Players to Watch:
Aly Hansen, Buhl
Lisel Kimball, Buhl
Reese Hills, Filer
Tanli LeMoyne, Filer
Amaia Dayley, Gooding
Fallon Millican, Gooding
Tarissa Plew, Kimberly
Taya Plew, Kimberly
Taylor Heitzman, Wood River
Mylie Smith, Wood River
Written by: Brandon Baney
When we polled the five coaches that comprise the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference and asked them to predict the league’s order of finish this year, their answers were diverse and varied. Three different teams received first-place votes, and three different teams were also picked to finish fifth. In other words: check back in March.
Filer has been the league’s superpower for several years now, but a season of change is upon the Wildcats. Only three varsity players return from last year’s squad, and they’ll do so under a new head coach. Karen Hoem takes the reins from Clayton Nebeker. Hoem is new to Idaho, but she has 26 years of coaching experience in Nevada to lean on.
“We are hoping to work hard and compete as there are some big shoes to fill,” says Hoem. “Coach Nebeker has done a great job the last four years.”
Hoem will rely upon junior guards Tanli LeMoyne and Aubrey Westling, along with senior post Reese Hills. Those three will be expected to lead a group of varsity newcomers that includes promising sophomores Peyton Hollifield and Taylor Westling, among others.
“We have lots of speed and players that are super versatile,” says Hoem. “We want to be aggressive on defense with our speed, quickness and agility, and our general focus will be man-to-man.”
Overall, optimism remains high at Filer. “I’m so excited by the eagerness of all the girls,” says Hoem. “They want to be involved despite all of the changes. They are all very positive and the program as a whole is excied.”
“Our biggest x-factor will be how they adjust to a new coach and a new philosophy,” Hoem adds. “There’s lots to learn but the expectations and the bar have been set high.”
Kimberly lurks as Filer’s biggest challenger in 2024-25. The Bulldogs fell to Filer by five points in last year’s district championship game, then survived a 45-44 win over McCall-Donnelly in a state tournament play-in game to join the Wildcats at state. Kimberly went 0-2 at state to finish 16-16 overall.
Third-year head coach Scott Plew has five returning varsity players to lean on, including sophomore guard Taya Plew, a 1st Team All-Conference performer. Plew will be joined in the backcourt by seniors Tarissa Plew and Berkley Dille, while senior Hope Ward and sophomore Adyson Osborne will hold down the forward position.
“Overall, we will be a better shooting team this year and we’ll look to transition much more than last year,” says Plew. “We have the girls to run the floor, attack the basket, and hit the three. However, we need to improve on our shot selection, shooting percentage, and working the ball around.”
And while Plew is excited about his team’s potential on offense, he says the Bulldogs’ defense will ultimately determine how far Kimberly can go this season. “Tarissa Plew and Hope Ward are great on-ball defenders and can lock down opponents,” says Plew. “Overall, we’ll be able to apply much more pressure on defense, but we need to bring constant intensity to that end of the floor.”
Gooding is the other team that’s been identified as a strong contender to knock the Wildcats from their perch atop the league standings. Fifth-year head coach Derrick Lyons lost post Audrey Schilder and guard Izzie Stockham to graduation, but feels good about the other building blocks that are back.
“Audrey was a nightly double-double, and Izzie was integral to everything we did on offense and defense,” says Lyons. “So this year as a team, we’ll be playing an up-tempo style. We have a bunch of girls that played over the summer and are more accustomed to playing quicker.”
Senior Fallon Millican is a returning All-Conference talent, and can play on the wing as well as underneath. She’ll be surrounded by a bevy of talented underclassmen: freshmen guards Blayke Brunson and Camyrn Rycraft, and sophomore wings Amaia Dayley and Olivia Rogers.
“We’re young and it is exciting to mix that with some of our older girls,” says Lyons. “Our freshman girls should be able to spark our offense and our shooting will be much better.”
“We need to be better from the three-point line from an offensive standpoint, and we need to defend the line better as well,” adds Lyons. “We had an over 200 point differential from the three-point line last year.”
Buhl is a team that is brimming with potential as well. Head coach Jessica Montgomery was an acclaimed sharp-shooter during her playing days, and has operated a School of Basketball in the Magic Valley for years. Montgomery officially passed the business off to her younger sister, Taya Tews, this past spring to focus strictly on her family and Buhl girls basketball. Her coaching acumen isn’t lost on rival coaches.
“Buhl is well-coached and has some athletes,” says Plew.
“Buhl has shooters that will be able to make them a tough matchup on any given night,” Lyons concurs.
Finally, Wood River is officially joining the 4A ranks in girls basketball after a tough stretch in the 5A ranks. The Wolverines successfully petitioned down a classification level for competitive reasons, and coach Kevin Stilling is bracing for somewhat of a reset.
”We graduated only one senior from last year’s group,” says Stilling. “However, due to injuries and disinterest we actually are without six of the twelve girls who played significant minutes last year.”
Stilling is viewing this project with a glass-half-full approach: “I love teaching and I get to do that probably with this group more than ever this year, just because of our inexperience.”
Among the returnees are junior forward Taylor Heitzman, who earned All-Conference honors at the 5A level a year ago. She’s joined by senior guards Becca Atienza and Larae Zimmerman, and junior guard Mylie Smith. Among the key players missing are senior forward Emmi Nilsen, who started every game as a sophomore in 2022-23, but suffered a career-ending injury last season, and sophomore guard Tobie Stilling, who lead the Wolverines in minutes played as a freshman but injured her ACL, causing her to miss the entire 2024-25 campaign.
So with so many key contributors missing, Stilling and his players got creative. “We have three girls who haven’t played basketball since middle school. They’re all seniors and they’re all soccer players recruited by Taylor Heitzman,” says Stilling. “It’s been an interesting first couple of weeks with them. They’ve got great attitudes and a willingness to learn.”
“I’ve told them that this like learning a new language while you’re out of breath and holding a ball,” Stilling quipped.