Broncos blitz Knights, earn district championship and state berth

BLACKFOOT — Aside from a stretch of a little over three minutes late in the second quarter, the Broncos expressed utter dominance over rival Hillcrest Tuesday night at Blackfoot High School, cruising to a district championship.

The Knights scored 10 straight, beginning shortly after a Broncos timeout with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, turning a 19-10 deficit into a 20-19 lead. From the end of that run, the Broncos outscored Hillcrest 44 to 16, cruising to a 63-36 district championship-winning victory.

Sophomore Blaklee Ball was part of the Bronco team last year, as a freshman, that won a district championship before finishing 1-2 at the state tournament.

She said that another district title was one of the goals the squad had on its board all season, and spoke about the elation in the locker room after that first checkpoint was reached.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so exciting,” she said. “We have been working, just, so hard and looking forward all season — it’s been a goal all season.”

The Knights trailed early, despite sharpshooter Camryn Taylor knocking down a triple on their first possession of the game, because of the white-hot start from Jaci Capson, one of two Broncos seniors.

Capson drilled 3’s on her team’s first two possessions, before adding a third first-quarter 3. After each, she gestured to the home student section, encouraging more energy from the packed bleachers.

Head coach Raimee Odum said that Capson has been a metronome for her team all season and gave the entire roster a shot of confidence with her hot start.

“Exactly what you want to see,” Odum said of the senior. “Jaci’s awesome, she’s really steady for us. When she’s feeling it, it’s going to be really tough for the other team. Seeing her hit like that, it makes us excited because everybody else kinda piggybacks off of that.”

Capson’s nine first-quarter points pushed her team to a 13-8 advantage after eight minutes of play.

And while those gut-punches stunned the Knights, it was freshman Oakley Talbot who delivered the knockout blows with her own trio of triples in the first nine minutes of the second half.

Talbot is one of four freshmen and sophomores — alongside Ball, freshman Addie Arave and sophomore Lexi Jackman — who make up Blackfoot’s primary eight-player rotation.

That young group, according to Odum, has been successful because of their complete buy-in to the Blackfoot system and their relentless work ethic. All four, the coach said, are “gym rats” and “basketball junkies,” who work as hard in the summer as they do in the winter.

“They care about each other as teammates, and they’ve really done a good job of helping build a culture,” Odum said. “For such young athletes, it’s sometimes hard to do that. I’m just so proud of them for stepping up, in a lot of ways.”

While Blackfoot’s offense was running on all cylinders throughout the game, Hillcrest’s attack never could get loose.

According to Ball, the Broncos’ game plan focused on stopping Knights point guard Kaia Kesler’s attack.

Kesler, Bell said, is the Hillcrest engine, with her ability to score at the rim. And when she starts to score, that forces opposing defenses to collapse onto her as she cuts, giving shooters like Taylor openings.

Blackfoot’s counter was to have its guards, primarily Bell, defend her one-on-one, so their teammates could stay glued to shooters.

“It was a big emphasis, staying in front and not letting her score,” Bell said.

Odum spoke highly of Bell’s effort in doing exactly that, adding that Jackman and senior Lauren Christiansen were also part of that tall task.

Kesler finished with a team-leading 12 points but had to work tirelessly to get each one and finished with nearly as many turnovers.

“Blaklee’s a competitor. If there’s one thing Blaklee’s been blessed with, it’s a competitive spirit — and she’s very athletic,” Odum said before mentioning Jackman and Christiansen. “Everybody else fell in behind them, and did their job and trusted each other.”

Ball finished the game with nine points, six rebounds, three steals and one block.

“Our whole team is incredible on defense, it’s a whole team effort,” the sophomore said. “I just like to work hard for my team. I know that if I play the defense I know I can play, it helps everyone else play their defense. If I stay in front of Kaia, they won’t have to worry about helping off and worry about Camryn hitting the 3.”

Ball went on to say that she is happy to fill the role played last year by Pocatello’s Liv Marshall, who was everywhere defensively at the detriment to her offensive opportunities, during the Thunder’s run to the 5A state championship.

“I do like playing defense,” she said. “I like to be on the ball, that’s my thing. Offensively, I may be more timid. … I do it for my team, I do it for my coaches. I know that they expect a lot from me, and I want to prove to them that I can be what they want me to be.”

And though she did not spend much of the game looking to score, she got one good look at a corner 3 with just over two minutes left in the game. Her bench, directly behind her on the shot, erupted as the jumper tickled the twine, giving Blackfoot a 58-31 lead.

“When I hit that 3, I felt like it was over,” Ball said. “Of course, we were up by 20 at that point, but it felt like their morale went down and ours went up, and I knew that we were district champs at that point.”

Currently ranked third among 5A teams, per MaxPreps, Blackfoot would face the No. 6 seed in the first round of next week’s state tournament in Nampa. The official bracket is expected ot be released Sunday.