RATHDRUM - After watching the Timberlake Tigers rally with 11 straight points in the final 3:48 to pull within 46-45 in Thursday's 3A District 1 tournament championship game at Lakeland High, the top-seeded Priest River Spartans got Luckey.

Junior wing Anna Luckey hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining and the Spartans survived a last-second miss to beat the Tigers 48-45 and advance to the state 3A tournament starting next Thursday.

Priest River (16-5) will face Fruitland (16-7) at 7 p.m. (PST) at Middleton High.

The Spartans defeated the Grizzlies in the consolation championship game last year.

Timberlake (12-10) will face fifth-seeded St. Maries (7-14) tonight at 6 at Lakeland for the district’s second berth to state. St. Maries eliminated third-seeded Bonners Ferry 48-44 earlier on Thursday.

Liz Halcro scored a game-high 14 points for Priest River.

“In our first (district) game against St. Maries, I thought we came out flat,” Priest River coach Gary Stewart said. “We just tried to match what they were doing tonight. I knew they’d come out aggressive.”

Priest River jumped out to a 34-21 halftime lead and led 46-34 before an 11-0 run put Timberlake back in the game.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better first half from our kids,” Stewart said. “But it looked like we used too much energy in the first half.”

Timberlake got 3-pointers from Kara Wenstrom and Kelly Madsen to cut the deficit to 46-40 before five straight points from Ashly George cut the lead to 46-45 with 1:30 remaining.

“If you give them space, they’re going to knock down shots,” Stewart said.

A tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer by Wenstrom went off the front of the rim, and Priest River celebrated its second district title in three seasons.

“We just started hitting some shots,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “If you don’t hit your shots, you’re not going to win against a good team like Priest River. Defensively, we started playing with more energy.”

Timberlake, which advanced to the state title game last year, has beaten St. Maries in both games this season.

“They’re on a roll right now,” Miller said of St. Maries. “If anyone’s going to overlook them — they’ve got another think coming. They’re playing great right now and their confidence is sky high. They’re playing good basketball.”

Timberlake 8 13 8 16 — 45

Priest River 18 16 8 6 — 48

TIMBERLAKE — Wenstrom 10, George 12, Malloy 3, Mason 0, Hoffman 5, Madsen 12, Posch 2, Norlander 0, Gibson 0.

PRIEST RIVER — Luckey 4, Weimer 8, Trost 5, Pavey 8, Endicott 2, Douglas 0, Bradbury 3, Halcro 14, Fink 4.

St. Maries 48, Bonners Ferry 44: Dusti Huddleston scored a game-high 17 points as the Lumberjacks rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Badgers (8-13) in a loser-out game.

“We got down and didn’t play hard in the first two quarters,” St. Maries coach Jay Sines said. “The girls really pulled it together after halftime.”

Kaytrin Thaut and Lakin Anxo added nine points apiece for St. Maries.

“We’ve been improving all year,” Sines said. “We’ve played with each team in spurts, but need to put a whole game together. We’re right where we want to be and gave ourselves a chance.”

Abby Skeen scored 12 points for Bonners Ferry.

St. Maries 7 4 17 20 — 48

Bonners Ferry 8 11 11 14 — 44

ST. MARIES — McQueen 0, Sines 8, Schaum 0, Waddell 1, Anxo 9, Huddleston 17, Auer 4, Ka. Thaut 9.

BONNERS FERRY — Skeen 12, Tucker 4, Gray 0, Woods 0, Wasmer 9, Merrifield 2, Payne 0, Riley 2, Gust 2, Porter 7.