1AD2 White Pine Conference Girls
Players to Watch:
Macie Ashmead, Deary
Araya Wood, Deary
Hannah Smith, Highland
Shyanne Stamper, Highland
Harley Heimgartner, Kendrick
Rose Stewart, Kendrick
Hailey Taylor, Kendrick
Katharine Duuck, Nezperce
Erica Zenner, Nezperce
Julia Wassmuth, St. John Bosco
Sara Waters, St. John Bosco
Written by: Will Hoenike
The Deary Mustangs opened the 2022-23 season with solid wins over 1A Division 1 foes Troy and Potlatch. The Kendrick Tigers opened the season with solid wins over 2A Orofino and 1A Division 1 Prairie and Kamiah.
The pair of teams from the 1A Division 2 Whitepine League who represented the league at the state tournament last season have served notice once again. They are the early teams to beat in the Whitepine.
“I think that everyone expects Kendrick to be at the top because it’s where they have been for the last several years,” said Nezperce head coach Callie Zenner. “Deary proved last year that they are a team to beat, and they didn’t lose anyone.”
Can Nezperce join the party? Zenner thinks so behind the play of guards Katherine Duuck, Brianna Branson, and Erica Zenner.
“We have six girls that have worked very hard in the off season in order to get better, they play very well together and they trust one another,” Zenner continued. “One of our juniors (Zenner) led our team in scoring and rebounds last year and we look for her to do the same this year, she’s a natural leader and the girls respect her and trust her.”
The Nighthawks will have to stare down Kendrick and Deary to get to the state tournament, though, and both squads look strong once again.
Kendrick, which won 20 games last season en route to a consolation championship at the state tournament, must replace the league’s player of the year in Erin Morgan but doesn’t lack for returning talent. Senior post player Rose Stewart earned all-league recognition last season as did junior guard Hailey Taylor. Head coach Ron Ireland has other weapons at his disposal, too, like wing Harley Heimgartner, wing Ruby Stewart, and post Morgan Silflow.
Ireland is hopeful that the new year and the new players in the new roles leads to new opportunities on the floor.
“We will be faster,” Ireland said. “And we will press more.”
Deary won 17 games last season with a roster that featured nine players – three of which were eighth graders. So it’s a young, yet experienced group led by senior Macie Ashmead and junior Ariya Wood. The group saw the big stage up close and personal last year, reaching the 1A Division 2 state tournament and knocking off district rival Kendrick in the opening round. The team was felled in the semifinals by eventual state champion Rockland but rallied to win the third-place trophy by defeating Richfield. And the whole team is back this season.
Highland of Craigmont is fielding a young team under head coach Mathu Thomason. The Huskies won only two games last season but are building toward a bright future with a roster that has no seniors. Juniors Hannah Smith and Shaylee Stamper provide some veteran leadership but the team has a solid core of freshmen, led by Shyanne Stamper and Kylee Beck. Both girls check in at 5-foot-9, giving the Huskies some size for the foreseeable future.
St. John Bosco Academy finished the 2021-22 season strong, winning five of six games from late January through early February before getting knocked out of the district tournament. Second-year head coach Alyssa Frei must replace valuable departed seniors Jade Prigge and Dani Sonnen but has a pair of sophomore guards who are ready to step into larger roles for the Patriots program, Sara Waters and Julia Wassmuth.
“We will have to figure out our dynamic again this year,” said Frei. “But there were a few girls last year that were starting to show some great strengths at the end of last year.”
The top again appears to belong to Kendrick and Deary. However, the rest of the league looks to be gaining ground in the race for berths into the 1A Division 2 state tournament in February.