STATE 2A GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Lakeside comes up short in bid for consolation title

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

NAMPA — In a battle for a trophy on Saturday at Caldwell High, the fourth-seeded Lakeside Knights were just a little short.

Not by size, or hustle, but on the offensive side of the ball.

Lakeside shot 12 of 59 and was outrebounded 54-30 by seventh-seeded Liberty Charter of Nampa in a 43-38 loss in the state 2A girls basketball consolation championship game.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball well today,” said Lakeside coach Chris Dohrman, in his 13th season as girls coach and 14th overall. “The ball just didn’t go in the hole for us. We got into foul trouble, and when we don’t have our starting lineup, it definitely hurts. That definitely stopped us from what we needed to do.”

Lakeside led 11-9 after the first quarter but trailed 19-18 at halftime.

Liberty Charter shot 16 of 46 and finished with 17 offensive rebounds.

“I was proud of the effort the girls put in,” Dohrman said. “They fought until the last minute. We just didn’t execute today to bring home a trophy. The most disappointing thing is that’s a game we should normally win. We’re going to miss a good group of seniors, but we’ve got a good group of underclassmen that are ready to get to work.”

Lakeside (13-13) graduates seniors Kimberly Pluff, Kyleigh Wolfe, Cassidy Gorr, Alberta Stensgar and Tylah Lambert from a team that qualified for state three times in the last four years.

“It’s been a great group,” Dohrman said. “They’ve played together since they were itty bitty and worked hard and came up together. It was a fun group to coach and I had them for all four years. When you get a group of seniors like that, it’s good because they know what you want and know how to run the floor. It’s going to be missed and it will take work to get it back again.”

Wolfe, Lakeside's career scoring leader, scored 16 points and finished her career with 1,567 points. Junior Laila SiJohn finished with 10 for Lakeside.

Sophie Criddle had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Liberty Charter (18-9), which advanced to state for the 12th straight season.

Lakeside was seeking its first trophy from state since winning the 2016 1A Division II consolation title.

“I just loved how the girls fight,” Dohrman said. “They worked hard for one and another. There’s been some rough games, but it was all for this. We just fell a little short.”

Liberty Charter    9    10    11    13    —    43

Lakeside        11    7    8    12    —    38

LIBERTY CHARTER — Camarillo 2, Flores 11, Piccione 2, Nicely 0, McCain 0, Criddle 20, Stimpson 8. Totals 16-46 11-21 43.

LAKESIDE — Gorr 0, Pluff 2, Wolfe 16, SiJohn 10, Peone 5, Leo 4, Lambert 1, Thompson 0. Totals 12-59 11-18 38.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lakeside senior guard Kyleigh Wolfe drives to the basket as Liberty Charter forward Sophie Criddle defends during the third quarter of Saturday's state 2A girls basketball consolation game at Columbia High in Nampa.