BONNERS FERRY — It’s been a balanced start to the season for the Badgers as both the boys and girls basketball teams have posted two wins each while showing improvement in their most recent games. 

Boys basketball players Jameson Cartwright-Kissee and Peyton Hinthorn and girls basketball players Eva Willis and Taren Bateman, all juniors, spoke about their goals for the season, their connections with teammates and what Cartwright-Kissee and Hinthorn wanted to talk about, food.  

Willis noted the team’s camaraderie this year. 

“Everybody kind of just comes together as one, as a family and there's no individual beef,” Willis said. “Nobody gets mad if they don't start. I’ve seen some massive improvement.” 

The boys team shares a similar bond, both Hinthorn and Cartwright-Kissee said. 

“We've all been friends for a while,” Hinthorn said. “We know each other and play well together. We all love the same food.”  

Cartwright-Kissee agreed, saying they are all friends as well as teammates. 

“We've all known each other for a while,” Cartwright-Kissee said. “We don't have any new faces, no new problems to face or anything. The good part of it's just that we're all friends, we've all known each other for a long time, we all know each other's play styles pretty well.” 

Bateman said she has already seen improvement in how the girls team approaches the game. 

“I would say we're playing a lot calmer,” Bateman said. “We're not having as many turnovers or freak-out moments and we're learning to play with each other just a little bit better, which naturally happens with time and practicing with each other.”   

Willis has seen an improvement in communication. 

“I'd say communication on the court and even sometimes off the court — being louder on the bench and just little things like that,” Willis said.   

During the boys game Saturday against Stillwater Christian, Bonners Ferry fell behind by nine points in the first quarter but didn’t let the slow start phase them. Cartwright-Kissee said that ability to calm down helped the team refocus and rally to win by 10. 

“I didn't want to be 1-3,” Cartwright-Kissee said. “Basically, we just realized we had to calm down and just lock in.”   

Both the boys and girls teams have first-year head coaches: Greg Kissee and Tomi Bateman, respectively. 

“We need to have coaches that push us in certain ways and I definitely feel like Tomi has stepped up to that role,” Willis said. “It gets hard. It'll break you, but it's just making you mentally tough. So, she's definitely done a good job about that.”  

“I think right now a lot of the girls are kind of feeling a difference in intensity and certain things in practice are definitely different than last year,” Bateman said. “But I think it's definitely been a positive thing for us.”   

For Hinthorn, continuity has been important. 

“He (Kissee) was also our middle school coach,” Hinthorn said. “He does a lot of the same drills that Nathan (Williams) used to. They're good drills.”   

“It’s definitely different, but it's just rebuilding, everybody getting to know their roles and stuff on the team,” Cartwright-Kissee said.  

Cartwright-Kissee also emphasized the importance of the two league games against Timberlake, which will help determine if Bonners Ferry advances to a state play-in. 

“Basically, this season is just to prepare for that,” Cartwright-Kissee said. "That's the only team we really got to beat.”   

Hinthorn and Willis shared their favorite moments of the season so far.  

“Probably my half-court shot the other day,” Hinthorn said. “I thought it was going over the backboard. Actually, at first I thought it was gonna hit the rafters. I was like, no way that goes in and then I made it.” 

“I'd have to say in the game that we just played, getting that and-one,” Willis said. “If you were there, you could tell I was very excited. My dad did stand up and he hit a little dance when I made that.”   

Bateman and her sister Jaycee, a freshman, both play on the girls team. Taren described the friendly competition between them. 

“People keep asking me and Jaycee if we see it as a competition. I said, ‘No, not at all’ and she kind of gave me this look,” Bateman said. “I was like, ‘Oh, really?’” 

Each player talked about their pregame meals.  

“I’ve had waffles every morning for the past month, with huckleberries in them, peanut butter and syrup,” Hinthorn said.

“I don't really know how to make waffles,” Cartwright-Kissee said. “I'm making pancakes before the game.” 

“Normally my dad will make us breakfast burritos or something with eggs and some peppers and sausage,” Bateman said.   

“I don’t eat before a game,” Willis said. “I'll have my dad make me a protein shake or something.”   

The Bonners Ferry boys team will next host Lewiston on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. The girls team will host Lakeland on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. 

    Junior Taren Bateman shoots above a motionless Stillwater Christian opponent.
  

    Junior Eva Willis plays defense against Sandpoint.
  

    Jameson Cartwright-Kissee attempts a three-pointer against Stillwater Christian.