BOISE, Idaho — The Boise Brave girls basketball team went 18-2 on the season, including a 17-game winning streak to earn the number one seed in the Southern Idaho Conference district tournament.
The 5A Southern Idaho Conference district tournament will determine the seed and who makes it to the state tournament on February 16 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Boise will host Middleton on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Capital High School and that will be followed by Eagle vs. Timberline.
The Boise Brave have a talented team, but they don't have a single senior on their squad.
"This is my 18th year and this is the first year that I can remember not having a senior," said coach Kim Brydges. "We have some great leadership in two of our juniors Avery Howell and Sophia Clark."
Not having a senior doesn't mean the Brave doesn't have experience, a year ago they made it to the state championship where they just fell short against Timberline.
"It was a really good experience and a lot of us have a good feel about how the tournament goes, who we are playing and the big crowds," said Sophia Clark. " It is sometimes nerve racking, but also exciting."
Avery Howell has grown into one of the best players in the state, she does a lot of different things out on the floor as she averages 20 points and 11 rebounds a game.
"She’s a catalyst for us on both sides of the ball," said Brydges. "She has been a leader for many years now even as a freshman she would speak and make comments out there on the floor that would get the rest of the team running, she’s a fantastic player and really fun to watch."
Boise blew out most of their opponents this year, but their season ended with a three-point win against Timberline and before that a three-point loss to Rocky Mountain.
The team believes those close games will help them out moving forward, especially the loss to Rocky where they fell behind early and battled back to take the lead, but eventually they missed a game tying three at the end of the game.
"I think it taught us we got to come out ready to play every game," said Howell. "I think it was honestly good for us to have that experience going into districts and state because I think we are more than ready."
The team held their annual Pink Zone Game earlier this month, they set a new record raising more than $60,000 for breast cancer awareness and the American Cancer Society of Idaho as the team, students and the school all came together to participate.
Coach Brydges wanted to acknowledge assistant coach Erinn Della and parent Peggy Luke for their efforts during the fundraiser, in total the school has raised $36,793 in the last 14-years.
