MIDDLETON - Last season, Timberlake girls basketball coach Matt Miller said that after a buzzer-beater to go into overtime in the state 3A championship game, his team forgot to play the extra period.

This year, his Timberlake squad will get another shot at a state championship after beating Snake River 49-48 in double overtime Friday at Middleton High.

Timberlake (15-10) will face Marsh Valley (24-0), which beat Priest River 54-34 in the other semifinal.

"This is just unbelievable," Miller said. "I never would have imagined this at the start of the season. This team has been awesome and is a great group of kids.”

Timberlake trailed 26-24 entering the fourth quarter and trailed by four early in the period before Tiger guard Sydnie Malloy hit a 3-pointer to get within 31-30.

With Snake River leading 35-33 on a layup by Jocelyn Harper, Timberlake senior Kara Wenstrom tied the game at 35 on a jumper with one minute remaining.

Snake River held a 42-39 lead with under five seconds remaining in the first overtime before Wenstrom stole a pass and immediately turned and banked in a tying 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining.

“I knew it was going in when it went out of my hands,” Wenstrom said. “I joked with my dad that I knew it was going in.”

The shot reminded Miller of a similar situation in last year’s title game, when then-senior Caitlyn Nichols banked a 3-pointer to force overtime against Sugar-Salem. The Tigers went on to lose 48-44 in overtime.

“Kara’s presence of mind on that shot was great,” Miller said. “I was proud of knowing the situation. She just threw one up and it went in. We talked about that shot (last year) before the game. Last year, we got so excited, we just forgot to play the overtime.”

In the second overtime, Timberlake kept battling, taking a 47-46 lead on a basket by Malloy, who left the game soon after with a leg cramp.

“It was a great calculation on her part,” said Miller of Malloy’s shot. “To get it and gather it in, cramp up and hit the shot was amazing.”

“We knew we had to win,” Wenstrom said. “Everyone did what they had to do to win. We’ve come a long way and didn’t expect to get this.”

Snake River 6 7 13 9 7 6 — 48

Timberlake 6 7 11 11 7 7 — 49

SNAKE RIVER — Christensen 10, Pilster 2, Martin 2, Shelley 6, Baldwin 0, Albertson 0, Harper 23, Bair 5. Totals 17-44 13-17 48.

TIMBERLAKE — Wenstrom 21, George 2, Malloy 9, Mason 0, Hoffman 3, Madsen 12, Posch 0, Norlander 2, Gibson 0. Totals 12-48 19-30 49.