I think life may be getting back to normal - whatever that means without basketball games to follow. I look forward to the season getting over so that life can slow down a little ~ and before I even finish the sentence, I'm sad that it is over. Don't get me started or I'll cry thinking about Seth being a senior next year. But for now, my report on the state tournament is long overdue.
Game 1: Soda vs. Kamiah:
Thursday night Soda played Kamiah at 8:00 - Kamiah got off to a great start and I thought we were in real trouble. We struggled during the first half - only scored 17 points. Soda came out of the locker room with a vengence and it was so fun to watch. We played great defense and didn't let them score until there were less than 2 minutes in the quarter. Got to quote the Idaho State Journal : " Just seconds left in the third quarter, Soda Springs post Kaden Smith missed the second of two free throws, but it was Cardinals' guard Braden Bailey who came down with the rebound. The ball then found its way into the hands of guard Seth Stoor, who hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer against Kamiah, completing Soda Springs comeback from a 12-point halftime deficit and kicking the door wide open on the Cardinals 2A stat tournament chances." I get a real kick out of seeing Seth recognized in the paper!!
Kamiah played better defense in the fourth quarter and we were down 4 points with less than 45 seconds. We had to start fouling, and they were an amazing foul shooting team. As far as I'm concerned we lost the game because they hit foul shots and we didn't. The boys were pretty down and had to get ready to come back to play at 6:00 on Friday.
Game 2: Soda vs. West J
In order to stay alive in the tournament, we had to beat West Jefferson. Soda played a fantastic game and left no doubt who was the better team in this game. The first half was pretty evenly matched, but Soda ran away with the game in the second half. Seth had by far his best game of the tournament. He made 2 of 2 foul shots and 3 3-pointers for a total of 11 points. He also played great defense. If these boys could learn to play at that level and be consistent, I don't think anyone could beat this team. I was just really thrilled that they were able to come back and have a strong game at the state tournament. 80 points was amazing ~ 2nd highest score at the entire tournament, and 2nd highest margin at the tournament. This win set us up to play in the consolidation championship on Saturday morning at 9:00.
Game 3 Soda vs. Melba
I'm not sure what to say about this game other than our boys just fell flat. They couldn't hit their shots and Melba did. We won't talk about the refs ~ O.K. maybe I will ~ let's just say the short dark headed one must have grown up in Melba. He was unbelievable. Soda didn't play a good game and I'm not sure they would have won anyway, but it is even harder to play against a one-sided referee. Seth really struggled and only made 2 points from the foul line. The bottom left picture is Seth coming to the bench after fouling out. It was hard to leave the tournament with a loss, but it was good experience for all these boys. Check out Mara's blog - she has some great shots of the action. These boys need to work hard and get back next year!! I just hope they understand how big it was that THEY MADE IT TO STATE!! They are one of the top 8 teams in the entire state - #1 in my book! Especially #22 - he is an awesome guy!
Check out the truck ~ We love #22 ~ Seth, I hope you know how lucky you are to have 3 sisters cheering for you! I can't wait to be there next year cheering for my CARDINAL!!!
