Players to Watch
Maya Marshall, Century
Reagan Trulson, Century
Kenna Garza, Pocatello
Elle Hokanson, Pocatello
Abby Lusk, Pocatello
Liv Marshall, Pocatello
Brytlee Harris, Preston
Written by: Brandon Baney
The Pocatello Thunder experienced a breakthrough like no other in 2023-24. The Thunder went 17-7, snapped an eight-year state tournament drought, and did it all with no seniors to lead the way, which means…everyone is back to help Pocatello take the next step forward.
Having everyone back for another year lends familiarity, which fifth-year coach Sunny Evans says, in turn, gives her players more freedom. “I believe our strength will be our ability to play as a team no matter what set we are in,” Evans says. “I want them to have freedom to be the players they are, but we will still focus on shot selection and utilizing our strengths, which I think will be our ability to play inside-out.”
Anchoring the inside game is 6-foot-3 junior Kenna Garza at center, 5-foot-10 senior Elle Hokanson at power forward, and six-foot sophomore Abby Lusk at small forward. They’re joined in the starting lineup by juniors Taylee Rogers and Liv Marshall and point guard and shooting guard, respectively.
While coach Evans says more freedom in the offense is a goal this season, she is still preaching the importance of taking care of the ball, before the shot and in shot selection. Pocatello tended to turn the ball over in flurries a year ago, and then compounded the problem by pressing for shots on offense. “I want to take better care of the ball, be more disciplined at the appropriate times, and shoot better from three-point range,” Evans says.
A lineup featuring Garza, Hokanson and Lusk on the front line can be imposing on defense, which allows Rogers and Marshall to gamble out front. “We hope to more aggressive defensively this year,” Evans says. “By aggressive, I do not mean taking unnecessary risks, but we want to be gritty and relentless and physical, and create turnovers that way. I believe we have the personnel that will allow us to do that in our man or our zone defense.”
Pocatello’s goal is to return to state, but they’ll have to navigate through improved Preston and Century squads in District 5 first. The Diamondbacks went 13-11 a year ago, then said goodbye to four seniors (including Taylor Smith, who is now playing at Weber State Unviersity). Additionally, longtime coach Chris Schuler retired in the offseason, so assistant Meg Fleischmann assumes the reins.
Fleischmann is no stranger to coaching, though. She coached her sons (Titan and Bruin, now playing college football at Montana State and Air Force, respectively) for years on the youth basketball scene. She’s also been an assistant at Century for eight years, and was the head volleyball coach this past fall.
In her debut season, coach Fleischmann will lean on senior post Reagan Trulson. “Reagan is tough and strong on the inside,” Fleischmann says. “She’s a competitor and wants to win.”
That attitude is persistent throughout the hallways at Century High. The Diamondbacks, despite fielding a bottom-five student body count among 4A schools, always gets the most out of their athletes. Joining Trulson down low are fellow seniors Payton Lattin and Josie Davidson, while seniors Chinelo Njoku and Addie Marshall are bigger wings who can also play inside in a pinch.
So the big question at Century is: who’s going to get all of these talented forwards and posts the ball? There are five sophomores competing for playing time, and coach Fleishmann is hoping that a leader or two emerges from that group to handle the backcourt duties. “We’ve got five solid seniors with good chemistry and five amazing sophomores to build this progam with,” Fleischmann concluded.
The Preston Indians limped their way to an injury-plagued 2-19 campaign a year ago. It was the debut season for coach Kamille Kunz, who replaced longtime mentor Ryan Harris. Coach Kunz has just one senior on this year’s roster, but a young and hungry Indians team is ready to compete. “Coach Kunz is a great coach who understands the conference and always has her team prepared and playing hard,” says Pocatello coach Sunny Evans.
Junior Brytlee Harris is the lone returning All-Conference performer for Preston. She’ll be joined by junior Addy Romney, who missed most of last year with an injury, and sophomore Tayla Wakley as leaders for this year’s team.