Turner cranks it up in final minute for Spartans

KUNA, Idaho – The Priest River and Bonners Ferry girls basketball teams found out how valuable the District I crown was Thursday during the first round of the State 3A tournament at Kuna High.

District I champ Priest River eked out a 43-41 victory over Shelley in a sloppy game and advanced to face Salmon in the semifinals at 5:15 p.m. today.

District runner-up Bonners Ferry, on the other side of the bracket, took a 60-36 beating from defending champion and prohibitive favorite Marsh Valley. The undefeated Eagles will face Filer in a semifinal today, while BF plays Fruitland in a consolation game at 2 p.m.

“That was the best team here last year, and it might be the best team here this year,” BF coach Travis Hinthorn said of Marsh Valley.

PR, meanwhile, likely will need a crisper performance today to reach the state final and a likely rematch with Marsh Valley, which beat the Spartans in that game last year. The Spartans (14-9) led Shelley by nine points entering the fourth quarter, but needed a big effort by senior Calli Jo Turner in the final 30 seconds to prevail.

“Like I told the girls, they were trying to kill their coaches,” PR coach Marty Landry said. “We’ve got young (assistant coaches) on the bench, and they were going to give them a heart attack.”

Turner saved a loose ball, converted a rebound into the go-ahead basket, forced a turnover and buried two key free throws in the last half-minute for the Spartans.

The Russets led 40-39 when Turner’s heroics began. She rescued a loose ball in the key and dished to freshman Jessica Willig, who missed a shot. Turner grabbed the rebound and scored while being fouled. She missed the free throw, leaving the score 41-40 with 23.7 seconds left.

“I don’t think I saw the hoop or anything,” Turner said of her go-ahead shot.

On the ensuing possession, Turner created a jump-ball situation. The ball went to PR on the possession arrow.

The Russets quickly fouled Turner and she nailed a pair of free throws for a three-point lead with 6.3 seconds left.

“You could tell she’s been here (before),” Landry said of Turner.

Shelley called timeout with 2.3 seconds left to set up a potential tying shot. Landry decided to deny the 3-pointer, and PR’s Rachel Schlechte fouled Shayla Bitter on the inbounds pass.

Bitter made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. However, she missed the rim, too – giving the ball to PR and ending the threat.

“I thought we blew a lot of easy chances and got sloppy with the basketball, and Shelley did a nice job of putting pressure on,” Landry said. “When it really counted, the girls came through – and that’s all that really matters.”

Turner scored a game-high 14 points. Freshman Lacy Hopkins, who made a pair of free throws to give the Spartans the lead with 1:01 to go, added seven points.

Sasha Spells, a 6-foot-3 post, almost single-handedly kept the Russets in the contest with 11 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Marsh Valley pounced on Bonners Ferry early, building leads of 16-4 and 23-6 in the first half and cruising to a 21-0 record. All nine varsity players scored.

Ashley Thompson led the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cora Chander added 14 points.

Becky Lowther scored nine points for BF (12-10).

The Eagles, who started five seniors, impressed Badgers coach Hinthorn.

“They were aggressive, hungry, and we had to work hard for everything we got,” he said.