February 17, 2023

Deary girls roll to first-round victory

Mustangs allow single figures in each quarter, roll past Cats 42-20

Cody Wendt Sports staff

Deary Mustang Kaylee Wood drives in lay up Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Araya Wood launches the ball against a Clark Fork player’s leg before going out of bounds Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary head coach Kendra Keen discusses the Mustangs’ plan of attack during a timeout Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustangs Araya Wood, left, and Dantae Workman fight for possession with Clark Fork’s Eloise Shelton on Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Kaylee Wood, center, makes a last ditch effort pass while in heavy traffic Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Kenadie Kirk puts up a shot Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Dantae Workman, center, collides into Clark Fork’s Eloise Shelton (4) on Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Araya Wood looks for opening while under pressure from Clark Fork’s Lilly Rueter, left, and Amarie Prinz-Hay on Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Deary Mustang Macie Ashmead puts up a lay up Thursday during game four of the 2023 1A DII Idaho High School State Championships basketball tournament against Clark Fork in Nampa.Austin Johnson

Holding the eighth-seeded Clark Fork Wampus Cats to single-digit point outputs in each of the four quarters and gradually finding their own feet offensively, the top-seeded Deary Mustangs raced to a 42-20 victory in opening-round Idaho Class 1A Division II state tournament play Thursday at Nampa High School.

Deary (18-2) next faces No. 4 seed Dietrich at 1 p.m. Pacific in the semifinal round today at the same site. The Mustangs, who never have reached a state title game before, will make program history should they win.

Wood sisters shine early

While the rest of the team struggled early, the first half was a tour de force for Deary’s Wood sisters — senior Triniti, junior Araya and freshman Kaylee — who combined for 16 of the Mustangs’ 18 points heading into the break. The three often were in action at the same time, with occasional Wood-to-Wood-to-Wood passing sequences manifesting themselves.

“I think they definitely spark us,” Deary coach Kendra Keen said. “I also think they bring different things to the table. Triniti shot well from the 3-point line, Araya was good in transition, Kaylee took it to the basket pretty well.”

Araya would total a game-leading 13 points along with six rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Triniti and Kaylee each scored five.

Jitters put in check

Deary’s field-goal shooting improved from a meager 8-for-29 (26%) showing in the first half to a much-more-respectable 11-for-27 (40.7%) after intermission.

“Everybody had first-game jitters,” Keen said. “By the second half, we were able to pressure a little bit stronger and kind of got into our rhythm offensively.”

Macie Ashmead and Kenadie Kirk drove the team’s offensive production in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Ashmead, who put up the Mustangs’ first post-intermission basket after a two-and-a-half minute drought, would finish with nine points and three rebounds. Kirk provided several key baskets early in the fourth quarter to help establish virtually insurmountable scoreboard separation, ultimately joining Araya Wood in double figures with 10 points and also grabbing a team-high eight boards.

For Clark Fork (7-13), Emily Myers led scoring with seven points. Eloise Shelton totaled five points, five boards and two assists.

Taking care of the ball

Apart from the scoreline, the greatest statistical gap between the teams came in turnovers, with Deary giving up only nine compared to the Wampus Cats’ 26.

The Mustangs, who often played a forcing full-court press, totaled 14 steals, while Clark Fork finished with only three after sticking to a zone defense as the Mustangs pulled further and further out of reach.

“That was a point of emphasis — to make sure we take care of the ball — and we did that in the second half for sure,” Keen said. “We definitely need to be confident in the things that we’ve been doing. I think that at State, if you’re not prepared for it, the intensity will kind of knock you back a little bit. We’ve talked about how we need to play from the first whistle; Dietrich’s going to be intense.”

CLARK FORK (7-13)

Emily Myers 3 1-1 7, Eloise Shelton 2 0-2 5, Lilly Reuter 0 0-0 0, Amari Printz-Hay 0 1-2 1, Jamie Herick 0 0-0 0, Piper Scarlett 1 0-0 2, Hannah Thompson 2 1-2 5. Totals 8 3-7 20.

DEARY (18-2)

Karmen Griffen 0 0-0 0, Madelyn Proctor 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Wood 2 0-0 5, Kenadie Kirk 5 0-1 10, Araya Wood 6 0-0 13, Triniti Wood 2 0-0 5, Macie Ashmead 4 1-2 9, Dantae Workman 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 1-3 42.

Clark Fork 7 5 3 5—20

Deary 12 6 10 14—42

3-point goals — Shelton, K. Wood, A. Wood, T. Wood.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.

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Copy goes here for the Deary girls game at Nampa in the state basketball tournament.

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Copy goes here for the Deary girls game at Nampa in the state basketball tournament.