One point either way makes all the difference

And just like that Weiser High School’s 2023-24 winter sports season opened last week with the Lady Wolverines basketball team taking one win and one loss on the road, both by a single point.

 In their season debut Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Wolverines earned a 54-53 overtime win against Nampa Christian.

 Weiser scored 17 of 63 shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers by senior Kendall Rynearson (33) and junior Lucy Hickey (12). As a team, the scrappy Wolverines drew 30 fouls in the game, scoring 18 points from the free throw line.

 Rynearson led with 13 points; Hickey and Kailee Lerew (2) each put in nine; Hailey Eames (15) and Ellie Shirts (23) scored eight apiece; Paisley Noyer (30) scored five; and Trista Buescher (11) and Jayden Higley (45) had one apiece.

 In JV action, Weiser’s Lady Wolverines took a narrow one-point loss, 37-36.

 Beginning her sixh year at the helm of Weiser’s girls basketball program, Coach Laraine Harrison is pleased with her players’ performances.

 “There were a lot of first game of the year jitters, so we are glad to have some of those out of the way going forward,” Harrison said. “I am proud of how hard the girls played. Ellie Shirts went out of the game with an ankle injury within the first ten minutes, so we missed her tenacity on the floor for the rest of the game, but other girls stepped up for us. 

 “I was proud of our effort as a team,” she added. “This was a typical first game, with so many new players playing together, and coming away with an overtime one point win is something our girls should be excited about.”

 The Wolverines traveled on Thursday, Nov. 16, to meet the District 4 3A Gooding Senators, with the Senators hitting a buzzer beater at the end, handing the Wolverines a one-point 47-46 loss.

 Weiser held the lead through the first three quarters, going into the fourth ahead 40-32. Lerew (2) put up two three-pointers in the final quarter, adding six for the Wolverines. At the same time, the Senators chipped in 15, the final bucket hitting on a drive down the court for the win.

 “We had some decision errors in the last few minutes of the game that led to turnovers and points for Gooding, allowing them to catch up and win,” Harrison said. “We need to be a little more basketball savvy in crunchtime situations like those, which comes with experience. This is an experience for us to learn from and we will get better as a result.”

 Harrison said her players stepped up and battled to the end.

 “These close games can definitely be helpful in the long run,” Harrison added. “As a coach, it is a lot less stressful to just keep a long lead the entire game and finish it that way.”

 Weiser’s junior varsity recorded a 54-36 win, and the Lady Wolverines frosh-soph took a 14-27 loss in their first game of the season.

 The Wolverines will use the early season experiences over the next two weeks preparing for their first conference match- up on Tuesday, Dec. 5, against the McCall-Donnelly Vandals in McCall, followed by a run of games at home in the Tom Falash Gymnasium.