Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Aberdeen
2. Soda Springs
T-3. Bear Lake
T-3. Malad
T-3. West Side
Players to Watch:
Cienna Fuller, West Side
Jinette Garbett, Soda Springs
Hope Driscoll, Aberdeen
Ellie Watson, Aberdeen
Courtney Phillips, Aberdeen
Yasmin Ortiz, Aberdeen
Written by: Keller Sherman
A wide open race should be expected in the South East Idaho Conference in 2021-22. The only team that was truly out of the running in the conference race a year ago was Malad. The Dragons struggled mightily finishing 0-8 in conference and 2-19 overall last season. As for the other four teams, there are plenty of reasons to believe they can all contend.
West Side seems to be the safest pick for 4th place, but only Aberdeen was able to sweep the regular season series with the Pirates while West Side split with Soda Springs and Bear Lake. Cienna Fuller will be a key player for the Pirates this season as they hope to navigate a wide open conference.
Bear Lake comes into the 2021-22 campaign with the highest amount of achievements among teams in the conference as the Bears went on a run at the state tournament finishing before falling to Melba in the state title game 51-40. Aberdeen head coach Lincoln Driscoll believes that the Bears are more than capable of running it back and having a good shot at winning the conference this year. He states that they have “a good system of development, good coaching, and kids that want to get better.”
After winning the district tournament last season, Soda Springs fell to eventual state champion Melba 42-27 in the opening round, but went on to defeat Valley and Ririe to win the consolation bracket. Jinette Garbett comes back for the Cardinals and should make a large impact.
Aberdeen returns plenty of talent from last season bringing back seniors Hope Driscoll, Ellie Watson, Courtney Phillips, and Yasmin Ortiz. The Tigers only lost one senior. “Liz Serna was our only senior,” coach Driscoll says. “We will miss her height and length and (she) was a solid defender for us as we put her on the other team’s best offensive players.” While Aberdeen brings back plenty of talent, they will also bring in some notable players that are stepping up to the varsity level. Emma Watson, Vanessa Hernandez, Lily Ortiz, and Emerita Carrillo will all look to make an impact.
Conference play usually brings about the most excitement for teams because of the importance of each and every game, but Driscoll is most excited for the rivalry game with American Falls and there are even some family ties with that matchup. He states, “American Falls is always fun being a rivalry game and their coach is my brother-in-law and we both have daughters playing.”
Aberdeen can be a high quality team when they can put everything together. The Tigers’ transition game was among their strengths last season and Driscoll hopes to see some of his players’ speed in track carry over to basketball. One area that Driscoll hopes to improve on this season is “decision making in critical moments on both sides of the ball.”
With plenty of talent and skill, Aberdeen should be a real threat this season. Even if the Tigers may look like the most complete team in the conference, there are plenty of quality teams all around ready to make some noise. In the end however, only two teams from the South East Idaho Conference will head to the Boise area for the state tournament even if it could easily be argued at the end of the season that three or even four teams from this league could legitimately contend for a state championship.