Players to Watch:
Payton Fritts, Fruitland
Abbi Roubidoux, Fruitland
Jacy Parker, Homedale
Gabbi Green, McCall-Donnelly
Ashtyn Jones, McCall-Donnelly
Rylie Calkins, Parma
Taylor Kaiser, Parma
Tobie Noyer, Weiser
Mattie Shirts, Weiser
Written by: Keller Sherman
Based on how things played out in the Snake River Valley Conference last season, the conference looks to be divided into two tiers that divide the conference in half. That first tier is made up of Fruitland, Parma, and Weiser then a big drop off between that and the second tier made up of McCall-Donnelly, Homedale, and Payette. While those tiers may hold true this season, don’t expect the gap to be as wide. The teams that finished in the bottom half of the conference last year are here to show that they are ready to take that next step.
Defending conference champion Fruitland had a rather disappointing showing in the state tournament last season losing the consolation game to conference rival Weiser. The Grizzlies have a tall task ahead of them to defend their title as Willie Lake, who had previously coached the boys program, comes in as the new head coach for the girls team. Seniors Payton Fritts, a second team all-conference selection, and Abbi Roubidoux, a second team all-state and first team all-conference honoree, will be key pieces to what Lake hopes can be a collective, cohesive unit. The chemistry between these players will be crucial to their success.
Parma is ready to reassert itself at the throne of the conference. The Panthers had the best showing at state out of the teams in the league with a 4th place finish. With four returning all-conference players highlighted by 1st team guard Rylie Calkins, Parma looks to be one of the more talented teams in the league. 2nd team wing Taylor Kaiser as well as honorable mentions Sidney Jackson and Kaidance Kaiser also return for the Panthers. Reigning conference player of the year and second team all-state selection Austyn Harris thrived in scoring and rebounding, but she is now gone leaving big shoes to fill for the other returning players.
11th year head coach Michael Calkins believes Parma will excel at scoring in transition and three point shooting, but a weakness that needs to be fixed immediately is free throw shooting. Calkins emphasizes this as he states “last year was the worst free throw shooting Parma team in the past 10 years. Our goal this year is to be the best.” The Panthers will also look to keep up the defensive effort they have shown in previous years. “We love to press and trap teams in the back court to create easy buckets. We averaged over 20 steals a game last year, and held opponents 39.96 ppg which was tops in 3A. We will be even better defensively this year,” Calkins said of his defense. 32 is a magic number for Parma this season. Why? The Panthers defense held opponents under that number of points on six occasions last season and this year, they will try to double number. Calkins feels that it will be important for his younger players to step into bigger roles even with the numbers they posted last season. If Parma is to get back into the conference title discussion, they’ll also need to close out close games as Calkins believes what happens in the final two minutes goes a long way in determining the outcome of a game.
While winning consolation may be a disappointing result for many teams in the state tournament, Weiser is instead using that as motivation to take that next step in not just getting back to the state tournament, but making it out of day one on the right side of the bracket. Laraine Harrison returns for her 4th season at the helm of the Wolverines after leading them to their first state tournament appearance since 2017. The talent is there for Weiser to get back there with the return of two first-team all-conference players in forward Maddie Shirts and guard Tobie Noyer. Other notable returning players include Jasi Yruguen, Kailee Lerew, and Macy Maloney.
Weiser will likely be the most experienced team in the conference this season, especially on offense. The seniors on the roster with plenty of varsity experience under their belt are familiar with Harrison’s system which is very up tempo and utilizes the players’ height to move the ball and put points on the board quickly. The Wolverines have struggled with three point shooting however and they will work to improve that this season. Creating steals and turning those into layups is an area where Weiser thrives defensively. Kailee Lerew, an all-conference honorable mention, has shown a great ability to put pressure on ball handlers and she will be a key player in a defense that hopes to use big plays to spark the offense to make big plays of their own.
McCall-Donnelly will seek to bounce back from a disappointing 8-14 campaign that saw the Vandals go 3-7 in conference play. The talent is certainly there for Cody Hansen’s team with two second team all-conference honorees coming back in Gabbi Green and Ashtyn Jones. In addition, McCall will have four key seniors returning. These are Delaney Ott, Ashtyn Jones, Jenna Thomas, and Ashlyn Wallace. The Vandals will also see some new faces on the team this year with Shilah Arnold, Izzy Tinney, and Cassidy Corckett will all stepping up to the varsity roster this season. These players will be tasked with replacing graduated seniors Saije Camp and Matti Burtenshaw. Hansen talks about why these players will be missed as he states “Camp did a great job of running our team and getting us settled down when it mattered the most. Burtenshaw was a great voice in the locker room and a player who’s offense we could count on.”
McCall’s offense thrives in getting the ball to the basket from various different angles. They will look to continue doing that while also avoiding turnovers. The defense has improved in its ability to capitalize on opposing team mistakes and create pressure to force opposing offenses into bad decisions. That said, the Vandals have struggled in rebounding and while this is a factor out of their control, the team is lacking in height compared to other teams around the league. Experience will be key to McCall’s success as Hansen expects that his players will be able to use it to understand and execute his game plans at a higher level this year. If the Vandals are to go far this season and show their spot among the conference’s elite, they will need to excel in transition and pushing the tempo on both sides of the court.
A message that has been sent around the conference this season; don’t sleep on Homedale. Several coaches around the Snake River Valley believe that the Trojans are capable of surprising some people this season, even with a first year head coach in Benji Sorenson. Jacy Parker brought home second team all-conference honors last season and will be a key piece to the Trojans success this season. Sydney Davis, Zayne Hall, and Arlett Quezada all return hoping to help put together a special season for Homedale. Sloan McFarlane, Sierra Telford, and Kinlee Garrett are incoming players that will seek to find their place in the rotation. With two key posts as well as the starting point guard that brought a lot of size and experience gone, how the turnover on the Trojans’ roster steps up will dictate how far this team goes in the 2022-23 season.
On offense, Homedale will look to take advantage of their speed to spread out opponents and get good looks for great shooting opportunities. Taking care of the ball and shooting consistently are areas that the offense will hope to improve on. That speed will also carry over to the defense and as a whole, the Trojans will look to be relentless, versatile, and persistent on that side of the ball. The height may be lacking compared to other teams they will face, but overcoming this along with any other adversity that may come Homedale’s way and staying consistent will be key in having the defensive success Sorenson knows Homedale is capable of having. The energy in the program is as positive as it has ever been and that was on full display in summer practices. Can the experience or the juniors and seniors be good role models for the younger players with limited varsity experience? That’s a question Homedale will need to answer and staying healthy will be just as important as always.
Will Payette find a way to make some noise? The Pirates struggled mightily last season going 6-17 overall and 0-10 in conference. Payette was able to sweep a home-and-home non conference series with nearby Ontario, Oregon and was also able to pick up non conference wins over Marsing, Liberty Charter, Compass Charter, and Adrian, Oregon at a holiday tournament in Nyssa, Oregon. Two all conference honorable mentions are gone in Madi Collingwood and Kendyl Parsons. The Pirates will be without two of their best players, but perhaps they can find an upset somewhere in a loaded conference while also earning some wins in the non conference.
The most exciting conference race in the 3A classification may be right in the Snake River Valley. Four or possibly five teams are all capable of getting hot in February and making a run for the conference title. Payette will look to play spoiler against opponents that might be overlooking them while building for the future themselves. Any result on any given nightbcould flip on its head and the teams expected to be the frontrunners could find themselves playing catch up and vice versa.