REXBURG – The East Idaho Holiday Tournament has taken over the area as 118 boys and girls basketball teams converge for some spirited competition to start the new year.

Perhaps no game was as intriguing – at least on the girls side – as Friday’s matchup between Pocatello and Teton.

Both teams have state tournament aspirations and have sprinted out to solid starts this season with the Thunder ranked No. 1 in 5A and the Timberwolves No. 3 in 4A.

That was enough to earn EastIdahoNews.com Game of the Week.

As for the game itself, the significance of the final result depends on who you ask.

“Today I really liked us,” Pocatello coach Sunny Evans said after the Thunder rolled to a 61-24 victory. “Yesterday we weren’t as successful doing the things we wanted to do … I was really proud of their response today. They made a decision to bounce back and they really did get all aspects of the game going.”

Pocatello suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday, falling 65-52 to Westlake (UT) in the tournament opener.

The Thunder (11-1) didn’t waste much time on Friday as their full-court pressure set the tone early and Teton (10-1) couldn’t hit its shots. The Timberwolves trailed 17-6 after one quarter and had no answers for Poky’s Kennasyn Garza inside or Abby Lusk from anywhere. Lusk finished with a game-high 18 points.

Lusk connected on a pair of 3-pointers late in the quarter to force a Teton timeout, but the Timberwolves never recovered. They trailed 35-14 at the half.

“We didn’t show out like we wanted to,” Teton coach Pat Hogan said. “We could have made it a game and controlled the ball a little better.”

Hogan noted that Teton hadn’t seen the level of play they faced Friday, so despite the score, the net result might be a positive.

“We’ve been able to get by with athleticism, but not doing the little things, against a good team like Pocatello you got to do the little things,” he said.

The loss was the first for Teton, but the Timberwolves’ season will ultimately come down to conference play, where South Fremont (11-0) and Sugar-Salem (11-0) each entered the day unbeaten, meaning the Mountain Rivers Conference was a combined 32-1 after Teton’s loss and all three teams are ranked in the latest 4A state medial poll.

As for Pocatello, Evans said she was happy to see how the team responded after a loss.

“We got some good inside-out, knocked down some 3’s, and got some inside stuff from Kenna and Abby. Guard play was good and good defense … I like my team.”

Idaho Parks and Recreation has been working all fall to instill their new Idaho Time Registration system and it goes online on Jan. 6.

There will be changes as this reservation system will have different prices — similar to reserving hotels or airplane tickets, it all comes down to demand. Plus people will have to be ready next week to reserve a campsite this summer in a state park.

“We have really seen the demand for camping in Idaho grow and we want to make it first of all easier to get their campsites,” said Robbie Johnson of Idaho Parks & Rec. “A high-demand campsite is going to cost you a little bit more, but in the time where there’s not so much demand it is going to cost you less.”

An example of this would be reserving a campsite at Ponderosa State Park near McCall around the 4th of July. That’s about as busy as it gets and the cost of a site with electricity and hookups will cost Idaho residents $42.

“So when we are talking about variations in pricing we are not talking about huge jumps,” said Johnson. “We are not here to discourage and make it harder to use our state parks, but the camping fees are what funds the state parks.”

The reservation system will allow people to reserve campsites, cabins and yurts nine months out. It will have a much easier interface, be easier to use on your smart phone and it will feature pictures that rangers take at the state parks.

“It’s going to be so much easier to find a park, look at a map, click on it and put your dates in,” said Johnson.

However, they have to unveil somehow so they chose a staggered start when the new system comes online next week. On Monday, people will be able to reserve through May 31, on Tuesday through June 30, on Wednesday through July, Thursday through August and Friday through September.

People will get put into a waiting room in the order they log on. You can reserve up to three campsites, but you don’t secure the reservation until you pay for it. Robbie Johnson advises people to consider multiple options, be quick and be prepared.

“The old reservation system is on our website and that is where you can go in and check out the map because you actually won’t be able to go into the new system until it actually launches the first week,” said Johnson.

So if you have summer plans at a favorite camping spot in your favorite state park be prepared for next week if you want to lock down some sites. If you don’t get what you want you can always check for cancellations.

Jackie Hitz Daniel, 80, peacefully passed away on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Moscow, Idaho. She was born Nov. 23, 1944, in Shelley, Idaho to Jack Hitz and Coy Peck Hitz and was the oldest of four children.

She graduated from Idaho Falls High School in 1963 and married Don Moore that year. Their marriage produced four children. She was married to Garry Daniel from 1983 until his passing in 2010.

Jackie worked for decades in bookkeeping and administrative support roles, with many years spent in medical offices in Idaho Falls and Rexburg. She was an avid bowler in her earlier years. She also enjoyed crocheting, with dozens of babies being recipients of the softest blankets ever.

Jackie is survived by her brother Phil (Kathy) Hitz of South Jordan, Utah, son Dennis (Tina) Moore of Boise, daughter Trish (Steve) Poulos of Idaho Falls, daughter, Kristy (Jason) Mayer of Genesee, daughter-in-law Sydney Moore of Los Osos, California, 16 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brothers Noel Hitz and Paul Hitz, and son, Darin Moore.

Graveside services will be held in Idaho Falls in 2025, on a date to be determined. The family would like to extend special thanks to the teams at Gritman Medical Center and Aspen Park of Cascadia in Moscow, who provided such loving care in Jackie’s final weeks.