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Photo courtesy of GameFrame Photography
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
This will be our last Girls Basketball Breakdown of the year. Why is this weekly space highlighting Idaho's best girls basketball teams going away?
One simple answer: the postseason is nigh.
That's right. Postseason district tournaments begin in earnest next week, which means our focus will shift to which teams have been eliminated, which teams are still alive, and what the latest Bracketology projections look like.
We'll start to officially look at the MaxPreps rankings, and draw up daily brackets for all six classification based upon what our projections and the MaxPreps algorithms say.
Again, I'd love to live in a world where this is happening simultaneously with the boys postseason, but beggars can't be choosers.
Needless to say, there will be good teams left at home when state tournaments tip off. The race to the 48 spots available is going to be fascinating.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Class 1A Deary (9-0 Whitepine League, 15-1 overall) has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, and is the favorite to win the Whitepine regular season and district tournament titles later this year. However, last year's Whitepine champs, Genesee, aren't about to hand off the crown without a battle. The Bulldogs finished 22-2 last year, including a perfect 10-0 in WPL play, and advanced all the way to the 1A championship game. There are a few remnants of that team still remaining, but the road hasn't been as smooth this year. Genesee sits at 10-6 overall, but 4-4 in WPL action. When the Bulldogs traveled to Deary in December, the Mustangs picked up an eleven-point win, 47-36. In the rematch at Genesee, the Bulldogs were prepared for a tighter battle. After pushing Deary for nearly four full quarters, the contest was tied at 40-40.
You might think, with all of that talk about Genesee in the paragraph above, that the Bulldogs found a way to win. Alas, not every game has the perfect Hollywood ending. Deary's Payton Reynolds snuck inside the three-point line, and released a two-point shot as time expired, lifting the Mustangs to the 42-40 win. Reynolds finished with a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds. Needless to say, if these rivals face off again at districts, both sides will be out to prove that this game-winning shot in the final moments wasn't a fluke.
UNDEFEATED WATCH
Each week in this space, we'll keep a running list of the teams that are still unbeaten in Idaho, with a look at the games that lie ahead on their schedule for the upcoming week:
6A: Rigby (19-0) - vs. Pocatello, at Hillcrest
4A: Sugar-Salem (19-0) - vs. Snake River, at South Fremont
1A: Salmon River (19-0) - vs. Garden Valley, vs. Horseshoe Bend
LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
In this section, we'll keep track of how Idaho has performed against its competition from other states throughout the year. As we head into Christmas Tournament time, there will be plenty of opportunities for Idaho to show its dominance over teams from across the nation.
Alabama (0-1)
Arizona (2-0)
California (7-4)
Colorado (6-2)
Montana (5-3)
Nebraska (1-0)
Oklahoma (1-0)
Oregon (17-13)
Tennessee (0-1)
Utah (14-12)
Washington (38-21)
Wyoming (8-4)
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).
Brookeslee Colvin, 11, Coeur d'Alene (39 points vs. Post Falls on Saturday, January 24)
Rylee Walters, 12, Salmon River (36 points vs. Council on Tuesday, January 20)
Kyleigh Wolfe, 12, Lakeside (36 points vs. Kellogg on Wednesday, January 21)
Brookeslee Colvin, 11, Coeur d'Alene (35 points vs. Lake City on Thursday, January 22)
Raelynn Nickel, 12, Vision Charter (34 points vs. Wilder on Thursday, January 22)
Kaia Kesler, 11, Hillcrest (33 points vs. Idaho Falls on Friday, January 23)
Jocelyn Lloyd, 10, Burley (32 points vs. Jerome on Wednesday, January 21)
Annelise Curran, 11, Ambrose (31 points vs. Marsing on Friday, January 23)
Macy Murphey, 11, Timberlake (31 points vs. North Central, WA on Tuesday, January 20)
Quincy Keller, 12, Mountain View (30 points vs. Owyhee on Thursday, January 22)
Abby Lusk, 12, Pocatello (30 points vs. Century on Wednesday, January 21)
Addy Maseda, 12, Oakley (30 points vs. Gooding on Saturday, January 17)
TOURNEY TIME!
Now that regular season tournament time has concluded (for the most part), the Tourney Time section will morph into what I believe the upcoming state tournaments could look like. Each week, I'll forecast which eight teams I believe will represent each classification at state.
CLASS 6A
Borah (17-3)
Capital (12-7)
Coeur d'Alene (18-2)
Eagle (17-2)
Middleton (17-3)
Rigby (19-0)
Thunder Ridge (14-6)
Timberline (15-4)
CLASS 5A
Bishop Kelly (9-7)
Blackfoot (15-4)
Columbia (9-7)
Hillcrest (12-8)
Lakeland (15-3)
Mountain Home (14-3)
Pocatello (12-6)
Sandpoint (14-4)
CLASS 4A
Bear Lake (15-4)
Filer (14-3)
Fruitland (14-5)
Kimberly (9-11)
Marsh Valley (16-3)
McCall-Donnelly (10-6)
Sugar-Salem (19-0)
Timberlake (11-6)
CLASS 3A
Ambrose (15-5)
Firth (16-3)
Grangeville (12-6)
Kellogg (10-6)
Malad (18-2)
Parma (12-6)
Ririe (12-7)
Soda Springs (8-11)
CLASS 2A
Grace (14-4)
Lakeside (9-10)
Lapwai (16-1)
Liberty Charter (11-7)
Oakley (15-2)
Victory Charter (11-5)
Vision Charter (12-5)
Prairie (15-4)
CLASS 1A
Carey (13-3)
Deary (15-1)
Dietrich (8-8)
Kootenai (5-5)
Mackay (15-1)
Nezperce (12-6)
Rockland (12-6)
Salmon River (19-0)
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