Sandpoint girls have been here before

Over the last nine years, the Sandpoint girls basketball team has been a mainstay at the 4A Idaho state basketball tournament. This will be the Bulldogs’ eighth appearance in the last nine years, with 2019 being the only year Sandpoint missed the tournament.

“The kids are excited,” Sandpoint girls basketball coach Will Love said. “All of them are going down there with the mindset that they want to be successful.”

While the Bulldogs have gone to the end of the year tournament seven times, its success rate has fluctuated.

Their two best finishes came in 2015 and 2016, placing third.

Most recently, in 2020 and 2021, Sandpoint finished fourth.

During its run, The Bulldogs are 6-12 overall at state, with two third place finishes, two fourths, and three years of not placing.

“Having gone to state seven times, I know how hard the tournament can be,” Love said. “Playing well this week is at the forefront. We talk about our goals frequently.”

The Bulldogs have been able to reach the state tournament by consistently dominating the 4A Inland Empire League.

In the past nine years, Sandpoint is 26-10 in league play, including a 14-game win streak between 2015-2018.

“Each year we talk about doing the big three,” Love said. “Winning a league title, winning a regional title, and being in a position to bring home a trophy at state.”

This year, Sandpoint finished 12-8 overall and had its worst league record in nine years at 3-5, with only two losses to its 4A counterparts.

Sandpoint will be the sixth seed at the 4A Idaho State basketball tournament and will face third-seeded Preston (16-7, 4-0) at 5 p.m MST. on Thursday at Mountain View High School in Meridian.

The Indians were first in the Southeast Idaho Conference, which is also a 3-team league.

Preston’s defense allowed 31 points per game, which is second lowest in the 4A classification behind number two seed Burley.

“They run a lot of zone presses,” Love said. “So, you know, they’re looking to start applying pressure early and often.”

The Indians faced off against the Bobcats to open up its season on Nov. 13 and lost 48-39. They had an even closer encounter with number one seed Blackfoot on Dec. 11, where they lost 31-28.

The 4A is going to be one of the toughest classifications to win a title in 2022.

The top three seeds finished the regular season a combined 64-8.

“This might be one of the toughest brackets that I’ve ever seen at the tournament,” Love said. “There will be some high quality players and really high quality coaches at the tournament.”

In preparation for state, Sandpoint arranged for a trip to Boise to play in the Timber-Lion Tournament over Christmas break.

It went 3-0 with wins over Kuna, Caldwell, and Columbia.

“We wanted to give the kids an experience,” Love said. “We wanted them to get used to taking a bus down to Boise and getting ready to play teams they’re not familiar with.”