Five times in the last six seasons, a District 2 team stood in the way of Lakeside and a trip to the state 1A Division I girls basketball tournament.

Five times, the Knights won the District 1 title, but were kept home from state, after losing to the District 2 team in a state play-in game.

"It's rough when you have to go through that District 2 - the best basketball league in the state at our level," Lakeside coach Chris Dohrman said.

District 2 teams have won the last seven state titles in 1A Division I.

They didn't have to beat a District 2 team to get to state this year - the Knights dropped to the 1A Division II classification this year - but Dohrman kept teams like that in mind as he put together his team's schedule for this season.

Lakeside (10-10) played perennial 1A Division I power Lapwai. The Knights played 3A teams Timberlake and Kellogg, and twice faced 2A St. Maries.

"Our record doesn't indicate how good a team we are, but we played a lot of games up," Dohrman said. "But we played all those teams so we could get better."

He said the Knights learned they could play at that level, and even when they lost, "you can take the good from a thumping, too," he said.

"In years past we've had an easier schedule," Dohrman said, "and we'd run into that District 2 team and we were not prepared, because we didn't see that competition every night."

Lakeside lost one of its shooters, sophomore Corin Peone, to a knee injury early in the season. But another sophomore, Lillian Rhea, has been among those who has stepped up, averaging 12 points and eight rebounds per game.

"She's been our force inside," Dohrman said. "She's got that fire in her that makes her want to score."

Lakeside last went to state in 2004, under second-year coach Nicky Pakootas.

Lakeside opens today vs. Dietrich, which won the last four state 1A Division II titles.

"We really have nothing to lose," Dohrman said.