STATE 3A GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP: Snake bitten ... Timberlake falls in bid for fifth title since 2016.

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

NAMPA – Timberlake coach Matt Miller knows the highs and lows of the bright lights of the Ford Idaho Center.

Lately, it’s been pretty high, with four straight wins in the title game.

Saturday was just a rare, as of late, low.

“I’ve been here enough to know what it’s going to feel like in a few days,” Miller said. “The kids don’t know that, so they’re hurting. But they’re hurting because they had a legitimate chance to win today. We just didn’t play well today, but they had a fantastic season. They won 22 games and went to state with a really, really young team and came down here and performed well overall, just not in the game today.”

Timberlake fell short in its attempt for a fifth state title in eight seasons, falling to Snake River 49-36.

“We didn’t get a lot of clean looks tonight,” said Miller, in his 18th season at the school. “We had two major lulls in the game where we lost focus on both ends of the court. Halfway through the second quarter, we had some breakdowns. And then again to start the third quarter. With a team as good as Snake River, you can’t do that in stretches.”

It is Snake River’s (23-3) first state title since 2013, and second overall. It is also the first time since Filer won in 2014 that someone other than Sugar-Salem (2015, 2018, 2019, 2022) or Timberlake (2016, 2017, 2020, ’21) has left the Idaho Center with the state championship.

“Our goal and expectations from our school is to win every year,” seventh-year Snake River coach Jeff Steadman said. “Our goal is to do well at state and do well. We know Sugar and Timberlake are two great programs, and they bring it every time. It’s hard to beat a quality team three times in a row, and we did that last night (Friday’s 38-36 win in the semifinals) with Sugar. We didn’t know what Timberlake was going to bring, but looked pretty good against Teton, and we’re very familiar with Teton, and was proud of how we handled it.”

Timberlake, which didn’t qualify for state in 2022, competed in its ninth title game since 2011, and is 4-5 in those games. The Tigers won their third title in program history in 2020, beating Snake River 42-32.

Freshman Malia Miller had 15 points and eight rebounds for Timberlake.

“Our defense last night was amazing,” Malia Miller said. “We had some metal lapses today. We’re going to work hard this offseason and come back stronger next year.”

Snake River finished third at state in 2022.

Junior Rylie Edlefsen, who has an offer from Cal State Bakersfield, hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Snake River.

“Rylie’s a great player and just lives for basketball,” Steadman said. “That’s her passion in life and she’s capable of that at any time.”

Timberlake was 5 of 24 shooting in the first half and finished 14 of 48 in the game. The Tigers did not make a 3-point attempt after going 12 of 24 in the semifinals Friday against Teton at Skyview High in Nampa.

Sophomore Lucy Simpson had nine points and six rebounds off the bench for Timberlake, which graduates one senior, Ciara Soumas.

“Our bench is really our energy,” Simpson said. “They make me super energetic with the way they get things going. There were a lot of nerves, but it was more exciting. Next year, I want to come back and get it done next year.

“They live to drive the ball and finish well at the rim,” Steadman said. “They put pressure on you and if you help too much, they’ll find the open player. So it was a big challenge tonight, but I thought we did a good job of covering it.”

Offensively, in the second half, it didn’t feel like we attacked enough,” Matt Miller said. “We were a little indecisive and a little passive. It’s going to be hard to get good stuff if you’re not doing that.”

Timberlake 11 6 13 6 – 36

Snake River 11 10 13 15 – 49

TIMBERLAKE – C. Soumas 5, Dickinson 2, Young 2, Nelson 0, MacArthur 2, Simpson 9, Needs 1, Miller 15, Chase 0. Totals 14-48 8-16 36.

SNAKE RIVER – Baldwin 2, Dunn 5, Steadman 2, Edlefsen 19, A. Gilbert 7, Trejo 0, Carlson 11, Watt 3. Totals 17-49 8-12 49.