3A race wide open

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dthompson@journalnet.com

The girls' teams at Bear Lake dominated the 3A Fifth District a season ago.

With a core of experienced and talented seniors, the Bears didn't lose a district contest in volleyball, basketball or softball, reaching the state title game in basketball.

But Snake River already rendered a repeat impossible for Bear Lake when the Panthers won the district volleyball title three weeks ago in Montpelier.

Considering many of those players suit up for basketball as well, Snake River enters this season with plenty of confidence under first-year coach Steven Morton.

"They seem to be adapting pretty well," Morton said. "It's always difficult for kids when you're starting from ground zero."

A host of returning varsity players should help the Panthers considerably, though. They graduated five seniors from last year's team, and they played without leader Mallory Stimpson for much of the year after she suffered a season-ending injury.

Morton, who joined the program in April after two years as an assistant at Snow College in Utah, said the team played summer ball together, and they seemed to jive with his system.

But the Panthers still expect to be challenged within the district. Bear Lake returns six seniors. American Falls will play with a first-year coach, Brekelle Deeg, after finishing 2-18 last year. Marsh Valley is playing its third season under coach Kyle McQuivey, who won the district title two years ago.

"It's another tough conference," McQuivey said. "It's got some good girls, good athletes and some new coaches, so we'll have to learn their style."

Still, coaches said Bear Lake remains the team to beat after the way it dominated the district a year ago. In their nine district games, including the playoffs, the Bears won all of them by an average of 15.4 points.

They'll be without six seniors from that team, however, including Shantell Humpherys, the Journal's reigning all-area player of the year.

"We're young," said Bear Lake coach Jim Mattson. "We lost a lot of the big guns, but there's a lot of schools that did. ... We're just getting going. We've got to give them some time."

Snake River

Predicted Finish: First

Coach: Steven Morton

Last year's record: 6-15 overall, 3-3 conference

Returning seniors: 2

Key graduates: Kamel Hernandez, Mallory Stimpson

Outlook: Morton, the team's first-year coach, spent the past two seasons at Snow College, and before that he spent six years coaching at a high school in Oregon. Never in his time in Oregon, though, did he have 6-foot player like Panthers sophomore Eden Van Orden. "Eden will be a big piece of what we do," he said. "We'll try to pound the ball to her as much as we can."

Marsh Valley Eagles

Predicted Finish: Second

Coach: Kyle McQuivey

Last year's record: 12-11 overall, 3-3 conference

Returning seniors: 1

Key graduates: Jennifer McNabb, Jessica McNabb, Kelsey Thompson

Outlook: Abby Williams is the Eagles' lone senior this year, but McQuivey expects his younger talent to make strong contributions as well. Jillian Murray is back after averaging 5.9 points per game as a sophomore, and junior Shantae Brown collected plenty of varsity experience last year, too. "We've got a bunch of good athletes, and they know the game," he said. "It's a matter of getting the right chemistry."

Bear Lake

Predicted Finish: Third

Coach: Jim Mattson

By Dan Thompson

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