Idaho girls state: Taryn Soumas, Brooke Jessen lead defending champ Timberlake to 3A title game

Taryn Soumas scored 14 points, Brooke Jessen had 13 and Timberlake shook off a rough shooting night – which seemed to plague each of the North Idaho teams on Friday – and beat Parma 40-30 in a 3A State semifinal at Middleton HS.

Timberlake (22-2), the defending state champion, takes on Sugar-Salem in the title game Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Tigers, who have made it to state eight consecutive years and 10 of the past 11, have won three state titles (also in 2016 and ’17) and finished second four times over that period.

After poor shooting from both teams, Timberlake led 7-5 after one quarter.

Soumas hit a 3-pointer and drove for a layup early in the second quarter as the Tigers heated up. Soumas and Jessen had nine points apiece in the quarter and Timberlake led 25-16 at halftime.

Bernie Carhart scored all eight points for the Tigers in the third quarter and they took a 33-24 lead.

Timberlake took advantage of the lack of a shot clock and spent most of the fourth quarter playing keep-away.

The Tigers shot 31.5% in the contest and 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.

Grace Jackson led the Panthers (17-6) with 16 points, but Timberlake kept her off the sheet in the fourth quarter.

Thunder Ridge 53, Coeur d’Alene 39: The Titans (21-4) relied on a stifling zone defense and balanced scoring to top the Vikings (19-2) in a 5A State semifinal at Ford Idaho Center.

It’s the first state title appearance for Thunder Ridge in the school’s three-year history. The Titans become the first east Idaho team to make the 5A championship game since Pocatello in 1995.

Coeur d’Alene will face Rigby in the 5A third-place game Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Vikings shot 32.7% from the field and 5 of 23 from 3-point range. Thunder Ridge handed CdA its only previous loss of the season, 69-63 in overtime on Dec. 29.

Sierra John led the Titans with 12 points; Aspen Caldwell and Lauren Davenport had 11.

CdA’s Skylar Burke led all scorers with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jaelyn Brainard-Adams added 10 points.

The Vikings scored the first six points of the game but were outscored 18-7 the rest of the half.

Coeur d’Alene didn’t score in the first 4½ minutes of the third quarter and Thunder Ridge led 34-22 headed into the fourth quarter.

Timberline 46, Post Falls 39: Sophie Glancey scored 13 points with 10 rebounds and the Wolves (12-3) eliminated the Trojans (14-9) in a 5A State consolation at Ridgevue HS. Trinidie Nichols led Post Falls with eight points.

Century 44, Sandpoint 25: Ashton Adamson scored 14 points and the Diamondbacks (18-5) beat the Bulldogs (12-11) in a 4A State semifinal at Mountain View HS. Kaylee Banks led Sandpoint with 12 points. Century heads to its fourth consecutive title game. Sandpoint plays Burley in the third-place game on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Marsh Valley 71, Bonners Ferry 62: Zoie Armstrong scored 20 points and the Eagles (16-11) eliminated the Badgers (14-8) in a 3A State consolation game at Middleton HS.

Holly Ansley led Bonners Ferry with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Asha Abubakari added 21 points with six boards.