Lakeland gets second chance

Seniors Kayla Stiegemeier and Brigitte Boucher didn’t pull any punches.

The lone starters back off the Lakeland High girls basketball team that qualified for the State 4A tournament last year in the school’s first year in the classification thought the Hawks should have played in the title game.

At the very least, they say, the Hawks should have brought home a trophy.

Neither happened. Lakeland lost to eventual state champ Bonneville 49-44 in the semifinals, then the Hawks didn’t show up mentally in a 50-35 loss to Minico in the third-place game.

“It was very disappointing,” said Stiegemeier, a two-year starter and four-year letter winner. “Against Bonneville, we walked off the floor knowing we could have done it and wishing we could have done it.”

Stiegemeier and Boucher are thankful they have another chance.

Lakeland (15-7), the Region I champ, begins its trip toward redemption today when the Hawks take on District IV-V runner-up Preston (10-12) at 12:15 p.m. (PST) at Timberline High School in Boise. Region I runner-up Moscow (11-13), which earned a berth in a play-in game, faces Bonneville (16-9) at 5:15.

The Hawks head to state coming off their best game of the season, a 60-45 win over Moscow in the regional final. Lakeland lost to the Bears twice in the regular season.

In fact, the Hawks didn’t fly out of their nest as fast as they would have liked. Doubters weren’t bashful to tell Stiegemeier and Boucher that they thought Lakeland was in for a long year.

“We did lose three starters,” Stiegemeier said of last year’s team. “So we kind of had to start over. A lot of people doubted us.”

Coach Steve Seymour said the Hawks gave the doubters reason to do so, too.

“We didn’t wow anybody at the jamboree,” Seymour said. “In fact, we may have wowed people the other way – as in ‘Wow, they’re in trouble this year.’

“We realized that state qualifiers aren’t made in jamborees. I knew we’d be OK.”

Seymour could envision what the Hawks could become.

“We saw what we hoped was the finished product,” Seymour said. “These were kids that if they played to their potential could be there at the end.”

Stiegemeier and Boucher have provided key leadership, especially with their contributions. Stiegemeier, who has signed to play soccer at NCAA Division II power Seattle Pacific, has averaged a team-high 13.5 points and Boucher has been next at 10.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. Stiegemeier has also averaged 4.4 rebounds and four steals.

Boucher, who is being recruited to play basketball by area junior colleges, said Lakeland’s growth is measurable.

“It’s built our confidence,” Boucher said. “We didn’t have a lot of confidence at the beginning of the season.”

Boucher said the key at state is picking up where they left off at regionals.

“If we play our game that we played at (regionals) and don’t hold anything back, we’ll do well,” Boucher said. “We have the skill to do it. It’s just a matter of using our skill to the fullest.”

Stiegemeier, the state’s Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year, pointed out that many doubted Lakeland could do as well as it did in soccer. All the Hawks did was advance to the state final before losing 2-1 in overtime to Century.

“It took us a while to jell,” Stiegemeier said of the basketball season. “It took us a while to learn to work together and work off each other. Each game was a step forward. The (regional) title game was definitely the best we’ve played.

“What will it take at state? Being focused and not panicking and just doing the little things that I know we can do.”