The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Feb. 19, 2012

There's something to be said about competition.

And at a state basketball tournament - you're expecting to see the best of the best.

But for those fans located in the northern part of the state - the best may be yet to come.

ON THURSDAY afternoon, the fans in Southern Idaho got a glimpse of the opening day of the girls state basketball tournament at six different sites around the Treasure Valley.

When the day began for the 3A division, the Timberlake Tigers took on Salmon at Middleton High School. Timberlake came out like it had something to prove after finishing runner-up to Priest River in the District 1 tournament and ran past Salmon to advance to Friday's semifinals.

A little later on, Priest River outlasted Fruitland in two overtimes.

With wins by both teams on Friday, an all-Intermountain League championship game will be played later today at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

Should both lose, they'd play for third - nothing to be ashamed of at this point in the season.

WATCHING AS the Coeur d'Alene Vikings opened play on Thursday night, it was a little different than in previous years.

Coeur d'Alene earned the Region 1 championship and the chance to play in the later games for the first time in two years.

It didn't appear the rest got to the Vikings either as they blasted past the Meridian Warriors 68-27 in the opening round, forcing 24 turnovers and getting the balanced scoring they've had all season with 9 of the 10 players taking the court scoring at least three points.

Coaches can make adjustments at halftime and chances were that Meridian coach Amos Lee wasn't going to let his school (which is 5.8 miles from the Idaho Center) go down without a fight.

Meanwhile Coeur d'Alene, which is 444 miles from its campus to the Idaho Center, used a 27-4 run in the third quarter.

At one point in the quarter, had a Meridian-based Idaho State Patrolman had a radar detector, the team could have received a ticket for speed unsafe for the conditions.

WITH WINS by Lewiston, Moscow, Kamiah, Lapwai, Troy and Prairie of Cottonwood on Thursday, schools from the northern part of the state went 9-1, with the only setback by Clark Fork to Dietrich in the final 1A Division II game on Thursday night.

It’s flat amazing when you consider most of those teams traveled over 300 miles on a bus to get to the Boise area.

After watching Thursday’s games, there’s not a single 5A or 3A team that I don’t think could compete at state.

Hopefully someday, a few more will get that chance.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].