1A state girls basketball preview: Lakeside played up to help with its move up

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

1A Division I

In an effort to just find games, Lakeside — after moving up a classification this year — had to step up its schedule.

That meant home-and-home dates against some 3A schools, including Kellogg, Bonners Ferry and defending state champion Timberlake.

"We had to play everyone from the north this year," said Lakeside coach Chris Dohrman, in his seventh season as girls coach. "The competition was either super good, or not as competitive. We had some really good games with Wallace and North Idaho Christian. But that schedule really got us ready for state competition. We won't see a team like Timberlake in our bracket. There's some good teams, no doubt, but playing Timberlake really prepared us for what we have ahead of us."

Lakeside (12-7) opens the state 1A Division I tournament today at Columbia High in Nampa against Lighthouse Christian (14-5) of Twin Falls starting at 11 a.m. (PST).

Lakeside advanced to state in its final year at the Division II level in 2020, going 0-2. The Knights moved up a classification along with Genesis Prep and Wallace to form the Scenic Idaho Conference this year.

"We've got a lot tougher competition at this level," Dohrman said. "It's always tough competition, regardless of what division you're in. You're getting the best of the best. We'll go down and play our hearts out and see how things go. We've got to be on point, but our schedule really will help us out with that."

Due to COVID restrictions, the Idaho High School Activities Association moved up both the 1A Division I and 1A Division II tournaments to run Wednesday through Friday. The 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A tournaments begin Thursday and end on Saturday.

"We'll see how it goes," Dohrman said of the change. "We've got one day to get ready and figure things out. We'll do some scouting and try to get ready as fast as we can."

1A Division II

Mullan (10-7), at state for the first time since 1986, opens vs. defending champion Rockland (18-4) at 1 p.m. PST at Nampa High.

The Tigers, who placed third in the A-4 division in their last state appearance, rewarded Sherry Leitz, in her 17th season as coach, with her first trip to state.