Coaches and athletic directors: We want to include your scores and stats in this nightly roundup but we need your help. Please submit scores and stats to Times-News Sports Editor Adam Engel at Adam.Engel@magicvalley.com, call Engel at 208-735-3288 or email TWFSports@lee.net.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Interclass
Butte County 65, Dietrich 44
The Blue Devils (5-4 overall) visit Camas County at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Buhl 75, Wendell 62
Kyler Kelly led Buhl’s trio of double-digit scorers with 17 points. Tate Trevino and Camron Gorrell logged 14 each.
Jonathan Swainston powered Wendell with 20 points, Jett Jasper recorded 18 and Bodey Cutler collected a dozen.
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Buhl (6-5 overall) will visit Kimberly at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Wendell (5-3) will host American Falls at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Minico 41, Nampa 38
Minico (4-5 overall, 2-1 Great Basin Conference) hosts Jerome at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Murtaugh @ Richfield (n/a)
3A
Gooding 66, Weiser 46
The Senators (4-6 overall) visit Valley at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
1A DI
Castleford 75, Raft River 52
Castleford (3-4 overall, 1-1 Snake River Conference) will visit Carey at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Trojans (0-9 overall, 0-2 Snake River Conference) visit Oakley at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
1A DII
Camas County 78, Garden Valley 61
Emmett Palan’s monster night of 31 points led the Mushers in the win to wreck Garden Valley’s undefeated mark. Troy Smith dropped 16 points and eight rebounds. Tristen Smith scored 11 points and dished six assists.
Maddox Miller led GV with 17 points.
The Mushers (8-1 overall) host Dietrich at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Interclass
Richfield 56, Glenns Ferry 38
Richfield (10-3 overall) claimed its sixth straight win and host Hagerman at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Raft River 62, Filer 54
The defending 1A DI state champions used a balanced effort to defeat 3A Filer on Friday night.
Ryan Udy paced Raft River with 18 points and five rebounds while Reagan Jones added 15 points. Brooke Bingham snagged a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sadee Knudsen posted an all-around night of eight points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Hazel Fischer led Filer with 18 points and Kate Jaques scored 12.
The Lady Trojans (10-2 overall, 2-1 Snake River Conference) visit league-leading Murtaugh at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Filer (7-7 overall, 3-0 Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference) host Declo at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
4A
Jerome 44, Twin Falls 42
TWIN FALLS – When the Lady Tigers needed one more stop to seal the win, senior Katie Larsen leaned back on something head coach Kelly Williams preaches over and over again.
It’s called “pistols,” and the goal is to always see the ball as well as the person you’re defending.
The Lady Bruins had the ball with 2.5 seconds left and Jerome clinged to a 44-42 lead. Off the initial inbounds action, Larsen made sure Ali Okelberry didn’t get behind her. Then when Okelberry came back to get the ball, Larsen timed it perfectly. She reached out and tipped the ball ahead with her right hand, coming up with a steal to finish off the Lady Tigers 10th straight win.
“As soon as I read her eyes, that pass, I just knew it was over,” Larsen told the Times-News.
FINAL: Jerome 44, Twin Falls 42. Katie Larsen comes up with a steal on the inbounds to seal the win for the Lady Tigers. Jerome remains in first place in the Great Basin Conference. pic.twitter.com/KnAnAnTdxC
— Justin Fitzgerald (@jfitzgerald52) January 6, 2024
Larsen’s steal sealed a win Jerome (12-3 overall, 6-1 Great Basin Conference) thought they had clinched numerous times over the final minute. She hit two free throws to give Jerome a 43-42 lead with 28.1 seconds left.
The Lady Tigers locked in on defense on the next possession, and thought they forced a turnover but Twin Falls (8-6 overall, 4-3 Great Basin Conference) head Michael Amaya had called timeout. Then after a Lady Bruins offensive foul, Jensen Cook hit one of two free throws to push the lead to 44-42 with five seconds left.
The final buzzer went off on Twin Falls final possession, but Amaya had once again called a timeout. After Larsen’s steal, the buzzer finally sounded for good. The last four games between the two teams have been decided by a combined 10 points, with each team winning twice on the other’s home court.
“I don’t think I could breathe,” Williams told the Times-News. “It’s big to go on the road and win a game especially with what we’ve been battling.”
When healthy, Jerome likes to use a nine-player rotation to use an aggressive in-your-face defense to fuel its offense. Against Twin Falls, the Lady Tigers had only seven players available. Williams used six players in the first half, which Jerome controlled most of the way.
The Lady Tigers were getting deflections and steals all over the court, and converting open looks on the other end. They led 22-11 in the second quarter before starting to tire. The Lady Bruins took advantage, trimming the lead to 26-20 at halftime before catching fire on three-pointers in the third quarter. A heat check three from Halle Egbert gave Twin Falls a 32-31 lead with 2:34 to go in the third quarter.
Jerome, though, did not lay down. After a layup from the Lady Bruins Jasmine Morris extended the lead to 34-31, the Lady Tigers went on a 10-0 run across the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter.
Twin Falls answered back with an 8-0 run of its own before the Lady Tigers dug deep for one final push.
