Take it to the bank. Here’s who will win every Idaho girls basketball state tournament
Believe it or not, it’s championship week for Idaho’s high school girls basketball teams.
It feels like the season just started. Yet the 5A to 1A Division II state tournaments tip off Thursday, and six teams will hoist championship banners Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
We looked into the crystal ball and dug into all the stat sheets to handicap the upcoming state tournaments. Here are the favorites, top challengers and dark horses in each classification.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Coeur d’Alene (21-2) brings loads of star power and a resume sharpened with out-of-state competition to the Treasure Valley.
Senior Madi Symons (13.5 ppg, 7.0 rebounds) has signed with Wyoming. And junior point guard Teagan Colvin (17.7 ppg, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists) holds offers from 30 Division-I programs, giving the Vikings the state’s best one-two punch.
Coeur d’Alene proved that by coming down to Boise in December and routing state qualifiers Eagle and Rocky Mountain. Then it headed to Las Vegas, where it went 2-2 in the top division at the Tarkanian Classic, one of the country’s top tournaments.
The Inland Empire League looked like the state’s toughest league this season. But that reputation took a hit when Eagle upset heavily-favored Lake City in a play-in game. And the Vikings draw Eagle, Boise and Owyhee on their side of the bracket.
THE CONTENDER: Boise (21-2) has all the pieces of a championship team with 5A’s best defense (32.8 ppg), a transcendent player in Avery Howell (20.7 ppg, 12.5 rebounds) and a bevy of shooters to keep defenses honest.
The only question that remained for the Brave was how they’d handle a tough, late-game situation after spending two months without a challenge. And Boise answered that at district, rallying for a late win in the semifinals and then holding off a late charge from Rocky Mountain in the championship game.
The state champion has hailed from the 5A Southern Idaho Conference seven of the past eight years. And Boise is clearly the cream of the crop from the Treasure Valley.
THE DARK HORSE: East Idaho teams traditionally struggle at the 5A state tournament. But Rigby (20-4) and Thunder Ridge (24-2) have changed that perception the past three years.
Rigby spoiled the Titans’ perfect season with a pair of wins at the district tournament, including a 20-point victory in the championship. And junior forward Kambree Barber, a BYU commit, gives Rigby a weapon as dangerous as any in Idaho.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Few epitomize how wide open the 4A field is better than Shelley (20-3). The Russets earned the top seed thanks to a dominant regular season, and they can rely on arguably the classification’s best player in junior Brinley Cannon, a double-double machine with multiple Division I offers.
But this marks the Russets’ first trip to the 4A state tournament, and they stumbled down the stretch and needed to win a do-or-die game just to make it here.
THE CONTENDER: Despite spending the past three weeks at No. 1 in the state media poll, Bishop Kelly (20-3) finished No. 5 in the final MaxPreps rankings used for state seeding thanks to their place in 4A’s weakest league (according to the computers).
But the Knights own 4A’s top defense by a wide margin (30.2 ppg), and they’ve already beaten first-round opponent and District Five champ Pocatello back in December. Throw in one of 4A’s biggest and most athletic lineups, and a difference maker in Caroline Knothe (13.9 ppg, 6.3 rebounds), and the Knights can quickly change the 4A SIC’s reputation this weekend.
THE DARK HORSE: Blackfoot (13-9) may not have a sparkling record. But the Broncos remain the only team to beat Shelley in the past two months. And MaxPreps loved their schedule of 10 games against state tournament qualifiers, making the Broncos the No. 2 seed.
Argue with that ranking all you want, but you can’t argue the Broncos aren’t battle tested. And you can’t deny they have one of the state’s best duos in Marlee Pieper (16.2 ppg) and Esperanza Vergara (14.7 ppg).
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Snake River (20-3) took the third-place trophy a year ago. But the Panthers will look for much more this year despite coming to state with just three seniors on the roster.
Junior point guard Rylie Edlefsen remains the primary reason. A reigning first-team All-Idaho selection, she remains the focus of both teams’ game plan each time she steps on the floor. She’s led Snake River to an 11-game winning streak entering state that includes wins over Teton (3A state qualifier) and Soda Springs (2A state qualifier).
