For all the greatness, Lusk leaves a legacy of winning at all costs while never being ‘untouchable’

POCATELLO — Go to any Pocatello High School sporting event — whether it’s a football game, boys’ basketball game, soccer game, whatever — and you’ll see Abby Lusk in the front row of the student section, leading the group cheers.

If you didn’t know who she was, you might not realize she is one of the best girls’ high school basketball players to ever come out of Idaho — aside from the fact that she is 6-foot-2, maybe.

That is the legacy Lusk leaves behind, according to head coach Sunny Evans: that she never became “untouchable.”

“She never became somebody that set herself apart, whether it was with her teammates, the student body, her coaches … and that, sometimes, is rare for an athlete,” Evans said, calling the senior Gonzaga commit “one of the most kind athletes I’ve ever coached.”

Asked what legacy she hopes to leave behind, Lusk — falling right in line with what her coach said — spoke about her role as part of a team that played and won with grace and maturity. Still, she added, she wants to be remembered as a winner.

“That’s something that I want to leave behind from myself, that I want to win, and I’ll do anything to do that,” she told EastIdahoSports.com

Evans agreed.

“There were some ups and downs for her throughout the season,” the coach said, “but her will to win was something that I’ve never experienced before.”

Lusk won at an incredible clip during her four years at Poky. With her as a member of the squad, the Thunder never lost a district game; they brought home a state trophy four times and finally broke the championship seal in 2025, winning the program’s first-ever banner. Then they backed it up with another one this year.

Lusk also played individually at an unrivaled rate. She finishes her career among the program’s leaders in points and rebounds, and she was recently named the All-State Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, making her a three-time First-Team All-State performer.

Lusk’s individual production as a player was so outstanding that Evans asked the school for permission to retire her jersey number. After considering the request, Pocatello’s administration denied it. Evans said she is still looking for a way to properly honor the mark Lusk has made at the school.

This year, specifically, Lusk was again dominant, averaging 20.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. But she also had to play a leadership role in ways that differed from the past.

Last year Lusk was a junior, with seniors like 2025 East Idaho Sports girls basketball Player of the Year Kenna Garza leading the girls. This year, along with fellow seniors Oakley Hirschi and KaileeJo Finlayson, it was on Lusk to be the senior leader.

But Evans said she would not have blamed Lusk if she had chosen to focus on herself.

Because she has played up an age group since she was young, the girls Lusk grew up playing with graduated last year. Having already signed her letter of intent to attend and play basketball at Gonzaga prior to the 2025-26 season, Lusk could have coasted through her senior year, gone out and played for herself, Evans said.

Instead, her coach says Lusk competed at every practice and every game, she pushed her teammates and led them to another state title.

“She chose trust and let everybody into her world. It absolutely shaped our season,” Evans said.

That leadership role came to a head in the state semis, when the 4-seed Thunder knocked off top-seeded Lakeland 52-45. Lusk finished with game-highs in points (26), rebounds (12), and steals (4), along with two blocks. She called the win one of the most magical moments of the season, because of what it meant to her teammates.

“Nobody saw it in the beginning; it worked out perfectly,” Lusk said. “These girls have done so much, and (the state tournament games) showed that this team, that nobody expected to win, could go out and beat the No. 1 team in the state. … That was such a fun moment. I think we all knew that if we could win that game, we could beat anyone. That was just such a special feeling, seeing the time tick down at the end.”

Her coach noted extra emotions from the team leader after the Lakeland game. It was like Lusk noticed that all the hard work the team put in was paying off, and she was elated for her team, Evans said.

“I’m not discrediting our opponents, but I just knew that Abby wasn’t going to accept anything except winning — I was so confident in that,” Evans said. “Her will to win is off the charts.”

Lusk, according to Evans, “checks all the boxes,” as a player, a leader and a person. And, the coach added, she has room to grow because of her constant drive.

She will do that growing at Gonzaga University, where she will attend college next fall. But she will get to Spokane, Wash., and the Gonzaga campus in June, two weeks after her high school graduation, to take part in the Zags’ summer camps.

The Pocatello program, Evans said, is excited for the first Gonzaga-Boise State matchup, which will feature a pair of former Thunder athletes, Garza and Luck. The team, Evans said, will cancel any scheduled practice or game to attend the game when Luck and Gonzaga come to Boise to face Garza and the Boncos.

“What a special moment for our program,” the coach said.

Asked just how special Lusk has been to Poky, Evans left one last statement:

“What I know I can say is, I don’t think it’s going to happen again — her skill set is high-level, off the charts. She also has the numbers and the trophies to back all that up. I don’t see an athlete ever doing what she did in four years.”

The post For all the greatness, Lusk leaves a legacy of winning at all costs while never being ‘untouchable’ appeared first on East Idaho News.