Miners survive Rimrock scare, face defending champs today
NAMPA – So much for trip to the mall today.
Wallace High School’s girls basketball players had their plans canceled, but chances are the Miners will take a shot at the 1A State championship game over shopping.
Wallace earned a spot in the today’s semifinals with a heart-stopping 39-35 victory over state tournament stalwart Rimrock of Bruneau on Thursday at Skyview High School.
“We had to expend a ton of energy,” Wallace coach Kirby Krulitz said after the game. “But we’ve run hard all year long.”
Yes, but all those other games for the Miners (23-1) didn’t come at state tournament time against a seasoned and determined team like Rimrock (23-2). And none of the other games this season were to be followed immediately by a showdown with the defending state champion (Shoshone, 23-2, after a 57-37 victory over Cascade on Thursday).
Game time today is 5:15 p.m.
“To get into the championship, they’ll have to suck it up against Shoshone,” Krulitz said. “They’re defending state champs, and they still look like the cream of the crop.”
Having enough for the Indians means the retail economy in the Treasure Valley won’t have the benefit of a group of teenage girls today.
“The girls wanted to go to the mall (today), but I guess we’re not going,” Krulitz said. “We’re not going to walk around for an hour and a half.”
With the way Thursday’s quarterfinal ended, who could blame the coach for nixing the trip to Boise Towne Square mall?
Wallace owned a 37-35 lead with 8.3 seconds left when Rimrock coach Bob Delle designed a play to get Alex Thomas a look at a game-winning 3-point shot from the right corner.
Thomas’ shot banged off the inner iron, and Wallace survived.
“I thought it was going in,” Krulitz said. “It looked pretty good..”
Thomas already had drained two 3s from that corner.
Wallace lurched ahead 34-32 when Lisa Carver nailed a 3-point goal with 21/2 minutes left in the contest. But Emily Chandler answered right back with her own trey.
Chandler scored all nine of her points on 3-pointers. A junior, Carver scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Then came the biggest rebound Krista Williams probably has pulled down all year.
With 1 minute, 50 seconds left, the 5-foot-11 junior post corralled her own missed shot and went back up for what proved to be the winning basket and a 36-35 lead for the Miners.
Kendrick 62, Kootenai 40: Kootenai could not overcome a 17-2 start from Kendrick and lost 62-40 in the second round. Cassie Scheffelmaier notched 19 points for the Warriors (17-8), but Kendrick rallied behind three players in double figures.