Blackfoot tops Hillcrest in defensive struggle, Pocatello joins Broncos back in state semis

MERIDIAN — Conference rivals Blackfoot and Hillcrest found themselves in a defensive epic Thursday afternoon at Mountain View High School, with a spot in the 5A state basketball semifinals on the line.

After a first quarter that featured more combined steals (5) than field goals (4), the Broncos held a 9-3 lead. But the Knights stormed out of the break in the second quarter with a 12-3 run to take the lead at the midway point of the period.

Against the hounding Blackfoot defense, however, they could not sustain that run and saw the Broncos regain the lead in the final minute of the first half, then pull away in the second for a 40-31 victory.

With their two primary defenders, Blaklee Ball and Lauren Christianse, facing foul trouble, the Broncos called on their depth for that second-half surge. But, according to freshman Oakley Talbot, depth is one of the things that makes her team great.

“We all come to play for each other,” Talbot said. “We work hard at practice every day — we play together and everyone brings something to the team.”

Defense came from up and down both lineups, putting an added value on what little scoring there was. And it was Talbot, a freshman starting in her first ever state tournament game, who was responsible for most of that.

She finished with a game-high 17 points, including four 3-pointers and seven points in the final four minutes of the game to help her team secure the win.

Head coach Raimee Odum said she is never surprised by all the “awesome” things Talbot is able to do.

“She has the mentality that, she is going to do what she needs to do to get the job done,” Odum said. “We love the scorer’s mentality that she has, and how she never backs down from a challenge. As a freshman, that’s pretty impressive. Huge.”

Hillcrest made one last push in the fourth quarter, piecing together an 8-1 run and cutting what had been a double-digit deficit to five when, with just under three minutes remaining, junior Camryn Taylor knocked down a corner 3.

Talbot answered right back, though, with a made free throw then a triple of her own.

Blackfoot’s Lexi Jackman (11) and Hillcrest’s Kaia Kesler (10) were the only other players to finish in double-figures.

For the second-straight year, the Broncos have earned a spot in the 5A state semifinals, where they will meet Sandpoint in the 2 p.m. game at the Ford Idaho Center Friday.

Last year, Blackfoot fell in the semis to eventual state champ Pocatello. This year, Odum said, they will need to dictate the game, avoiding things like the foul trouble they faced Thursday, to change what they do. Her young team will need to continue with the defensive effort that has gotten it to this point to create separation and force Sandpoint to play its game.

Pocatello vs. Jerome

The Pocatello Thunder had to withstand a third-quarter push from the Jerome Tigers, with All-State standout Abby Lusk on the bench with three fouls. With their senior leader looking on, however, sophomore Madysen Torngren took over.

Together, Lusk, with 17 points and 17 rebounds, and Torngren, with 19 points and 10 rebounds, powered the Thunder to a 58-46 round-one victory, and back into the semifinal round. There, a young Poky squad will face the top-seeded Lakeland Hawks at the Ford Idaho Center.

Lusk said that she is excited to be part of that experience.

After the game, head coach Sunny Evans said she had a hard time controlling her emotions while talking to the team in the locker room.

“I just felt like that was one of the funnest true team efforts that I’ve been a part of, with a lot of girls who have never played on this stage,” she said. “We had so many kids step and make plays — just really fun to be a part of.”

Evans spoke specifically about her twin 6-foot-1 towers, calling Lusk “invaluable” as a player and a leader.

“She knows what I want, and my trust in her is absolute — it never wavers,” Evans said of the senior.

“She stepped up in a big way on both sides of the ball,” the coach added of the sophomore. “I’m happy for her — we needed her to break out.”

Torngren recalled the few days between the announcement of first-round matchups on Sunday and the games on Thursday, saying that her team put its trust in her to capitalize on what they believed to be an advantage on the block.

“It feels amazing. I was so nervous, my heart was pounding,” she said, adding that her defensive abilities have grown exponentially this season because of the tests she receives every day at practice.

“Figuring out how to defend a D1-level player is hard — she (Lusk, a Gonzaga commit) scores a lot, but when you do get a stop, it’s like, ‘OK, I can do this.'”

When Poky goes to Nampa Friday, it won’t just be as tourists. They will be there with a repeat championship on their minds — and that requires a victory over a favorite Hawks squad.

“It’s a really tough game for us, but it’s the challenge that we need,” Lusk said of the semifinal matchup with Lakeland. “I know these girls can do it if we just have fun.”