STATE 4A GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Complete devastation ... Timberlake runs past Weiser, but loses senior guard Miller to knee injury

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

NAMPA – It was as complete as the Timberlake girls have looked all season.

But to get to another state title game, the Tigers will have to adjust again as the injury bug bit late.

In a game where senior Malia Miller went down with a knee injury in the third quarter, senior Payton Young scored 10 of 12 points in the first half for the third-seeded Tigers in a 64-36 win over the Weiser Wolverines in a state 4A opening round game at Skyview High on Thursday.

“I thought we shared the ball really well and moving the ball well,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “Rebounding was an issue all game, and I didn’t like the way we rebounded on the defensive end. But other than that, I thought we played a really solid, complete game.”

Timberlake (15-6) faces second-seeded Bear Lake (21-4) of Montpelier tonight in the semifinals at 6 p.m. PST at Skyview. Bear Lake beat Filer 43-29 in the final opening round game of the night.

“The game goes on, so we’ve got to regroup,” said Matt Miller, in his 21st season. “We’ve got to show up and compete. The task got a lot harder, but now everyone’s got to step up and fill that void.”

Timberlake finished the game 24 of 59 from the field, with 14 assists.

Young, a four-year varsity player, missed the state tournament last year with a torn right ACL suffered early in the season.

“Not playing last year was my motivation,” Young said. “I wanted to get it done, and get it done early. For the team, coming out hard and doing a walk-through today, we were just excited to play.”

Junior Macy Murphey, a Lake City High transfer, had 14 points and two steals for Timberlake.

“They did a great job,” Miller said. “They run a matchup zone, and we did a good job of cutting and just finding the open player. We kept it simple and effective, which is usually good basketball, and they did a great job of that today.”

Senior Malia Miller, who has signed with NAIA Southern Oregon in Ashland, Ore., had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists before going down with a non-contact injury with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter for Timberlake. The Tigers fear she'd torn her ACL — again.

“We’ve got two more games to play, hopefully one is a state championship game,” Young said. “We’ve got to lock in for her because she’s worked really hard this season. It puts a lot of responsibility on me since I’m the only senior playing and being here the longest. But we’ll be fine.”

Weiser shot 13 of 61 from the field and trailed 41-10 at halftime.

“I thought we could have been more aggressive,“ Murphey said. “When we play more aggressive, it gets a lot easier. Not having Malia is big, but we’ll have to adjust. We’re going to have to step up tomorrow.”

“We’ve talked about it all season making the simple play, because it’s usually the better play,” Matt Miller said. “This team hasn’t gotten a chance to play together, and tonight we saw glimpses of what we’re capable of. And now it looks like we’re not going to have a complete team again.”

Malia Miller missed her sophomore season in 2023-24 after tearing her left ACL. Thursday’s injury was to the same knee.

“It’s a perfect example of how life isn’t fair,” said Matt Miller, Malia’s dad. “She’s worked so hard for it and deserves it. She’s already battled through coming back once.”

Evie Dolton and Porter Hart scored 10 points each for Weiser (14-7), which faces seventh-seeded Filer (17-5) today in a loser-out game at Skyview.

Weiser        4    6    10    16    —    36

Timberlake    26    15    10    13    —    64

WEISER – Goff 6, Marquez 0, Dolton 10, S. Shirts 5, Allison 0, Sorenson 2, Hart 10, E. Shirts 3, McCain 0, Matthews 0, Walker 0. Totals 13-61 7-13 36.

TIMBERLAKE – Murphey 14, Ward 2, Young 12, Jezek 0, Archer 2, Mattson 2, Miller 14, Brotherton 5, Milligan 6, Cooper 0, Jones 4, Holecek 3. Totals 24-59 8-13 64.

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Timberlake junior guard Macy Murphey drives through the Weiser defense on the way to the basket during the second half of Thursday's state 4A girls basketball game at Skyview High in Nampa.