Players to Watch
Teagan Colvin, Coeur d’Alene
Maddie Mitchell, Coeur d’Alene
Madi Symons, Coeur d’Alene
Kamryn Pickford, Lake City
Avery Waddington, Lake City
Sophia Zufelt, Lake City
Zoie Kessinger, Lewiston
Addison McKarcher, Lewiston
Brooklyn Brennan, Post Falls
Capri Sims, Post Falls
Written by: Will Hoenike
The 5A Inland Empire League routinely fields some of the most competitive girls’ basketball teams in Idaho. The 2021-22 season was no exception as three of the league’s four teams (Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, and Post Falls) all won at least 19 games.
Regular-season champion Coeur d’Alene, after running the table for an undefeated IEL record, was edged out in the ensuing district tournament, meaning Lake City and Post Falls qualified for the 5A state tournament in mid-February.
Though neither team won the championship banner, both came home with hardware – Lake City claimed third while Post Falls won the consolation title.
Lake City ended the season with a 22-4 record overall under head coach James Anderson and the Wolves return key pieces of the roster that was one game away from the 5A title game in February.
Avery Waddington, Kamryn Pickford, Allie Bowman, and Sophia Zufelt – all junior guards – return to give the team quality depth in the backcourt. Senior Emberlyn Reynolds returns in the frontcourt for the Wolves.
Anderson wants his team to place with pace and it did so in a pair of season-opening wins over teams from District 3, putting up 72 points in a win over Boise and 68 points in a win over Mountain View. Zufelt combined for 35 points in the two wins.
Post Falls returns senior Capri Sims from a team that won 19 games and qualified for the state tournament. The six-footer came up big with the season on the line last winter, totaling nearly 70 points in elimination-game victories over Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene, and Owyhee (5A state play-in game) to help the Trojans qualify for the state tourney. Opposing coaches across the region identify Sims as one of the top players to watch in the entire IEL.
Head Coach Brian Hall will bring his team to the Boise area twice during the regular season, first for a three-game set in early December against 5A rivals Rocky Mountain, Eagle, and Meridian.
Then, the Trojans will test themselves again a few days after Christmas with an appearance in the popular TimberLion tournament, an event jointly-run by Borah and Timberline in the Boise metro area.
Madison Symons, committed to Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference, returns for her senior season after sharing the IEL’s Player of the Year award last season at Coeur d’Alene. She averaged over 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds per contest and went over 1,000 career points early last season. She’s surrounded by basketball – her mom, Nicole, is her head coach at Coeur d’Alene while her dad, Corey, is the men’s coach at nearby North Idaho College.
Symons will get some help on the floor with the addition of junior point guard Teagan Colvin, a transfer from nearby Liberty (Washington) High School. Colvin topped 20 points per game as both a freshman and sophomore at Liberty, collecting multiple college basketball scholarship offers along the way. Senior Kendall Omlin and junior Maddie Mitchell give the Vikings good depth in the backcourt.
“This group of girls will be fun to watch. They will play for each other, never quit, push each other and cheer for each other,” says the elder Symons, who is in her fifth season as the head coach at Coeur d’Alene. “We have nine girls that can score, which makes it tough on opponents.’
Lewiston opened the season with contests against tough 5A competition from Boise and did so without versatile senior Katy Wessels. The standout volleyball player, who recently committed to play the spot at the University of Washington, opted not to play basketball this winter, leaving the Bengals thin on experience. The team has senior guard Zoie Kessinger to go along with Addison McKarcher, Dilynn Albright, and Savanah Burke, each of whom will be asked to help fill key roles this season.
There will be few “nights off” in the IEL this season as depth and talent again appears to be plentiful at the panhandle’s biggest schools.