PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alli Bishop, Buhl
Aspen Eckert, Buhl
Liesl Kimball, Buhl
Hazel Fisher, Filer
Fallon Millican, Gooding
Audrey Schilder, Gooding
Izzie Stockham, Gooding
Macy Dille, Kimberly
Tarissa Plew, Kimberly

Written by: Brandon Baney

The four-team Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference can oftentimes resemble a family reunion. There’s lots of epic battles, and occasional bickering, but through it all, respect and inspiration are the tenets that push all four schools (Buhl, Filer, Gooding and Kimberly) to be their absolute best.

This year’s SCIC girls basketball race will be fascinating to watch, and the team that starts the race in first may not finish there. Each school lost significant talent to graduation, so the learning curve will be steep.

Defending champion Kimberly was given the slight nod in our preseason coaches poll. Scott Plew led the Bulldogs to a 14-9 finish in his first year on the job, and just like last year, Kimberly will work from the inside first. Center Mekell Wright was a 1st Team All-Conference selection a year ago, but graduated in the offseason, leaving a 6-foot-1 void down low. Kimberly will turn to senior Macy Dille, who can handle the power forward or center positions, and was a 2nd Team All-SCIC performer last season.

“We are returning a few juniors that had significant playing time last year as sophomores,” says coach Plew. “We also have a new player that transferred from Canyon Ridge, junior Berkley Dill, that will help us this year.”

Dille will join returnees Tarissa Plew, Emerson Heatwole and Hope Ward as go-to players early on. If the upperclassmen can gel with three incoming freshmen (Taya Plew, Ady Osborne and Sadie DeGraffenried), Kimberly will be tough to knock off from that top perch in the league. “Taya and Sadie both played varsity volleyball this year, so they have seen competition at this level already,” notes Plew.

Kimberly wants to play an up-tempo, in-your-face style of play on both sides of the ball. “We are young but we’ll be able to play at an increased speed from last year,” says Plew. “We need intensity and pressure on both ends of the floor, especially on defense.”

Gooding went just 1-5 in SCIC play a season ago, but on the strength of returning all five starters from a year ago, coach Derrick Martin’s team has been tabbed to finish second in our preseason poll. Senior guard Izzie Stockham and senior post Audrey Schilder are joined by do-it-all junior Fallon Millican, who can play (and more importantly, defend) all five positions on the floor.

Senior Dominixe Celaya and junior Marissa Mullins-Edwards are also back to man the wing positions. “Both of them will have bigger roles at the varsity level this year,” says Martin.

After not losing a single senior a year ago, Gooding’s up-tempo offense with plenty of ball movement should be humming again in 2023-24. “We will lean on the fact that we bring back five starters from a season ago,” says Martin. “Our defense works hard and we plan to continue to make teams earn their points.”

Buhl and Filer both return talented athletes this year, and could challenge Kimberly and Gooding for SCIC supremacy. The Indians are coached by acclaimed sharpshooter Jessica Montgomery (formerly Tews), who ironically enough starred at Filer High School in the early 2010s. Now in her second season at district rival Buhl, the pieces are in place for the Indians to make a serious run.

Senior point guard Aspen Eckert will lead the Buhl attack, and junior forwards Lisel Kimball and Quincy Bowman can score from inside the paint of on the perimeter. “We are athletic and quick, with several players who can score,” says coach Montgomery. “That’s a good thing, because we are so unselfish with the ball.”

“Our team has good chemistry, and we bring back several players from last year,” Montgomery adds. “We’re just trying to continue building skill and confidence in our players, and get one percent better every day!”

Filer, meanwhile, is led by veteran coach Clayton Nebeker. The Wildcats went 15-11 overall last season, and were a perfect 6-0 in SCIC competition. Six talented seniors graduated, though, so it will be up to a new crop of players to keep Filer’s run going. Senior post Alli Bishop and senior guard Hazel Fischer will lead the Wildcats in 2023-24.