PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Priscilla Mayorga, Clark Fork
Piper Scarlett, Clark Fork
Laila Charley, Lakeside
Kyleigh Wolfe, Lakeside
Kylee Phillips, Wallace
Khepri Wood, Wallace
Written by: Brandon Baney
If you ask any basketball coach in Idaho to define and envision a successful season, they will usually tell you that if they’re playing on Saturday at the state basketball tournament, that it’s been a pretty good campaign.
The Lakeside Knights fit that category a season ago. After blitzing the rest of the Scenic Idaho Conference, the Knights advanced to the 2A State Tournament, where they finished up by falling to Butte County in Saturday’s consolation final.
Lakeside has again earned favored status to begin the 2025-26 season. Wallace and Clark Fork are trying to turn the corner with a mix of steady veterans and varsity newcomers. And Genesis Prep, beset by low numbers, has decided to forego a varsity season this year after finishing 14-10 a season ago and losing five seniors to graduation.
LAKESIDE
The Knights said goodbye to just one senior, and return all five starters to a lineup that averaged 52 points per contest a season ago. Senior Kyleigh Wolfe is the reigning Scenic Idaho Conference Player of the Year, and sophomore Laila Charley is also back after an all-SIC campaign as a freshman last year.
Charley and Wolfe are joined at the guard positions by seniors Tylah Lambert and Kimberly Pluff, while senior Zymri Hodgson will start at center.
Opponents can expect Lakeside coach Chris Dohrmann to deploy his typically pesky defense, with a priority on forcing turnovers that lead to fast break opportunities.
WALLACE
The Miners finished as the district runner-up a year ago, finishing 11-10 overall and 3-3 in the conference. Senior post Bethany Phillips graduated, leaving a void in the middle for ninth year coach Nichole Farkas. “Bethany provided great defense and game awareness for us,” says Farkas. “We will miss her ability to block shots and cause trouble in the paint.”
Bethany’s younger sister, senior guard Kylee Phillips, returns to the starting lineup. She’ll be joined in the backcourt by senior Aubrey Birdsell and junior Khepri Wood. “We will be relying on guard play and outside shooting,” says Farkas. “Phillips and Wood are good at taking the ball to the rack, and all three are great outside shooters.”
With a general lack of height, Farkas is hoping her team’s pressure defense and expanded depth can lead to a faster tempo overall. “The X-factor will be our ability to keep our composure and get more shots up!” concludes Farkas.
CLARK FORK
The Wampus Cats underwent a coaching switch last season, with assistant coach Chris Cavanaugh ascending to the top position, and former head coach Jordan Adams remaining on staff as his assistant. That duo is back in 2025-26, hoping to improve upon a 5-14 overall record.
The program departures were significant. Shooting guard Hannah Thompson and center Kathi Rupp both graduated. “Hannah was our leading scorer and team captain,” says Cavanaugh. “Kathi averaged over 15 rebounds per game, and played great post defense.”
Additionally, sophomore shooting guard Keira Gannon and junior power forward Nora-Jean Hoy are also unavailable for the Wampus Cats. “Keira was someone we planned on running our offense through tis season, but she moved to a different school,” says Cavanaugh. “Nora-Jean is very athletic and is our only junior, and her season has been lost to injury.”
Despite those setbacks, Clark Fork does return a steady senior inside-outside duo in center Priscilla Mayorga and point guard Piper Scarlett. Sophomore Gracie Stevens is expected to start at small forward, and freshmen Kiylah Anderson and Vanessa Rogier will provide support at center and point guard, respectively.
“Our offensive strength will be our willingness to work hard this season,” says Cavanaugh. “We have a senior point guard (Piper Scarlett) who we expect to quarterback the offense and a bunch of young, athletic guards around her. We plan on getting out and running as much as possible this year. Hopefully, our shooting improves this year. Last year, we weren’t a good shooting team at all. Teams figured it out quickly and would just sit in the paint and force us to shoot the ball from outside or put up contested shots inside.”
Cavanaugh says that same commitment to hard work needs to occur on the defensive end of the floor, as well. “We had Kathi Rupp inside rebounding with the best in the state last year, and a lot of the other girls got used to standing and watching her do her thing,” says Cavanaugh. “This year we will have to get back into a team rebounding mentality.”
With only eight players on this year’s team (and six of those eight either freshmen or sophomores), the learning curve will be drastic for Clark Fork. But with a little improvement over the course of the season, the Wampus Cats could be a dangerous spoiler come tournament time.