Rockland shows it can ‘work through the suck’ in securing a State Championship game berth

NAMPA — After trailing the Carey Panthers for most of the first three quarters, with a 1A title game bid on the line, the Rockland Bulldogs showed their scrappiness.

The Bulldogs, who trailed by as many as nine, took their first lead of the second half seconds into the fourth quarter on a perfect give and go to senior Calyn Permann. They never relinquished that lead, riding the defense that had kept them in the game to the finish line.

With a 38-32 victory in the semifinals of 1A bracket, held at Nampa High School, Rockland secured its spot in the finals of the Girls Basketball State Championships.

“I’m so proud of them,” Rockland head coach Jordan Black said after the game. “They never let being behind in the score dictate how they played — they played with heart, they hustled, they gave everything they had today.”

Rockalnd’s ability to attack on the offensive end late in the game may have come as a surprise to Carey, who had been fighting a full-court press all day.

Each of the Bulldogs starting five played more than 28 minutes — of the 32-minute game — meaning they had little to no breathers. And while they were on the court, all five defended the full 94-foot court with vigor and intensity.

Rockland forced several 10-second violations, forcing 16 turnovers for the game.

Asked how her squad had enough energy to keep going, Black said her team is forced to “work through the suck.”

“Conditioning sucks,” she said. “They work through it, and at the end of the day, it pays off with moments like this.”

She added:

“It’s something we focus on every single day at practice — conditioning is a big part of our game scheme. I want every player on my team to be able to run all four quarters.”

If they were tired at all in the closing minutes, the Bulldogs did not show it. Both Calyn and Alexa Permann continued to attack the paint with reckless abandon. And Trin Weise forced and converted a pair of massive free throws.

The Permann’s finished with similar scoring line, scoring 10 points apiece while also matching each other with seven rebounds.

Calyn, who commanded Rockland’s press, finished with two blocks and three steals. Alexa added her own three steals, to go with one block.

Alexa did much of her work in the fourth quarter, scoring three points while grabbing five rebounds and snatching two steals in the final eight minutes.

“She is deadly on all parts of the court,” Black said of Alexa. “She’s deadly on offense, she’s deadly on defense. She’s the silent killer.”

Carey was led by Andie Simpson, who scored a game-high 15 points, to go with three rebounds, one assist and two steals.

After the game, Black spoke about what it will take for her Rockland players to win one more game and bring home a banner and blue trophy.

“First, we need to feed them,” she said with a laugh. … “I truly believe that if we can be confident, and stay within ourselves, stay in control, then we’re going to have a really good shot at this.”

The 3-seeded Bulldogs will get championship Saturday started at the Ford Idaho Center, when they face 1-seed Genesee at 9:30 a.m.