All seven Jerome players scored, with Emma Allen and Dakota Bussen leading the way with 10 points.
”We worked really well as a team today and I think that was the greatest accomplishment of today,” Larsen said. “The win was amazing but I think overall our team effort was just perfect.”
Egbert had a game-high 12 points to lead Twin Falls. The Lady Bruins are back in action at Burley on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., while Jerome hosts Mountain Home on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Minico 65, Burley 33
Utah State signee CJ Latta dropped 39 points in Minico’s win. Lorien Schulthies led Burley with 16 points.
The Lady Spartans (9-5 overall, 6-1 Great Basin Conference) visit Canyon Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Burley (5-10 overall, 2-5 Great Basin Conference) visits Twin Falls at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
1A DI
Carey @ Oakley, (n/a)
BOYS WRESTLING
Rollie Lane Tournament @ Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Two-time defending 4A state champions Minico rolled seven into the quarterfinals and lead the 88-team Rollie Lane Invitational after day one with 108 points. Top-ranked 3A Fruitland sits second at 103.
Brackets in this tournament are loaded with state champions, mostly from 4A and 5A schools, along with teams from California, Washington, Utah, Oregon and Nevada.
The Spartans continued their balanced lineup with a mix of quarterfinalists throughout the lineup.
Defending state champions Preston Sonner-Cranney (195) and Garrett Vail (220) combined for five pins in six matches en route to the quarterfinals. None of Vail’s three matches lasted longer than 89 seconds.
Mikael Teague (98), Jerratt Robinson (106), Andre Valero (113), Paxton Twiss (160) and Spencer Pease (182) also found the quarterfinals.
Canyon Ridge’s Sean Hall (132) earned three pins and will battle defending state champion Hoyt Hvass of Lewiston in the quarterfinals.
Hvass represents Hall’s lone loss so far this season. Heavyweight Layne Schulz remains for the Riverhawks in the consolation bracket.
Brody Ottley (152), Jaydin Chacon (182) and Daniel Salinas (285) also reached the fourth consolation round.
GIRLS WRESTLING
Rollie Lane Tournament @ Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Canyon Ridge leads the Magic Valley contingent in seventh with 55 points and two quarterfinalists. Sophia Bradbury (152) earned three pins and joined teammate Riana Walter (165) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Buhl’s star freshmen Ali Svancara (107) and undefeated Roxy Sheen (138) also rolled to the quarterfinals. Sheen earned three pins and none of her matches lasted longer than 100 seconds.
Minico’s Rebecka Vail (185) also reached the quarterfinals.
Canyon Ridge Girls Invite
Twin Falls pushed five into the semifinals and lead own and a 16-point lead over second place Sugar-Salem after the first day of the Canyon Ridge Girls Invite.
The Bruins earned those spots from Acelynn Kenner (132), Eunsue Sheen (165), Sage Larson (185), Sofia Wilson (185), and Ada Stucki (235).
The action resumes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Semifinal pairings
100: Raelynn O`Connor (Salmon) vs Hayzee Day (Marsh Valley)
100: Vanessa Boster (Elko) vs Aly Stewart (Ririe)
107: Lydia Townsend (Marsh Valley) vs Gabriella Nelson (Filer)
107: Shelby Smith (Ririe) vs Alena Messerli (West Jefferson)
114: Faith Gonzales (West Wendover) vs Dani Madalena (Battle Mountain)
114: Josie Reed (Challis) vs Oakley Pruett (Ririe)
120: Diamond Martinez (Burley) vs Zalanda Fedaie (Canyon Ridge)
120: Audrey Deleon (Weiser) vs Asia Hoopes (Sugar Salem)
126: Kasia Hanks (Burley) vs Danielle Romriell (South Fremont)
126: Sabina Bennetts (Challis) vs Jordan Reynolds (Snake River)
132: Julia Banks (Challis) vs Francyska Vis (Ririe)
132: Keyona Apodaca (Elko) vs Acelynn Kenner (Twin Falls High School)
138: Marisol Bueno (Wendell) vs Jaidyn Hirschi (Sugar Salem)
138: Tori Brown (Weiser) vs Samantha Azcaray (Century)
145: Madison Rivera (West Wendover) vs Britney Munoz (Canyon Ridge)
145: Raegan Woolley (Challis) vs Cashlin Volkel (Kimberly High School)
152: Jessica Jimenez (Wendell) vs Aliyah Alhilla (Weiser)
152: Chambee Hare (Burley) vs Joanna Jimenez (Wendell)
165: Destiny Gonzales (West Wendover) vs Eunsue Sheen (Twin Falls High School)
165: Ryleigh Robertshaw (Ririe) vs Cheyanne O`Connell (Elko)
185: Sage Larson (Twin Falls High School) vs Lylah Acre (Parma)
185: Aubrie Evans (Sugar Salem) vs Sofia Wilson (Twin Falls High School)
235: Margaret Hutchings (Filer) vs Ada Stucki (Twin Falls High School)
235: Esueralda Gonzalez (Sugar Salem) vs Divine Molly (Canyon Ridge)