Wednesday — January 28, 2004

King’s 25 lifts Hailey
55-46 over Filer

WRHS earns top SCIC seed

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Wood River’s 5-10 senior post Jessica King, perhaps the best all-around player in the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference this season, decided she needed a little extra shooting practice last Tuesday before her team’s huge home game against Filer.

"I came in early and shot around," said King. "I just knew we needed to come out strong and play consistently against a good team like Filer."

Jessica King, who burned the nets for 25 points against Filer last Tuesday, also had 14 in a 52-38 home win over Kimberly Jan. 8. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Certainly it was Wood River’s biggest game of the season—a must-win to preserve Hailey’s league leadership after a three-game losing streak that put questions in everybody’s mind about Wood River’s determination.

"We had been doing just enough to win before we went on the losing streak," said Wolverine coach Brent Carnduff. "After we lost by 26 points at Bonneville, we had a team meeting and heart-to-heart talk about keeping our focus. Our intensity improved."

King’s intensity was the difference against Filer.

She scored a career-high 25 points including 8 in the decisive second quarter and 9 points to maintain the lead in the fourth. Nearly reaching a season high on offense, Hailey (48.2 ppg) beat Filer 55-46. King’s previous best scoring game was 17 points.

That win, combined with Thursday’s 29-point home win over Buhl and Declo’s 59-56 loss at Filer Friday, clinched the first-ever Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference regular-season championship for #5-ranked Idaho 3A school Wood River (12-6, 8-1 league).

King wasn’t Hailey’s only star.

Senior Natalie Green (15.9 ppg) scored 8 of her 12 points in the first quarter off the press break against Filer, three baskets coming on assists from King. Green has gone over the 1,000-point mark for her record-setting career. She has 1,014.

Green added 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Syringa Stark (7 points, 7 rebounds) directed the Wood River offense very well, as Emily Smith (9.8 ppg) was in foul trouble. Tiffany Wheeler chipped in with 4 points, 4 boards and 3 assists.

Quietly, King has also climbed on the career scoring chart. The four-year varsity player now has 529 points for seventh place overall. She is in the top three in rebounding.

Thursday was "Senior Night," for the Wolverines, who responded with a 51-22 victory over Buhl. Four Wolverines scored in double figures for the first time. King (11.6 ppg) had 13 points, Stark (4.7 ppg) a season-high 12, Smith 11 and Wheeler (3.4 ppg) a season-best 10 points.

Wood River ended its regular season at Kimberly Tuesday night. SCIC standings through Monday were: WR 12-6 (8-1); Declo 10-6 (6-3); Gooding 11-7 (5-4); Filer 10-9 (4-5); Buhl 5-9 (2-7); Kimberly 3-14 (2-7).

The SCIC tournament begins Tuesday, Feb. 3 in Hailey with Wood River hosting a first-round game at 7 p.m. Last week’s Filer result:

WR 55-46 over Filer: Jessica King 25, Natalie Green 12, Syringa Stark 7, Emily Smith 4, Tiffany Wheeler 4, Liz Rippon 2, Nikki Calzacorta 1.
Rebounds (26)—Stark 7, Green 6, Wheeler 4, Smith 3, King 3, Calzacorta 3.
Steals—Stark 2, Green 2.
Assists—Green 4, King 3, Calzacorta 3, Wheeler 3.
Blocked shots—Stark 2, Green 2.

 

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