Players to Watch:
Jensen King, Aberdeen
Emily Shackelford, Aberdeen
Brynlee Jones, Malad
Olivia Nelson, Malad
Abby Goodin, Soda Springs
Gracie Moldenhauer, Soda Springs
Kaleimys Nieves, Wendell
Tyree Sears, Wendell
Miley Cundick, West Side
Harley Nielsen, West Side
Written by: Brandon Baney
Whenever girls basketball fans start talking about Idaho’s Class 3A South East Idaho Conference, the conversation inevitably turns to the juggernaut at Soda Springs. “Maybe this is the year we finally knock them off,” “They did lose a lot to graduation,” “They can’t just keep winning like this, can they?”, etc.
The last time the Cardinals didn’t win the league title outright was back in the COVID-affected 2020-21 season. So will that trend continue in 2024-25, or will a new contender emerge?
The Cardinals did bid farewell to five impactful seniors this past spring: Jinettie Garbett, Kinley Ozburn, Brooklyn Kempe, Macee Simmons and Chloe Garbett. So this is the year, right? This is the year that Soda Springs takes a step back?
As Mark Twain once proclaimed, “The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
The Cardinals navigated murky waters last season, as head coach Josh Zentner abruptly resigned right after Christmas in 2024. Mat Gronning took over on an interim basis, and helped steer Soda Springs to yet another state tournament appearance.
Gronning returns as the permanent head coach this season, and he’ll rely on returning starters Abbie Goodin and Gracie Moldenhauer to lead the way. Both are seniors, and are joined in the Cardinals’ lineup by three juniors: Josey Rasmussen, Courtnee Gronning and Rosie Harris.
The team best equipped to dethrone Soda Springs is Malad. The Dragons went 19-6 a year ago, and missed out on the state tournament by one game, a 54-46 setback to the Cardinals in the district’s third place game.
“We’re hungry,” says third year coach Trevor Jones. “After a 19-6 record last year and barely missing out on qualifying for state, the Lady Dragons have something to prove this year. They got a taste (of success) last year and now they are ready to have it all.”
Malad only lost two seniors to graduation, although both were impactful. “Hallee Horsley and Oakley Hebdon were great leaders, awesome scorers, and solid defenders,” says Jones. “Their confidence, leadership, and vision on the court will be missed.”
This year’s Dragons will be paced by senior guard Teagan Daniels. She’s joined in the guard rotation by three juniors: Izzy Haycock, Mikell Keets and Kiley Miller. Junior Brynnlee Jones will play inside and on the perimeter, and junior Olivia Nelson will start at center. Haycock and Jones were All-Conference performers a season ago.
“We hope to make improvements in our decision making,” says Jones. “The best shots to take, great passes to make, when to really push the ball and slow things down. We also really want to improve our end-of-game scenarios.”
Jones is also looking for a renewed commitment on defense. “In the past we have played a lot of zone defense,” he says. “This year we really want to step up our man-to-man defense to make us an even more well-rounded team. But we really stress with our team that great defense can only be accomplished with five girls going all out. One girl alone can’t do it.”
“We plan to have several different looks in our half court and full court defense,” Jones adds. “Having multiple options – presses, zones and man defenses – will help us tailor our defense to our opponent based on their strengths.”
West Side and Aberdeen have enjoyed recent success over the past few seasons. Each has qualified for state at some point during the past four years, and the Tigers got all the way to the state championship game in 2021.
Aberdeen struggled a year ago, finishing 2-19 overall. The good news for coach Andrew Jolley is that almost everyone returns. Seniors Jensen King and Lexie Brown are among Aberdeen’s leaders, while sophomore Emily Shackelford saw valuable time last year as a freshman.
West Side has a new coach for the second year in a row, as Ben Huesser took the open job down the road at Preston after one season and a 5-18 record. Replacing Huesser is assistant Elise Cox. Cox welcomes back three starters in junior point guard Halle Taylor, junior wing Miley Cundick and senior post Harley Nielsen. “We have a lot of speed and athleticism,” says Cox. “Our strengths this year wilb e pushing the ball for some fast offensive transitions and fast breaks, as well as offensive boards and put-backs.”
A new wrinkle to this year’s South East Idaho Conference is the addition of District 4 programs Declo and Wendell. For several years, the Hornets and Trojans competed on their own in the Canyon Conference. But when Bear Lake moved up to the 4A level at the start of the season, it left District 5 with just four teams. Hence, a merger was made with District 4, and the result is a six-team conference that should be fairly competitive.
Declo went 17-7 a season ago and advanced to state, but repeating that feat will be trickier in a bigger league. The Hornets also had a late coaching switch, as head coach Cody Power was replaced by Brad Caresia in September. Caresia previously coached the boys basketball team at Burley. It’s an entirely new group of Hornets this year, as well. Senior Raegan Ramsey will be counted on as a leader, and junior posts Kolbie Shurtz and Teagan Wickel will be important players as well.
Wendell went 3-17 a season ago, but second-year head coach Tia Standlee is brimming with confidence. “These girls have played together for a long time, so their court awareness is great and they know what each teammate is going to do,” she explains. “They are older now, so they will be able to take what they have learned over the past couple of seasons of being a ‘young team’ and use it to help their game.”
Junior guard Kaleimys Nieves was the Conference’s Defensive MVP last season, and fellow junior guards Tyree Sears and Brianna Egbert are great defenders as well.
Standlee sees the potential in her team. She just needs her players to realize it. “We need our girls to want to take those shots on offense. They are all great shooters, they just need to believe that they are,” Standlee says. “Our X-factor will be our mindset and believing.”