MIDDLETON — After a run of six trips to the state title game over a span of seven years, Timberlake’s girls had been tripped up on the road to the Ford Idaho Center the past two seasons — by Sugar-Salem in 2018 and again by Parma in 2019.

Those games were at Skyview High.

This year, the state 3A tournament is at Middleton High.

And later today, Timberlake is back in the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“I’m really excited,” said Timberlake junior Brooke Jessen, who had 28 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers in a 66-35 semifinal win over the Parma Panthers on Friday. “I’m excited to get to play (for a title) with a great team. We’re ready.”

Jessen scored 16 of her game-high 28 points in the second half for Timberlake, which finished 26 of 44 (59.1 percent) from the field.

“My teammates really pumped me up, especially Taryn Soumas, we just got fired up and knew we had to get it done,” Jessen said. “We’ve been looking forward to this all season.”

Timberlake, ranked third in the final media poll of the season, was 15 of 41 in Thursday’s 45-40 double OT win over two-time defending champion and top-ranked Sugar-Salem.

“They did a great job of just keeping it simple,” Timberlake coach Matt Miller said. “We had so many turnovers in the last game (17 against Sugar-Salem on Thursday), uncharacteristic turnovers from doing something too hard. We just kept it simple tonight, and the girls responded well. We established the inside early tonight, and had a nice outside attack as well.”

Soumas, a junior who set the 3A tournament record with 13 3-pointers in 2019, had 15 of her 17 points in the first half, also finishing with seven assists.

“We just worked hard and make some good cuts,” Soumas said. “Those plays were open because we were making big plays, working hard and getting to where we needed to be.”

Jessen threw a pass intended for Olivia Hammond that hit Blayre Jeffs cutting to the basket to put the Tigers up 45-20 late in the third.

“I liked Brooke’s aggression,” Miller said. “She wanted the ball inside, we got her the ball inside and she did her thing tonight. She was relentless tonight.”

Timberlake (19-4) will face Snake River (15-10) today at 2:50 p.m. PST at the Idaho Center. Snake River beat Filer 62-45 in the other semifinal.

“They’ve improved so much this season,” Miller said. “I hope they don’t feel like two games and it’s over. We’ve still got to beat a really good team tomorrow, so hopefully they stay focused on that. But I’m excited for them. It still feels new to me.”

Soumas picked up her third foul with 2:41 remaining in the first half, limiting her in the second half.

“She had a great all-around game,” Miller said. “She got in a little foul trouble, but managed it well after that. She came out really good in the third quarter and we were able to rest her a little bit. But she played a great game.”

Adyson Harris scored 12 points for second-ranked Parma (20-3), which finished 12 of 41 from the field.

“I really liked how, with the exception of the first quarter, we were able to get out on their shooters,” Miller said. “They’re a skilled team and have a lot of good shooters. We didn’t start the game by getting out on them, but by the second and third quarter we did a better job. After the first couple of mistakes, we did that really well.”

Parma 13 5 4 13 — 35

Timberlake 17 14 14 21 — 66

PARMA — Richards 2, Hancock 6, Barba 0, Johnson 0, Jackson 8, Kaiser 0, Au. Harris 2, Ad. Harris 12, Hancock 5, Shaw 0. Totals 12-41 7-14 35.

TIMBERLAKE — Sande 2, T. Soumas 17, Suko 0, Hammond 0, Kronenberg 1, Gustin 0, Carhart 4, Jessen 28, Bain 5, Jeffs 9. Totals 26-44 9-13 66.