STATE 5A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Hawks let it fly, finish third

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

MERIDIAN — Second-year Lakeland coach Caelyn Caulfield hasn’t been the kind of coach to put anxiety on her team in her short tenure as coach.

Her players returning the favor, that’s a different story.

With Lakeland trailing 53-51 with 10 seconds remaining, senior guard Karstyn Kiefer drove the length of the court and found junior Presley Fagan, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired, sending the top-seeded Hawks past the third seed Blackfoot Broncos 54-53 in the state 5A third-place game Saturday at Mountain View High in Meridian.

“It felt great for sure,” Fagan said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to place at state, and we accomplished that. We’re ready to come back stronger next year.”

Blackfoot’s Lauren Christiansen scored on a layup with 10 seconds left to give the Broncos a 53-51 lead. Caulfield did not call a timeout.

“We talked about it before with Karstyn taking it down and Presley spotting up,” Caulfield said. “I didn’t want to disrupt us getting that rebound and going down, and it worked out for us.”

Fagan shot from the left corner in front of the Lakeland bench for the game-winner.

“Karstyn had driven in looking for that two-point shot, and kicked it out and Presley let it fly,” Caulfield said. “It just kind of happened with us talking throughout the game and trusting the point guard (Kiefer) and Presley with the ball, and it worked out well.”

Blackfoot led by nine points in the second quarter at 28-19.

Lakeland (20-5) played in the third-place game in 2024, fell to Pocatello 52-45 in the semifinals on Friday seeking the program’s first trip to a championship game since 2002. The Hawks brought home a trophy from state for the first time since 2004, when they finished third.

“It’s been a journey, and that’s what we told the girls,” Caulfield said. “Taking a tough loss yesterday, I told them that whatever happened last night doesn’t define us. How we respond and show up for the game and play today was. Our defense was what we’d been working toward all season and being able to execute when we needed to was great.”

Freshman Jaeli Hoffman had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Kiefer — the team’s only senior — had six points, six rebounds and three steals for Lakeland.

“No matter what the outcome of that game, I honestly knew that my girls played the way we wanted them to,” Caulfield said. “It makes it super special for Karstyn and Presley coming in and hitting some big shots. It feels good."

Freshman Oakley Talbot scored 24 points for Blackfoot (20-6), which reached the semifinals for the second straight year.

Blackfoot    13    17    6    17    —    53

Lakeland    17    8    9    20    —    54

BLACKFOOT — Talbot 24, Arave 3, Ball 4, Christiansen 4, Jackman 5, K. Reid 3, Moss 2, Martin 0, T. Reid 0, Capson 8. Totals 19-43 6-10 53.

LAKELAND — Kar. Kiefer 6, Forsman 0, Bowie 2, Hoffman 16, Fagan 17, Bretveld 8, Bullington 5. Totals 19-50 8-15 54.