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Welcome to Baney's Basketball Breakdown, a weekly reset that allows all of us to catch our breath and reflect on the past week of high school competition. There will be lots to digest below, so let's get to it!
OPENING TIP
Now that we are a couple of years into the MaxPreps Era (in which the MaxPreps rating system is used to seed the teams that advance to state), coaches are starting to figure out ways to play Idaho's best teams, regardless of how apart the schools might be. In Class 6A, Coeur d'Alene, Lake City and Post Falls all traveled south to play Boise-area 6A teams this weekend, and Madison and 5A Skyline did the same. Boise and Owyhee actually traveled east to play Rigby and Owyhee, and at the Class 3A level, Soda Springs and Malad traveled to the Treasure Valley to face Melba and Parma. We could go on and on describing all of the travel teams are doing to ensure they're playing the best opponents, but the point is clear: beating up on teams that are close to home does no good in this new era. Our coaches should be applauded for being willing and flexible to travel outside of their comfort zone to play the best games possible.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Class 2A Valley trailed Class 1A Dietrich 36-28 when the fourth quarter of their non-conference game began on Tuesday, November 18th. But the Vikings (1-2) outscored the Blue Devils (0-3) 14-6 in the fourth quarter to storm back. Leading 42-40 with 12.7 seconds to play, Dietrich inbounded along the far sideline. Valley's pressure defense succeeded, as junior Seleni Sanchez stole the ball and scored a layup to tie the game at 42-42 with just five seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, it was Dietrich's turn to rally late. Trailing 53-50 with 15 seconds to go in OT, Dietrich sophomore Sierra Norman drilled a three-point shot from the left wing as time expired, tying the contest up at 53-53 and ensuring the fans in attendance got to watch a second overtime period.
Finally, in the second overtime, Valley earned the win. Tied at 62-62 with one minute remaining, a shot on the right block by sophomore Emily Huettig gave the Vikings a 64-62 lead. After a defensive stop, junior Hailey Malone sank two free throws to officially seal the 66-62 win for Valley.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Class 4A Sugar-Salem Diggers (2-0) opened up their title defense with two victories: a 58-31 over Class 5A Shelley (a regional rival), and a 59-50 triumph over Bear Lake in a rematch of last year's 4A state championship game. Many predicted that Bear Lake would emerge victorious on the strength of their returning players, but Diggers coach Crystal Dayley has already proved once again that Sugar-Salem is the type of program that reloads rather than rebuilds.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Class 2A Vision Charter (2-2) split its first four games of the season, defeating Treasure Valley Classical in the season opener 67-25 before finishing 1-2 at the Mountain Madness Tournament hosted by Cascade High School (with a win over Horseshoe Bend and a pair of six-point losses to Cascade and Highland of Craigmont). Vision senior Raelynn Nickel nearly had a triple-double against Horseshoe Bend, finishing with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 steals. Honestly, Nickel was only one steal and three rebounds away from a quadruple-double! Across the four games, Nickel average 14.3 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, 5.8 assists per game and 7.8 steals per game.
30-BURGER CLUB
Each week, we will highlight any player that breaks the 30-point mark in a single game (please send in 30-burger performers to brandon@idahosports.com).
Adyson Chadez, 12, Marsing (34 points vs. Caldwell on Friday, November 21)
Kyleigh Wolfe, 12, Lakeside (32 points vs. Clark Fork on Tuesday, November 18)
Brookeslee Colvin, 11, Coeur d'Alene (30 points vs. Boise on Saturday, November 22)
Halle Wells, 11, Bear Lake (30 points vs. Sugar-Salem on Thursday, November 20)
TOURNEY TIME!
Each week, we'll list all of the regular season tournaments featuring Idaho squads:
NONE
Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday everyone!
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