PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Macy Bretveld, Lakeland
Karstyn Kiefer, Lakeland
Avery Balmer, Lewiston
Avery Lathen, Lewiston
Addison Lassen, Moscow
Jessa Skinner, Moscow
Brecken Mire, Sandpoint
Jordyn Tomco, Sandpoint
Written by: Brandon Baney
After a one-year hiatus from the state tournament, Sandpoint’s girls returned to Idaho’s biggest basketball stage in tension-filled fashion a season ago.
After finishing the regular season with a 14-12 overall record and a 6-3 record in the combined 6A/5A Inland Empire League, Sandpoint’s postseason featured nail-biter after nail-biter.
There was the 65 to 63 win over Lewiston on their home floor in the opening round of the district tournament. Then came the best-of-three district championship series with Lakeland, the defending district tourney champ. A 44 to 42 squeaker was followed by a 59 to 50 triumph, and just like that, the Bulldogs were on their way to state.
Sandpoint’s trip to state was short, following losses to Middleton and Jerome, but that’s only fueled the Bulldogs even more throughout the offseason. They’ll need it, with Lakeland, Moscow and Lewiston all lining up to take their best shot at Sandpoint in 2025-26.
SANDPOINT
The Bulldogs said goodbye to two senior captains that were a part of the Bulldogs’ state championship team in 2023, Demi Driggs and Chloe Laybourne. They also said goodbye to longtime head coach Will Love, who is now coaching the Sandpoint boys.
Madi Shoening served as an assistant under Love the past four seasons, and now assumes the head coaching role for the first time in her career. The talent returning for Sandpoint is almost enviable. Junior guards Brecken Mire, Jordyn Tomco, Livia Driggs and Carly Laybourne all saw extensive minutes last year, and senior forward Jetta Thaete is a force to be reckoned with inside.
Two players that weren’t around last year that Shoening expects big things from this year are senior guard Jasmin Laing and sophomore wing Willow Betz. “Jasmin is new to town this year, and we are excited for the leadership and tenacity on defense she will bring,” says Shoening. “Willow was out last year with an injury, so we are excited for her to make her high school debut this year. She has already made a positive impact on the team with her height, her ability to score inside and out, and her drive to win.”
Mire and Tomco handled a majority of the scoring for Sandpoint last season, but Shoening believes the offense will be more balanced this season. “I think we shoot the ball well and are a threat from the perimeter,” Shoening says. “Our strengths this year will be that anyone on the floor can score in their area of strength, and that when we share the ball, we put each other in the best position to score for that particular player.”
“Our offense is conceptual and decision-making based,” she adds. “The idea is that the girls are put into scenarios all year in practice that they could come across in a game. Then, they have enough practice reading those situations that they can make play based on what the defense is doing.”
While Sandpoint’s offense should be humming along as usual, the Bulldogs’ defense hold the key to Sandpoint’s fortunes this year. “Our defense will be the X-factor and what carries us through tough road trips and playing tough league opponents,” Shoening concludes.
LAKELAND
One year after advancing the 5A state semifinals, Lakeland sat home during last year’s state tournament after falling to Sandpoint in the best-of-three district championship series. The Hawks finished 15-7 overall and then watched senior forward Landree Simon (who finished with over 1,000 points in her career) take her talents to Providence University in Montana.
“Landree made a significant impact on the program with her offensive presence and relentless, never-give-up attitude,” says second-year coach Caelyn Caulfield. “She led by example and consistently found the positive in every situation.”
Senior point guard Karstyn Kiefer will be asked to take on an even larger role this season, and the Hawks still boast the best height in the league with 6-foot-2 junior Macy Bretveld and 6-foot-4 junior Mariana Bullington.
The larger question remains, though: which newcomers will provide the depth that is crucial to navigating the loaded 6A/5A combined Inland Empire League?
“We have several new players joining the varsity team this season, and I’m optimistic that they’ll make a strong impact on our program,” says Caulfield. “I don’t want to jinx it, so we’ll just have to wait and see!”
MOSCOW
A young Moscow team that featured zero seniors finished 9-13 overall in 2024-25. With everyone returning once again this season, coach Josh Colvin feels good about his team’s chances. “We are senior heavy now, so we should be fairly composed and most players know our system already,” says Colvin. “We think that if our juniors step up, along with our senior leadership, we can compete with everyone on our schedule.”
Senior guards Kolbi Kiblen, Addison Lassen and Betty Becker all have playmaking chops on the perimeter. The inside game is bolstered by 6-foot senior forwards Jessa Skinner and Jacque Williams. And juniors Winnie Colvin and Madi Hennrich are ready for a larger role this season, as well.
“We play fast and have a few 6-footers who are also excellent passers,” says Colvin. “Defensively, we are a relentless press team with lots of speed. In the half-court, we’ll try to pack and protect the paint.”
The potential is sky-high for Moscow in 2025-26. Colvins says it all boils down to whether they can put the ball through the hoop enough. “We missed a lot of easy shots last season,” Colvin says. “If we can lock in offensively, we’ll be good.”
LEWISTON
Lewiston is hitting the reset button after finishing 7-14 a year ago. First-year coach Brady Bagby takes the reins from Julie Fisher, and will have to find a way to replace five seniors (Breanna Albright, Taylor Holman, Addy McKarcher, Kara Stanger, and Skye Van Trease).
The top returnees this year are junior point guard Avery Lathen and junior shooting guard Avery Balmer. Everyone else? Pretty much new.
“We have a very talented sophomore class,” says Bagby. “We had seven girls from that class make the varsity team.” Sophomores Paitland Schnell, Callie Fisher, Mady Bruce, Raegan Cahill, Kylese Samuels, Josey Hemphill and Mia Mellinger will all fight for playing time.
“We also have a foreign exchange student from Latvia (Darta Serdane) who will be a big part of our success this year,” Bagby says.