Badgers Like Where They Stand Bonners Ferry Hopes To Use Advantageous State Seeding To Its Advantage

Bonners Ferry High girls basketball coach Jim Nash wanted his team to capture the A-2 District I-II championship last week.

But his disappointment didn’t last long after an overtime loss to Moscow that resulted in the Badgers getting the district’s second seed to state.

Of the two halves of the state bracket, Bonners Ferry couldn’t have landed in a better spot.

Fifth-ranked Bonners Ferry (16-4) opens state tournament play tonight at Centennial High in Meridian against District V champ Buhl (17-5). Tipoff in the final contest of four games is at 7 o’clock PST.

In the other opener in the Badgers’ bracket, Preston (18-4) meets Bishop Kelly (21-3). In the other bracket, defending state champ Moscow (14-7) plays American Falls (21-3) and the state’s top two ranked teams, No. 1 Middleton (23-0) and No. 2 Shelley (22-1) clash.

It’s Bonners Ferry’s fifth straight trip to state and seventh in the last 11 years. Buhl is returning to state for the first time since 1993-94.

Four of Buhl’s defeats came in home-and-home series with Middleton and American Falls. The most recent losses to both teams were by a point.

“There doesn’t appear to be a weak sister in the tournament,” Nash said. “But we do like where we’re at better than where Moscow’s at.”

Last year, Nash took a young team to state. In some ways his team is still young - the Badgers’ top two players are juniors Amber Paulson and Sarah Walter - but eight seniors are on the roster.

“It’s the fourth trip to state for Becky Bateman (starting guard) and third year for Amber Paulson and Sarah Walter,” Nash said. “We think we can get to the state championship like we did two years ago.”

Nash also has believers in Paulson and Walter.

“Not going as the No. 1 seed might help us in the long run,” said Walter, the team’s steadying presence at point guard. “We haven’t lost focus of our goal. And that’s to win state. Last year we took a really young team to state. But this year we’ve come back with the attitude that this will be the year.”

Paulson agreed.

“We feel like we can take it all,” she said.

Nash sees a lot of similarities between this year’s team and the 1994-95 team, which finished runner-up for a second year in a row.

“We lost to Moscow in the district (championship) game and ended up playing for the state title,” Nash said. “I think we’ve got the butterflies out and you’ll see the ‘Eye of the Badger’ going after teams.”

Notes

Buhl is led by two players in double-figure scoring.

Senior Jana Watson, a 6-foot post, averages 19.4 points per game. Sophomore Leah Moore, a 5-5 point guard, averages 12 ppg.

Even though one bracket might be stronger than the other, coaches generally believe the field is one of the more balanced in recent years.

They should know. Six of the eight teams return from last year. In addition to Buhl, the other newcomer is American Falls.

Shelley, a slight co-favorite with Middleton, brings a 20-game winning streak to state.

, DataTimes