Bishop Kelly girls started the season 0-4. Now they’re district champions
With the graduation of seven seniors and just four returning players with varsity experience, Bishop Kelly High girls basketball coach Derek McCormick wasn’t sure what kind of team he’d have when the 2025-26 season rolled around.
But McCormick was certain of one thing.
“We’ve got good kids,” McCormick said. “We may not be the greatest basketball players in the world. We’re not pumping out DI basketball players, but we have good kids who commit to what we’re doing, and they just compete. And that’s what I love about them. That’s the great part about our school.”
After losing four straight to start the season, the Knights are hitting their stride, defeating Columbia 42-33 in the 5A District Three Tournament championship game Friday night at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise. It is BK’s 12th straight win heading into the state tournament, which runs Feb. 19-21 at Mountain View High School in Meridian.
It is also the Knights’ third district championship in the last four seasons.
“Summer was rough for us, because we had so many new kids,” McCormick said. “But they just persevered and showed some grit. We had a tough schedule the first part of the season, so that was kind of tough to navigate through. But once we navigated through that, the girls never gave up.”
Against the Wildcats (14-8), Bishop Kelly (15-7) leaned on its most veteran player. Junior guard Julia Baerlocher was the only player on the Knights’ roster to set foot on the court at last year’s state tournament.
That experience paid off in a big way in the district title game.
Baerlocher scored more than half of BK’s points, tallying 24 points, including five 3-pointers.
“I just think it’s really important to work harder on the defensive end, and offense will come easier,” Baerlocher said. “Once you get a stop on defense, shots get open and fast breaks happen and you get good calls.”
Junior forward Reagan Williams added six points and a team-best 11 rebounds for the Knights, while sophomore forward Lauren Park had four points and five boards. Junior guard Alaina Stiffler dished out a team-leading three assists.
Senior guard Yani Lincoln paced Columbia with 12 points, including six in the fourth quarter, and senior guard Gabby Nabors and sophomore guard Bailey Robertson chipped in seven points apiece.
The Knights and Wildcats advance to next week’s state tournament. The seeding and first-round pairings will be determined after the MaxPreps rankings are updated Sunday.
Skyview (13-10) can also qualify for state if it wins a play-in game against Sandpoint on Saturday in Grangeville.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 11:27 PM.
