Prep Athlete of the Week: Sage Elven
Prairie's Sage Elven provided the go-ahead points and a double-double in a win against Grangeville recently en route to being voted P1FCU Prep Athlete of the Week
Prairie of Cottonwood has fielded a star-studded girls basketball team this season — and shining among the brightest of those stars has been junior Sage Elven.
After providing the final go-ahead points to cap off a double-double performance in a 57-56 victory over larger-division foe Grangeville on Jan. 21, the 5-foot-10 post was voted the Tribune’s Prep Athlete of the Week.
Elven finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game. On Jan. 31, she would add 16 points and five assists to help the Pirates defeat Kamiah 62-45 and seal their first regular-season Whitepine League title in over a decade. Her most recent outing saw her score 10 points in a 60-14 opening-round district tournament victory for her top-seeded team against the Logos Knights on Wednesday.
Last year, Elven was named all-tournament Defensive MVP after averaging three blocks and three steals per game in the Pirates’ third-place run at the Idaho Class 1A Division I (now known as 2A) state tournament, and she hopes to help the team achieve similar success this time around. With a season record of 18-2, Prairie currently holds second place in the idahosports.com Class 2A power rankings, trailing only southern foe Oakley.
Elven’s family has a hoops history, and one that added a layer of significance to the Grangeville contest, as her grandmother Marie Appel coached the Bulldogs to their first-ever girls basketball state title back in 1977.
Away from the basketball court, Elven is a school record-holder and two-time state champion in the girls discus for Prairie track and field.
