The Pocatello High School girls basketball team won just one game three years ago.
It just placed at one of the West’s largest and most prestigious tournaments in the first go-around no less.
The Thunder took home a consolation championship at Section 7 on June 15 inside Glendale’s State Farm Stadium − the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
“I can’t say enough about how they handled themselves,” Pocatello head coach Sunny Evans said. “The games were really, really physical − the most physical ones I’ve seen us compete in. But they kept their composure. They were so good with the way they interacted with me and with each other. Every single player was impacting the game and they were so fun to watch.”
The 822-mile trek down south wasn’t planned either.
Evans already had the team’s summer schedule nearly finalized at the end of April. But then soon-to-be senior Kenna Garza brought up the idea of trying to get into the invitation-only event.
“I’ve followed them on Instagram for a while now and I’ve watched multiple teams go and compete,” said Garza, who was an all-state player and eclipsed 1,000 career points last season. “So I just thought it would be a really good idea to get us at that level of competition.”
Evans agreed.
She filled out the application, having no idea what to even expect. A few hours later, Pocatello officially received an invite.
So in order to help fund the unexpected trip, the team partnered up with Stuart Johnson with American Built USA. The Pocatello-based clothing company has NIL deals with both the University of Michigan and Kansas where Evans’ son works for the men’s basketball team.
The company designed a “Poky Built” shirt that donned the school’s dark blue color with red lettering across the top. All of the profits went directly into financing the Thunder’s trip. They also received money from the ticket and concession sales of their local summer games. Donations from other businesses and people like Rick and Natalie Call, Mark Neill and Elle Hokanson, who was on last year’s team, were made, as well.
When all was said and done, approximately $3,500 was raised to help cover the costs of the trip.
“We are so grateful for these people and everyone else who supported our incredible time at Section 7 and throughout the year,” Evans said. “We feel pretty lucky to live in a community that is so supportive of its young people.”
Since Section 7’s inception in 2021, the event has turned into the biggest high school basketball summer tournament in the country. This year featured 160 boys’ and 96 girls’ teams alone. They played on 12 courts spread across the stadium and in front of college coaches from the likes of Duke, Texas Tech and LSU, which won a national championship in 2023.
“It was amazing. I’ve been to a lot of great venues and places, but playing in the Cardinals’ stadium, a giant football arena, is insane. I could not top that,” said soon-to-be junior Abby Lusk who also plays on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Circuit with Mountain West Premier. “So even though this isn’t necessarily new for me, just getting to see my fellow teammates be here with all of these big teams and realizing that they can be just as good as everyone else, was awesome.”
Pocatello competed in the Girls Avondale Toyota Bracket. It opened up with Snow Canyon out of St. George, Utah. The Warriors were led by Olivia Hamlin, who has offers from Virginia Tech, Clemson, Minnesota and UNLV just to name a few. Evans actually coached her mom when she was an assistant coach at Southern Utah.
Snow Canyon went 24-3 and were the state runners-up in their classification. But the Thunder more than held their own in a narrow 51-44 loss.
“It was a good game for us. I was a little uncertain. We had about an hour or two to really prepare together and get going,” Evans said. “But we really did play well right out of the gate. So I don’t think anybody was upset about it. I think everybody was like, ‘Oh hey, we can compete. We can go do this.’”
And they did just that over their next three games.
Pocatello knocked off Xavier College (Arizona) 62-34, Rancho Cucamonga (California) 57-50 and Sunnyslope (Arizona) 57-50 in the consolation title game. Garza (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Lusk (16.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg) averaged double-doubles for the tournament. Garza, whose offers include Pepperdine, Utah State and UC Santa Barbara, also racked up 3.0 blocks per game. Lusk, who has picked up 11 offers this summer alone from the likes of Colorado State, Montana State and San Diego, added 3.0 steals per game.
But Liv Marshall (11.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 assists, 3.0 spg), Saige Hagler (8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 spg) and Taylee Rogers (8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.0 spg) were all significant contributors, too.
“It just proves what we all knew we were capable of. It shows our ability to come back 10 times stronger as a team,” said Lusk who was a first-team all-state selection and the Idaho State Journal’s Girls Female Athlete of the Year last season. “We all kind of collected ourselves after that first game and were like, ‘Hey, let’s just have fun at this tournament.’ We’re here. Nobody expected us to be here. Let’s just make a statement out here.
“If anything, it was just our fun chance to prove something.”
The Thunder have continued to do that, especially over the last two seasons.
They’re coming off back-to-back district championships and state tournament placings − the first in a decade. Pocatello won the consolation title before taking third last season with the most wins (19) in at least 28 years.
The first state banner in program history could also be within its grasp this coming season. The Thunder are set to bring everybody, but one player back.
“Over the years, we’ve shown that we’re a team that people want to watch,” Garza said. “I think a lot of people slept on us like we were never going to be a good team or have good players. So I think we’ve worked really hard to be a good team and to show that we are a team that will compete at any level of competition. So this tournament backs us up that we’re a good team.”
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