Angie Turner Priest River Year: Sophomore Sport: Basketball Position: Post
Hungry is the best way to describe Angie Turner. The sophomore post player is putting up big numbers in hopes the Spartans will get a second helping of state competition.
She is on pace to become the school’s highest single-season scorer with 228 points in 16 games.
The sports historian is ready to pencil her name in the record book. But for Turner that isn’t the objective.
“My goal is to get us to state,” said Turner. “I got a good taste of it with the volleyball team and I think we have the talent to challenge in basketball. I have no delusions of winning state this year, but I think we can leave our mark.”
Turner is averaging 14.7 points a game and has 141 rebounds to plant Priest River in a tie with Lakeland on the top of the Intermountain League standings. She was a driving force in volleyball, being one of the scoring leaders with a thundering kill. When basketball season started, she traded balls, but not intensity.
“She’s fearless when it comes to the game,” said Spartans coach Jamie Poncho. “She has been ever since she was a freshman. She plays with a lot of maturity.”
Turner scored a career-high 21 points against Kellogg on Jan. 7. It was the second time this season she’d hit for at least 20. But Turner doesn’t keep stats, she lets her dad do that. She counts her points as team success.
“My job is to score,” she said. “We have two excellent ballhandlers in Emily Oscarson and Tiffany Troudt. The three of us have played together since sixth grade. Since then, it has always been them getting it to me and me putting it up.”
“We have a very cohesive unit,” said Poncho. “Everyone knows their role. Angie realizes where her points come from. She tried to carry the team early in the season and I think it frustrated her. Ever since she let her teammates share the burden, her game and the team’s has improved greatly. Turner is a go-getter. She has a lot of desire. She won’t let us lose. It has influenced the other players not to, either.”
Although Turner’s ultimate goal is for the Spartans to win state, her personal goal is to improve her foul shooting. Despite her scoring prowess, Turner fights her personal demons at the free-throw line.
“I want to shoot about 80 percent,” said Turner with a laugh. “I think right now, I am hitting just above 50. I have good form, I just get a little nervous. But I am working on that.”
And how is she handling all the attention she is getting about her fine season?
“It’s a cool feeling to have people talk about it,” she said with a shrug. “It’s nice to hear the compliments, but I prefer the team to get the glory.”