PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Mia Chavez, Century
Maya Marshall, Century
Oakley Hirschi, Pocatello
Abby Lusk, Pocatello
Tayla Wakley, Preston
Mackley White, Preston
Written by: Brandon Baney
After getting painstakingly close to the summit of the championship mountain in years prior, the Pocatello Thunder finally broke through for the first girls’ basketball championship in school history last February. The Thunder finished 24-2 overall, and thoroughly dismantled Middleton 62 to 42 in the state championship game.
Pocatello will soon discover the old adage of, “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Eight of the ten varsity members from last year’s team graduated, leaving seventh-year head coach Sunny Evans in the precarious position of having to replace all of that outstanding talent with fairly green players.
But will there be enough of a drop-off for Preston or Century to supplant Pocatello at the top of the South East Idaho Conference standings? In the three-team conference that only receives one bid to state, the answer has to be yes, or both teams will once again be left home in February.
POCATELLO
First, the bad news: Pocatello lost seniors Kenna Garza, Saige Hagler, Tessa Hargraves, Trelawna Hargraves, Adrie Johnson, Liv Marshall, Hailee Pool, and Taylie Rogers. Coach Evans particularly laments the loss of starting point guard Rogers, starting guard/defensive stopper Marshall, and 6-foot-2 center Garza (now playing at Boise State).
Now, the good news: of the two players returning from last year’s team, one is 6-foot-1 senior forward Abby Lusk, who just committed to Gonzaga. Senior forward Oakley Hirschi is the other returnee.
“This is an entirely new group,” says Evans. “I have only truly coached two of these players before so we will all be getting to know each other. I am excited about learning about this team and figuring out what is best for them. I look forward to building this group into their own unique team.”
She adds, “I am also excited to coach Abby again. She is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player and I feel extremely blessed to get to be around her. It is my goal to help her have an enjoyable and meaningful senior year.”
With Lusk and Hirschi holding down the starting forward spots, juniors Brynlee Pool and Adelynn Shuler are expected to take over in the backcourt at guard. Sophomore Maddy Torngren will slide into Garza’s departed center position.
While the new players gel on offense, Evans says their effort on defense can be championship-caliber from day one. “We will continue to preach defense,” Evans says. “We felt people underestimated our ability to shut teams down last year, but we believe we can do that. We will rely on our man-to-man but hope to disrupt the flow of games by pressing and using our matchup zone.”
PRESTON
It’s true that Preston has some holes to fill, especially at point guard and center, where Brytlee Harris and Ellie Nelson, respectively, both graduated. But in terms of returning talent, the Indians are sitting in a fairly good spot.
“We have a mix of older and younger, but experienced, players returning and we hope to use that experience to our advantage,” says head coach Ben Heusser. “We will have a very athletic lineup and will use that athleticism to get out and run and push the pace.”
Senior wing Dotty Keller was identified by the coaching staffs at both Pocatello and Century as a potential breakout candidate this season, and fellow senior wing Tayla Wakley was an All-Conference selection a season ago. Junior All-Conference shooting guard Mackley White also returns, and sophomore point guard Payce Jones will orchestrate the offense.
Preston has the potential to earn the conference’s lone bid to state this year, as long as, “We are consistent form night to night, especially defensively,” says Heusser.
CENTURY
The Diamondbacks are in a relatively similar position as Preston: a few graduation losses, but several talented players returning. Three senior guards (Kennadi Ozburn, Shannon Phillips and Nevaeh Rankin) all departed, but six varsity contributors are back for first-year head coach Lethaniel Loley.
“We have a solid group of girls returning this year,” says Loley. “Our focus this season is to space the court and run to create transition opportunities. We’ve been working on different sets to give us more chances to score the basketball.”
Senior small forward Maya Marshall headlines the list of returnees, but fellow seniors Mia Chavez, Eliza Vincent and Amelia Brown will all contribute at guard. Add in junior forwards Kambell Richards and Kate Spicer, and you can see why Loley is excited about his team’s chances this year.
“We understand there will be some growing pains throughout the season, but I’m confident in this team’s ability to execute in game situations,” Loley says. “Everyone has stepped up and taken on an active role on varsity, and they understand that their roles may change from game to game. Our team chemistry is something special this year, and it has shown early in practice. We’ll be utilizing a variety of defensive sets this year, switching between zone and man-to-man looks to keep our opponents off balance. We’ve emphasized the importance of better communication on defense and maintaining discipline by not chasing players outside of our zone coverage.”