State tourneys at a glance
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS
Thursday-Saturday
All games available via webcast at
www.idahosports.com
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Defending champions: Coeur d'Alene beat Rocky Mountain in last year's championship game, but did not qualify.
Local qualifier: Lewiston
Road to state: Lewiston beat Coeur d'Alene 81-30 in opening round of 5A Region 1 tournament; beat Post Falls 56-54 in Region 1 championship game.
Notes: Centennial, the District 3 champion, is coached by former Lake City High standout Cassie Bro ... it is her first state appearance in three years as coach ... Rocky Mountain of Meridian - coached by former Centennial coach Emery Roy - had to win three straight loser-out games, including a 44-40 win in a play-in game against Post Falls to advance ... Roy will coach the West Team in the 2015 McDonald's All-American Girls Game on April 1 in Chicago ... Mountain View won the inaugural Coeur d'Alene Winter Classic, but were upset in the district tournament ... averaging 68.3 points per game, Mountain View has never won a state title ... Lewiston coach Dave Cornelia led the Bengal boys to a state title in 2009 ... Bengals at state for fifth time in six years, winning the state title twice and appearing in three championship games ... Eagle is coached by former Caldwell High, Washington and San Francisco quarterback Cody Pickett ... the Mustangs return to state for the first time since 2012 and have won 9 of its last 11 games ... Boise is the only team to beat Mountain View, winning 79-62 in the district semifinals ... Highland returns to state for the eighth straight year ... senior guard Maren Herrud has signed to play at Southern Utah.
Defending champion: Skyview
Local qualifier: Sandpoint
Road to state: Beat Moscow 58-43 in 4A Region 1 tournament championship game
Notes: Twin Falls has advanced to state in six of the last eight years, finishing as runner-up last year ... Rigby returns to state for the first time since the 2011-12 season, which ended in a program-best runner-up finish ... Bishop Kelly has won 13 of its last 14 games ... only two teams have topped 50 points vs. the Knights - 5A qualifiers Centennial and Highland ... Skyview returns five players from last year's championship team ... The Hawks face Bishop Kelly in the opening round, the fourth time they'll meet this season ... Sandpoint junior guard Madi Schoening scored a school-record 49 points in the Bulldogs' 65-46 win at Lakeland on Feb. 3 ... Bulldog coach Duane Ward also coached Sandpoint to a runner-up finish in 1996 in the A-1 tournament ... Kuna makes its first state appearance since 1995 ... Century is 12-0 against 4A teams this season ... Century senior Henny Herm has signed to play for Montana and senior Sarah Holt has signed with Colorado Christian ... This is Minico's first state appearance since 2005 ... Of Minico's seven losses, four were by two points or less, and a fifth was in overtime.
Defending champion: Filer
Local qualifiers: Timberlake, won 3A District 1 tournament title, Priest River won state play-in game
Road to state: Timberlake beat Priest River 46-26 in district championship game; Priest River beat Weiser 42-26 in state play-in game at Grangeville.
Notes: Timberlake has advanced to state title game in three of the last four years ... has won 9 of their last 10 games, with lone loss coming in overtime ... went 6-0 against teams from 4A Inland Empire League ... Fruitland has not won a first-round game at state since 2003, when it finished third ... Fruitland has never won a state title in girls basketball, and a District Three team last won state in 1990 (Kuna) ... Filer brings back one starter from last year's team ... many of its key players are siblings or relatives of key graduates from the last two seasons ... Priest River makes its sixth straight state appearance, winning in 2010 ... lost to opening round opponent Filer 44-32 in last year's semifinals ... Sugar-Salem returns all but four members of last year's 24-2 team that won the consolation title ... Six Diggers are averaging at least five points per game and no one is averaging more than 9.5 points per game ... Homedale finished third last year, but will need players to step up and fill the void of Morgan Nash, who broke her hand during the district tournament and will not play this weekend ... Marsh Valley is 9-2 in its last 11 games ... Of the Eagles' eight losses, six are to teams that have qualified for the state tournament ... Shelley makes its first trip to state since the 2009-10 season.
Defending champion: Firth
Local qualifiers: Grangeville
Road to state: Beat St. Maries 50-32 in District 1-2 tournament championship game
Notes: Soda Springs is back at state for the 13th straight year ... after beginning season 0-3, Soda Springs has won 18 straight ... New Plymouth advances for the 10th time since 2001 ... no player stands about 5-foot-9 for New Plymouth ... Wendell beat Declo three out of five times in the district tournament to advance ... Grangeville has advanced to state in 12 of the last 13 years for 20th year coach Larson Anderson ... Grangeville finished 0-3 in Coeur d'Alene Winter Classic in late December, losing to Coeur d'Alene, Lapwai and Sandpoint ... Ririe at state for the third consecutive season .... Sicilee Williams, a senior post, has committed to Westminster ... Marsing has qualified for state every other season since 2011, but has not won a trophy ... Cole Valley Christian returns to state for the second straight year ... started 1-3, but has won 16 of 18 since, including seven in a row ... Firth graduated six from last year's championship team.
1A Division I
Defending champion: Prairie
Local qualifiers: none
Notes: Raft River started the season 12-1, but enters state at 16-5 ... Genesee won four straight loser-out games to advance, including a win at Wallace on Feb. 12 ... Kaleigh Ranisate is averaging 14.5 points per game for Genesee ... Lapwai has lost in the state title game the last two seasons, but returns almost every player from last year's team ... Idaho City advances for the second time in program history, the first coming in 1999-2000, when they went 0-2 ... In Idaho City coach Monica Cockerille's first season in 2008-09, the Wildcats lost by an average of 48 points per game and won one game ... Oakley does not have a senior in its top six rotation .... it is Oakley's second state appearance in the last decade ... Liberty Charter failed to make it last year after a four-year run ... the Patriots have never won a first-round game ... Prairie seeks its second straight title and 10th overall ... Of Prairie's four losses, three have come against Lapwai.
1A Division II
Defending champion: Dietrich
Local qualifiers: Lakeside
Road to state: Lakeside beat Mullan 35-22 in District 1 championship game
Notes: Lakeside back at state for the first time since 2004 ... Lakeside dropped from Division I to Division II due to enrollment decline ... ESPN Outside the Lines will follow Dietrich at state as they produce a show on Dietrich head coach Acey Shaw, who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair ... Dietrich is vying for a fifth straight state title, but lost twice to conference foe Richfield at the end of the season, including the district tournament ... Council qualified for state for the second year in a row and won its first district title in 24 years ... Council won its first Long Pin Conference regular season championship in 23 years ... It is Castleford's first state appearance in 33 years ... Mackay graduated two from last year's program-best second-place finish ... Richfield beat Dietrich twice, including the district tournament ... Nezperce advanced to state for the second straight season, though none of its key players this year really played much last season.