PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lolly McKnight, Burley
Morgan Waters, Burley
Ella Clark, Canyon Ridge
Maddie Williams, Canyon Ridge
Emma Allen, Jerome
Katie Larsen, Jerome
Jentree Bott, Minico
CJ Latta, Minico
Jenna Jausoro, Mountain Home
Ava Johnson, Mountain Home
Halle Egbert, Twin Falls
Jaycee Jensen, Twin Falls
Ava Martin, Twin Falls
Emmi Nilsen, Wood River
Bella Parke, Wood River
Written by: Dallin Fryar
After a strong 2022-23 season with an 18-7 record and the graduation of four-year starter Madilynn Keener, the Mountain Home Tigers will enter the 2023-24 season with a much more balanced attack than what Tiger fans saw last season.
Coach Brett Keener will look to his junior posts Ava Johnson and Jenna Jausoro to lead a team with three sophomores and two freshmen. “We are going to play fast and get out and run,” Keener said.
Last season, the Wood River Wolverines broke a 50+ game losing streak. This season head coach Kevin Stilling is looking at this season “with a completely clean slate.”
He said, “We’ve had more participation than any year in recent memory with spring camps, summer tournaments, and fall open gyms. It will be exciting to see how that translates into this season.” Defense is what the Wolverines emphasized last season, and it will be a focal point once again this season.
New head coach Jesse Clark of Canyon Ridge believes that the Riverhawks are the Great Basin Conference’s team that is going to surprise some people this year.
Coming off a 13-10 record last season and a fifth place finish in the conference, Clark has one word to describe what the X-Factor to their success will be: “Heart.” Juniors Bailey Dean and Maddie Williams will lead a well-rounded team on both offense and defense.
In the 2022-23 season the Minico Spartans went 11-1 in conference and they do not expect any slowing down coming into this season. 1st Team All-State selection CJ Latta returns for her senior season, along with a plethora of other seniors that know the system well.
“Returning a lot of seniors is exciting!” head coach Anna Bateman said. “They have been in the program and know what to expect and do. I’m excited to see how this season plays out.” The Spartans preach defense night in and night out, but will need to find more consistent scoring from players around Latta.
The Twin Falls Bruins enter the 2023-24 season looking to build on a strong 2022-23 campaign where they finished second in the Great Basin Conference. The Bruins have the capability to elevate to first this season with a balanced team effort consistently each night.
Head coach Michael Amaya returns four senior guards from last year’s squad: Jaycee Jensen, Halle Egbert, Rylee Robbins and Ali Okelberry. They also scored a coup via transfer when junior Ava Martin, a 1st Team All-Conference selection a year ago at Canyon Ridge, switched schools and joined the Bruins.
Another team that is in the mix for the Great Basin Conference title are the Jerome Tigers. After tying with Mountain Home for a third place finish last season, do not sleep on the Tigers this season. Jerome has an arsenal of guards that run the floor, shoot, and will cause havoc for opposing teams.
“We have a large portion of our team coming back this year,” coach Kelly Williams said. “They really started to come together at the end of last year and are already ahead in terms of working together and their chemistry on the court.”
In her first season as varsity head coach, Nicole Baker and the Burley Bobcats went 7-17 and 3-9 in the conference. With several returning seniors to lead a well balanced group this season, the Bobcats will also look to integrate several younger players into their system.
“I’m really excited to see this team come together and play,” coach Baker said. “They showed a lot of growth in the offseason and I’m excited to see that continue.”