton
Grace Hogan, Teton
Rylie Neville, South Fremont
Addi Hill, South Fremont
Josee Angell, South Fremont
Berklee Yancey, South Fremont
Natalie Robles, South Fremont
Hailey Harris, Sugar-Salem
Natalyah Nead, Sugar-Salem
Katie Miller, Sugar-Salem
Olivia Crapo, Sugar-Salem
Kennedy Gillette, Sugar-Salem
Meg Fillmore, Sugar-Salem
The years may change, but the 3A Mountain Rivers Conference remains consistent with brutal competition, at least one girls basketball team ranked in the state media and coaches poll throughout the season and at least one team playing on Saturday in late February for state hardware.
Defending district champion Sugar-Salem returns a wealth of players from last year's 24-2 3A state runner-up team. While Mardee Fillmore, Lizzy Baldwin, and Sunny Bennion graduated, the Diggers return all conference players Hailey Harris, Meg Fillmore, Kennedy Gillette, Olivia Crapo, Katie Miller and Natalyah Nead.
Balanced scoring and staunch defense have long been points of pride under head coach Crystal Dayley, and becoming more consistent in outside shooting is a priority for this season. The Diggers will face the likes of 4A teams Preston and Skyline, 3A east Idaho rival Snake River, 2A powerhouse Soda Springs and will play in the Preston Indians Classic tournament in early December.
"We have the toughest schedule we have ever played and have a lot of games we are super excited about," Dayley said.
South Fremont, which went 7-16 last season, graduated point guard and sharp shooter Kinley Geisler. However, the Cougars return all-conference players Rylie Neville, Berklee Yancey, Addi Hill and Josee Angell to their roster. Head coach Jacob Zarpentine said South Fremont will also benefit from the additions of Natalie Robles, Kallie Johnson, and Kindy Thueson to varsity.
Zarpentine said the Cougars did a good job of getting open looks last season, and anticipate to have a higher field goal percentage this year. Cutting down on turnovers is a priority this season. "We hope to take care of the ball better this year and create more shots for our offense," Zarpentine said.
Like the Diggers, the Cougars will face some traditional basketball powers on their schedule this winter. In early December, South Fremont hosts Fruitland (3A) and defending 2A state champion Melba, which last winter became the first non-eastern Idaho program since 2011 to win the 2A girls basketball state title. "(It’s) always great to be able to play teams from District III and gauge where we are at within the state," Zarpentine said.
Zarpentine added that the Cougars look forward to their conference games versus Teton, which won all four meetings with South Fremont by single digits last season. Dayley and Zarpentine said Teton is most definitely a team to watch. The Timberwolves went 7-15 last winter and, like South Fremont, missed out on the postseason, but return almost their entire varsity roster including Kinley Brown, Grace Hogan and Tatum Streit.
"Teton has a lot of young kids that are great basketball players and I think they will be one of the toughest teams in the state," Dayley said.