Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Lakeland
2. Moscow
3. Sandpoint
Players to Watch
Addie Kiefer, Lakeland
Payton Sterling, Lakeland
Kenna Simon, Lakeland
Angela Lassen, Moscow
Peyton Watson, Moscow
Megan Heyns, Moscow
Kelsey Cessna, Sandpoint
Daylee Driggs, Sandpoint
Sofia Platte, Sandpoint
Written by: Will Hoenike
Here’s a little trivia for you: The 4A Inland Empire League has yet to produce a state champion in girls’ basketball.
However, the three schools that comprise the league have combined to win nine state titles.
The obvious (and correct) answer is the schools claimed their championship in other classifications. Lakeland head coach Steve Seymour, who has been atop the Rathdrum program for nearly three decades now, has won three titles with the Hawks, including back-to-back 3A titles in 2001 and 2002. Moscow won four titles at the 3A level between 1992 and 1996 while Sandpoint – who reached the 4A semifinals last season – is still in search of its first championship banner in basketball.
Head coach Will Love and his Bulldogs defeated Columbia in the tournament’s opening round before falling in the semifinals to Century. The team’s record of 12-12 can be a bit misleading thanks to a scheduling partnership between the 4A IEL and 5A IEL (there are seven total teams between the two leagues). For example, Sandpoint has eight games, not counting its appearance in the Timber-Lion tournament, against 5A teams on its 2021-22 schedule. Columbia, the team Sandpoint defeated in the state quarterfinals last February, has two.
Nature of the beast for basketball teams in District 1 as the panhandle doesn’t have as many teams as districts in southern Idaho.
Another nature of the beast- replacing the conference’s co-Player of the Year, which Sandpoint and Lakeland will both do, following the graduation of Kaylee Banks and Katy Ryan.
Sandpoint returns four varsity contributors, one of which (Kelsey Cessna) missed most of last season due to an injury.
“We lost a group of five seniors who contributed a lot of experience,” Love said. “We have two seniors this year, so we will miss all that senior savvy that we had last season.”
Guard Destiny Lyons and wing Sophia Platte are the two seniors on Sandpoint’s roster. That pair will be joined by Cessna, junior Daylee Driggs, and sophomore Aliya Strock, who played junior varsity during the regular season but was on the varsity postseason roster. The team also welcomes former Sandpoint (and University of Montana) standout Madi Schoening to the program as an assistant coach. The Bulldogs have qualified for the 4A state tournament in seven of the past eight seasons.
For Coach Seymour at Lakeland, he not only will be faced with replacing Ryan, but fellow All-League performer Abbey Neff. His team does return senior wing Addie Kiefer, an All-IEL honoree last season, along with junior Kenna Simon and sophomore guards Payton Sterline and Lila Kiefer. The Hawks will play three Washington teams during its non-conference schedule as well as co-host the Eagle Holiday Classic in December with West Valley (Washington) High School.
In a unique scheduling quirk, Lakeland and Sandpoint wound up facing each other four times in the season’s final two weeks. The two teams split the four matchups with five points separating the two teams over the four games (Lakeland actually outscored Sandpoint in total, 176-171). Sandpoint’s wins came at the right time, though, the district tournament, to advance to the state tournament.
The IEL’s third team, Moscow, will look to gain ground on Sandpoint and Lakeland after struggling during a two-win campaign last season. The Bears return senior guard Angela Lassen, who earned All-IEL honors as a junior, and others around the league point to Lassen as an impact player in the 4A ranks.
Second-year head coach Alexa Hardick also returns senior forward Payton Watson and junior guard Megan Heyns this season. Newcomers McKenna Knott and Jessika Lassen will have an opportunity to earn big minutes for the Bears as well, especially by providing defensive pressure. Moscow actually defended pretty well last season, despite its record. Only one non-5A team managed to score 50 points or more against Moscow (Lapwai, 52) and Hardick hopes the team’s ability and willingness to defend and rebound continues this year. If it does and the Bears are able to take a little better care of the basketball, some results may swing Moscow’s way this season.
Like Love at Sandpoint, Hardick has added a former college basketball player to her staff at Moscow. Chance Garvin played in over 60 games for the men’s team at the University of Idaho and is now an assistant at neighboring Moscow High.
It’s hard to say which team may survive the Inland Empire League this season to represent the district in the 4A girls’ state tournament in February. There doesn’t appear to be a large separation between the teams on paper, so it may come down to which team gets the greatest contributions from unexpected places. The team that does will have a chance to make 4A IEL history if it can become the first to lift a state title banner.