Repeat after 3

NAMPA — Don’t bother asking Timberlake senior Allison Kirby what the score was with 1:58 remaining, she doesn’t know.

If there was a bigger shot she’d hit in her four years as a Tiger, now that’s pretty easy.

It was Saturday afternoon.

“I didn’t even know what the score was,” Kirby said. “I just knew we were down a little bit, but when I looked up, I just said — ‘oh, that put us up a little bit.’”

Kirby’s 3-pointer with 1:58 remaining gave the Tigers a 58-56 lead, one they didn’t surrender in a 60-57 win over the Sugar-Salem Diggers of Sugar-City to repeat as state 3A girls basketball champions at the Ford Idaho Center.

“I just took the shot because I was open,” Kirby said. “We’ve been taught to make the reads and take the shot if you’re open. And the play was for me to shoot it, so I did.”

Kirby, who has signed with Idaho, finished with a game-high 27 points, and also grabbed four steals.

“I didn’t really look at the stats, but a win is a win,” Kirby said.

“She’s a heck of a player,” Sugar-Salem coach Crystal Dayley said. “I’ve watched her for the last three days, and I’ve seen her do things that a high school girl can’t do. She’s a phenomenal basketball player and hurt us big time.”

Timberlake (23-2), which advanced to the title game for the fourth straight year and sixth time in seven years, beat Sugar-Salem for the first time in the championship game after losing the previous two matchups in 2011 and ’15.

“It’s a different team that we played two years ago, but we still wanted to go out and do what we do,” Kirby said. “If we do what we do, we knew we could get the job done.”

“We definitely didn’t want to lose,” said Timberlake senior Keelie Lawler, who has signed with NCAA Division II Western State Colorado. “We know what it’s like, and it’s not fun, so we wanted to go out with a bang. It’s been a great run, with great coaches, great teammates and a great community. I’ve been really blessed to be a part of this team.”

Timberlake crushed Teton 67-16 in its tournament opener and beat Parma 79-42 in the semifinals, both at Middleton High.

“It takes a lot of focus and mental focus to get here,” Kirby said. “It really comes down to getting all the details right, focusing and doing things right in games and being there for each other and becoming a better team each day.”

Timberlake trailed 48-42 late in the third quarter, then regained the lead at 51-50 on a 3-pointer by junior Shelby Starr with 6:08 remaining before Sugar-Salem’s Amanda Rudd answered with a 3-pointer of her own.

“I was really happy with how they battled through the adversity,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “We haven’t had anything close to this the entire state trip. Everything had been pretty easy and ran really well on both sides of the ball. It seemed like nothing went well tonight, but we stayed close enough, chipped away, and executed once we got the lead.”

Timberlake seniors Jacquelyn Mallet and Glori Cheevers didn’t want a repeat of that runner-up finish in volleyball to Sugar-Salem at state last fall.

“It feels good,” Mallet said. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to get them again. It’s a very, very special group of kids. We’ve worked so hard and we’ve worked hard in the offseason.”

“She (Kirby) just had that mentality that she was going to do anything she could to not let this happen,” Miller said. “Just momentum wise, outside of the first quarter, we didn’t have any momentum during the game. And she just put the team on her back and got after it.”

Lawler gave Timberlake a 60-57 advantage with 23.3 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws.

“I think that was the difference there,” Miller said. “Watching from the sidelines, those seniors, they didn’t want to accept it and didn’t want to go out with a loss. And they were able to get it done.”

Timberlake finished the tournament with 206 total points, five short of the tournament record set by Emmett in 1993.

Timberlake won its final 16 games of the season. Before Saturday, the Tigers’ closest game during that run was an 11-point win, and most of the others were by 30-50 points.

“We’re super excited, whether we win by three or 20,” Miller said. “I’m really happy with the result. Either way, I would have been really happy with the kids. They’ve put in so much time and effort for years and years. They had a great season, regardless of how that final two minutes goes.”

“We’re not used to tight games,” Mallet said. “But we’ve practiced for those types of things and executed it tonight.”

After Kirby’s 3-pointer, all Mallet knew was to stay focused on the task at hand.

“All I remember is seeing the ball go through the hoop and knowing I had to get back on defense,” Mallet said. “It still doesn’t feel real at all. This hasn’t made sense in my head yet.”

Cheevers, who transferred from Medical Lake, Wash., during her junior year, had four points and two steals.

“It’s been incredible,” Cheevers said. “When I came here, the girls welcomed me instantly and made it feel like home. It’s like winning with your family.”

Cheevers has signed to play softball at Wenatchee Valley College.

Timberlake went 8 of 9 from the free-throw line in the second half.

“Timberlake’s quick, and that’s why they’ve been successful this season,” Dayley said. “But I think we’re just as quick. We were able to get out and run with them. We were able to stay right with them.”

Savanah Crane fouled out midway through the fourth quarter for Sugar-Salem, which finishes 22-5.

“Losing Crane killed us,” Dayley said. “I think she stays in the game, it’s a different outcome.”

Sugar-Salem — which outrebounded Timberlake 36-31 — scored a tournament record 85 points in an opening-round win against Priest River on Thursday. After forcing 30 turnovers in Friday’s semifinal win, Timberlake forced 16 against Sugar-Salem.

“I was really impressed with how they handled our pressure,” Miller said. “Rebounding is always a factor, and they weren’t playing scared.”

Timberlake 18 15 13 14 — 60

Sugar-Salem 11 22 15 9 — 57

TIMBERLAKE — Tonkin 0, Kelley 3, Kronenberg 0, Mallet 8, Starr 8, Jezek 0, Kirby 27, Cheevers 4, Lawler 10. Totals 19-56 14-20 60.

SUGAR-SALEM — Rudd 21, Crane 11, Luke 10, Maughan 0, Mad. Filmore 6, Bradshaw 4, Gehmlich 5, Larson 0, Dunn 0. Totals 21-48 10-15 57.