‘They were ready to pull up their sleeves.’ Six more teams clinch state berths
Two more teams from the 6A Southern Idaho Conference punched their tickets to the state tournament on Tuesday night at Owyhee High School in Meridian.
A pair of 5A SIC berths and the 1A Long Pin champion were determined in Monday’s action, while the 3A WIC title went to a first-time winner.
Here’s a recap of state-qualifying matchups to start the week.
[Related: 6A to 1A district tournament brackets, scores in Southwest Idaho]
6A SIC GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
TIMBERLINE 35, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 34: Emmi Swillie jumped up and batted away the inbound pass, and teammate Alexa Reinke swooped in to grab the loose ball.
The Wolves could finally celebrate.
Timberline’s defensive play with 2.8 seconds left preserved its one-point win over Rocky Mountain (15-10) on Tuesday night at Owyhee High School and sent the Wolves to their first state tournament since 2023.
“Honestly, we’ve been in that situation a lot,” Swillie said. “I just brought my team together, and I was like, ‘Listen, just trust in each other.’ ”
The fourth-seeded Wolves (20-5) had to overcome a slow third quarter in which they were outscored 16-5, including a 14-0 Rocky Mountain run that turned a seven-point Timberline lead into a 26-19 deficit with 2:30 to play in the quarter.
“We have five healthy kids right now,” Timberline coach Andy Jones said, referring to injuries and illness on his roster. “… It was a lot of adversity for these kids to overcome.”
The game was tied at 34 with 16 seconds remaining in the game after Rocky Mountain sophomore Mercy Hatfield scored on a driving layup.
But Timberline junior forward Fanci Sackett was fouled going up for a shot with 6.3 seconds left, making 1-of-2 free throws, and the Wolves’ defense took care of the rest.
Swillie was Timberline’s top scorer in a balanced effort with seven points, nine rebounds and two steals. Senior guard Gabi Iglesias added six points, and Sackett and senior Lexi Moore had five points apiece.
Junior Liv Sangsland paced Rocky Mountain with 16 points, and freshman Kerington Kollman chipped in a team-best eight boards to go with four points, three steals and one blocked shot.
The Grizzlies take on Borah at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Owyhee. The winner qualifies for state, while the loser is eliminated.
MIDDLETON 37, BORAH 29: Borah junior Kya Davis converted an and-1 play after a steal and layup with 3:12 left against Middleton on Tuesday night at Owyhee High School.
Davis’ three-point play cut the top-seeded Vikings’ lead to 31-29. But the No. 2 Lions had little reason to anticipate what would happen next.
After missing her first five shots of the game, junior Cadence Steele made back-to-back buckets, draining a jumper and sinking a 3-pointer with 2:21 left to give Middleton the cushion it needed in the closing minutes.
“I mean, my shots weren’t falling, but they were good looks, so I just had to keep up with it,” Steele said. “With the rush and adrenaline in the moment, I was like, ‘OK, I got this.’”
Middleton (19-4) qualified for state with the victory over Borah (19-5). The Vikings finished as the 5A state runner-up last season and are now trying their hand at competition in the state’s largest classification.
“We know what it takes when your back’s against the wall,” Middleton coach Marianne Blackwell said. “I told them: ‘You have two choices. You can either just tuck and run, or you can get in the fight and do what I know, and believe, that you can do.’ And they were ready to pull up their sleeves.”
Junior Mikylee Apple led Middleton with a team-best 11 points off the bench, while senior guard Zoey Blackwell had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Megan Stewart grabbed nine rebounds to go with six points.
Davis was Borah’s top scorer with eight points and six boards, freshman Evodie Evans added seven points, and senior Tessa Orcutt had six.
Borah plays a winner-to-state, loser-out game against Rocky Mountain at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Owyhee.
5A SIC GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
BISHOP KELLY 52, VALLIVUE 29: Reagan Williams tallied a team-best 18 points to send the top-seeded Knights to the district championship game for the fifth year in a row. BK (14-7) also qualifies for state with the win. The Knights will face No. 2 Columbia for the district title at 8 p.m. Friday at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise.
COLUMBIA 46, SKYVIEW 42: Freshman Grace Wilson totaled 15 points and seven boards, and sophomore Bailey Robertson collected eight points and 12 rebounds to help the Wildcats (14-7) edge the Hawks (11-10) and qualify for state. Columbia will be playing in the district title game for the fourth time in program history but is still looking for its first championship banner.
3A WIC GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
AMBROSE 60, NEW PLYMOUTH 59: The Archers claimed their first district title in program history with a win over the Pilgrims on Tuesday in Meridian. Sophomore guard Claire Johnston hit a runner to put Ambrose (18-5) up by one point with 13 seconds left, but the game went down to the buzzer. New Plymouth (15-8) later stole an inbound pass and had two good looks at the game-winning basket, but both shots were off the mark. Junior Annelise Curran led the state-qualifying Archers with 21 points, and sophomore Bryley Tadman added a personal-best 19 points. New Plymouth was paced by seniors Emery Frates and Maycee Christensen, who notched 21 and 17 points, respectively.
1A LONG PIN GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
SALMON RIVER 68, GARDEN VALLEY 25: The Savages won back-to-back district titles and remained unbeaten this season with a win over the Wolverines on Monday night in Riggins. Four players reached double figures for Salmon River (23-0), led by Kennedy Wilson with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Rylee Walters added 17 points, seven assists, six steals and two blocked shots, and Poppy Harper (16 points) and Taylor Ewing (10 points) rounded out the scoring for the Savages, who also qualified for state.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 11:28 PM.
