A destiny fulfilled

All the heartbreak of having to miss her senior season because of knee surgery disappeared for 19.6 seconds Saturday evening for Deanna Dotts.

With the State 5A championship secured, Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball coach Dale Poffenroth asked assistant Jamie Thacker to tell four players to report to the scorer’s table. Dotts, who had gotten a doctor’s release Saturday to be able to play, was among the four.

“I had no expectation that I would play,” Dotts said. “That was probably the best 19.6 seconds of playing time I’ve ever had. It was just icing on the cake. It was a total surprise. I was cheering and Jamie came up to me and told me to go in. As much as this may sound stupid, those 19.6 seconds gave me my confidence back. People actually believe I can get back out there and play.”

Kama Griffitts was watching Ali Johnson shoot the first of two foul shots when she saw out of the corner of her eye Dotts going to the scorer’s table.

“I just started crying because I played this game for D (Dotts) … she’s such a strong influence for our team,” Griffitts said, wiping away tears. “We love her and Ali so much. We’ll miss them a lot for sure.”

Johnson and Dotts were the Vikings’ lone seniors this season. Johnson returned to the starting lineup this year after two knee surgeries, essentially took away her sophomore and junior seasons.

Take a guess whom Dotts sought out first when the horn sounded following Coeur d’Alene’s convincing 61-47 victory over Vallivue. The 5-foot-5 Johnson and the 6-1 Dotts hugged at midcourt at the Idaho Center.

“Both of us have gone through so much,” Dotts said. “She was the first person I wanted to get to just because we both worked so hard.”

As Poffenroth introduced the players and they collected their state-title medals, he had special words for Dotts.

He told the crowd that Dotts, in his mind, was the team’s most valuable player this year because of her leadership on and off the court. An honors student, she attended every practice unless she was doing physical therapy.

“For not playing a minute, not scoring a point, not getting a rebound …. That helps your confidence a lot when you know somebody believes in you that much,” Dotts said of Poffenroth’s post-game comments.

Poffenroth said the season was extraordinary for two particular reasons.

“This is really special because of those two seniors,” Poffenroth said. “With all the adversity they went through with the surgeries and all the stuff. For Ali sticking with me. She could have really got mad at me last year (when she didn’t get much playing time) and just packed it up. She showed she can play the game.”

The Vikings finished 23-3 overall. They played their best game at state in the championship game.

Junior starting guard Amy Warbrick summed up why the state title was special to her.

“The key was we wanted to win this for Ali Johnson and ‘D’ (Deanna Dotts),” Warbrick said. “Just winning it for them felt good for us.”

Call the state title destiny fulfilled. Even if it felt like it was delayed for a couple of years. The Vikings finished second at state the past two years, including losing to crosstown rival Lake City in the title game last year.

Immediately following the post-game ceremony, the Vikings and their coaches climbed the stairs to the upper concourse to buy state championship sweatshirts.

Dotts, who started on both state runner-up teams, knew her team was going to win from the get-go Saturday.

“Once the ball went up for the opening tip and Sadie (Simon) drilled the 3-pointer, I knew we were going to win,” Dotts said. “There was no doubt. We were all loose and relaxed Saturday. I don’t think anybody had nerves.”

The school held a special assembly Tuesday morning to honor the state champs. It was also a time when the administrators had to settle up on a bet – although they pretty much knew they would lose the bet before they made it.

First-year athletic director Todd Gilkey was telling Dotts the morning before Coeur d’Alene’s state opener about bets he had lost with athletes while he was A.D. at St. Maries High. One time he had to shave his legs when a team won a state championship.

So Dotts asked Gilkey if he would agree to have his head shaved if the Vikings won the state title. He agreed. She proceeded to ask Principal Randy Russell and assistant principals Warren Olson and Mike Nelson. They also agreed, as did school resource officer Scott Teneyck.

After the state championship banner was unveiled at the assembly, the Vikings began shaving heads. Ultimately, Poffenroth succumbed to peer pressure and had his head shaved.

They may not want to make the same bet next year. The Vikings expect to be back at the Idaho Center challenging for a state title.

“Now we start playing for the next one,” Poffenroth said. “We have a good class of juniors coming back and a really good class of sophomores. And we’ll see how many freshmen show up. If you want to play ball, it’s probably a good place to be.”