THE CONTENDER: Timberlake (20-2) missed state last year after eight straight trips to the semifinals. Now a freshman-led group looks to put the Tigers back atop the 3A classification.
Timberlake racked up 20 wins despite a nonconference schedule that included Coeur d’Alene, the No. 1 seed at the 5A state tournament, and Sandpoint, the No. 3 seed in 4A. The Tigers split with Sandpoint and came within four points of Coeur d’Alene, showing they can go toe-to-toe with anyone.
THE DARK HORSE: Sugar-Salem (15-6) started the year at 6-6 with just two seniors on the roster. But the defending champs have won nine in a row since. And with reigning 3A All-Idaho Player of the Year Kennedy Gillette (20.2 ppg) in the lineup, the Diggers can beat anyone on any night.
2A STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Melba (23-0) remains Idaho’s only undefeated team while playing one of the state’s toughest schedules.
The Mustangs handed defending 1A Division I champ Lapwai its only loss. They swept 4A state qualifier Columbia and beat 3A state qualifier Parma. And they ran off three straight wins against 5A opponents at the TimberLion Tournament in December.
Northwest Nazarene commit Kendall Clark, a reigning first-team All-Idaho pick, remains the favorite for state player of the year. But she has plenty of help around her in a loaded lineup looking for its second title in three years.
THE CONTENDER: Soda Springs (20-4) received some unlucky draws the past two years, facing the eventual state champ in the first round both times. But thanks to an impressive resume, the Cardinals enter as the No. 2 seed this year, which should help the back-to-back consolation champ avoid a first-round upset.
THE DARK HORSE: Defending state champ Cole Valley Christian (18-5) would stand as the favorite most years. But the Chargers have yet to find a way past Melba, going 0-3 vs. the Mustangs. Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm as a young roster featuring a pair of impact freshmen matures over a four-month season.
1A DIVISION I STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Lapwai (23-1) cruised to a record 11th state title last year, winning three games by an average of 41 points. As impossible as it sounds, the Wildcats might turn in an even more dominant performance this year.
Lapwai leads all of Idaho by scoring 67.4 points per game. And no one has come within 30 points of the Wildcats since Dec. 29, leading to an all-class best margin of victory of 37.6 points per game.
THE CONTENDER: The only 1A team to push Lapwai remains its perennial thorn, Prairie (19-5). The Pirates have losses of two points and 10 points to Lapwai this year — as well as losses of 33 and 34 points. With reigning first-team All-Idaho guard Kristen Wemhoff back, expect to see the two rivals back at the Idaho Center for the seventh time in the past 11 years.
THE DARK HORSE: Grace (19-4) missed out on a chance to defend its 2021 state title last year. But the Grizzlies return to state looking to throw a wrench into the Lapwai-Prairie duopoly again.
Grace’s only losses this year come against 2A opponents and it enters on a 10-game winning streak. Grace stunned Lapwai in the 2021 semifinals, and the brackets provide a chance for a rematch Friday.
1A DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
THE FAVORITE: Defending champ Rockland (20-3) returns loaded to contend for its third title in the past four years. The Bulldogs may have lost a ton of talent from a year ago, but they bring back first-team All-Idaho wing Taylie Boyer and field the classification’s toughest defense (27.4 ppg) once again.
THE CONTENDER: Deary (17-2) and Kendrick (16-4) battled for Whitepine League supremacy all season. Kendrick took the district title, but Deary drew the top seed at state and the much easier side of the bracket. With an elite defense (27.5 ppg), the Mustangs ought to roll into the finals.
THE DARK HORSE: Council (14-5) returns four starters after taking the second-place trophy last year. The Lumberjacks have flown under the radar all year thanks to five losses, which all came against out-of-state or larger schools.
Council remains undefeated against 1A Division II competition, and they lead the classification in points scored (57.6) and average margin of victory (21). Not a bad combination for another trip to the Idaho Center.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 7:00 PM.
