STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS: Lakeside looks to reap benefits of tough schedule

From staff reports

2A 

Records can be deceiving. 

The fifth-seeded Lakeside Knights (11-11), who open the state tournament against fourth seed Prairie (20-5) of Cottonwood today at 1 p.m. PST at Columbia High in Nampa, played “up” this season. 

The Knights sought out nonleague games against much larger schools — playing 4A Timberlake and Bonners Ferry twice each, 5A Moscow and 3A Kellogg, and fellow 2A state qualifier Lapwai, as well as some tough small schools in eastern Washington. 

“We went and looked for some very tough games, and we found them,” said Chris Dohrman, in his 13th season as Lakeside coach. “We had some injuries and some different lineups that prevented us from playing our best ball during that time. But we’ve got pretty much everybody we need right now back and playing.” 

Lakeside is at state for the second straight year, third time in four years, and eighth time in 12 seasons under Dohrman. 

“We absolutely did (take a few lumps),” Dohrman said of playing a tough nonleague schedule. “We definitely told them what we were doing. When we’re playing Moscow and Freeman and Lapwai and Timberlake twice ... we were telling them that we were preparing for state. Winning league and districts were one of our big goals, but we’ve been working to get down south — not just go, but actually be able to compete. That’s our hope.” 

Senior guard Kyleigh Wolfe will be playing at state for the third time in her four-year Lakeside career.  

Wolfe is averaging 23.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 4.1 assists per game. She enters state as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,515 career points. 

Sophomore Laila SiJohn averages 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 steals, and 3.3 assists per game. 

“It was hard to take,” Wolfe said of some of those losses to bigger schools during the season, “but it’s going to help us in the long run down there at state.” 

Notes: Butte County, the No. 1 seed, beat Lakeside for the consolation title last year. Oakley, the No. 2 seed this year, beat Prairie in last year’s state title game.  ... Prairie coach Teel Bruner won state titles in 2010, 2014 and 2015 while Pirates' boys coach ... Lapwai coach Lori Mader is in her first season after leading Prairie to state in each of her 15 seasons before having her contract terminated by the Cottonwood School District last June ... Vision Charter, seeded eighth, is making its state debut.

6A 

Coeur d’Alene, seeded fourth, opens at state today at 1 p.m. PST against fifth seed Borah of Boise at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa in a rematch of a state opener from 2025, won by the Vikings 53-47 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Junior guard Brookeslee Colvin, who holds a handful of Division I offers, is averaging 30.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Borah coach Ebony Norman, who played at North Idaho College, is in her fourth season as Lions coach.

Notes: Eagle, the top seed, went two-and-out last year. Eagle beat Coeur d’Alene 75-56 earlier this season, and the teams could meet in the semifinals. Eagle opens vs. No. 8 Madison of Rexburg, which beat Coeur d’Alene in the third-place game last year. Borah beat Rigby for the consolation title last year. Undefeated Rigby is the No. 2 seed this year. Owyhee, last year’s champion, did not qualify. Boise, which lost in the title game, is the seventh seed.  

5A 

Lakeland is bidding for its first state title since 2002, when the Hawks went back-to-back. Columbia of Nampa, the Hawks’ first-round foe today at Mountain View High in Meridian, is the District 3 runner-up. Columbia, at state for the fourth time in six years, has won 11 of its last 13 games after beginning the season 3-6.

Defending champion Pocatello is the No. 4 seed, and could meet Lakeland in the semifinals. The Hawks beat the Thunder 63-47 in the East Idaho Shootout in Idaho Falls in late December. Pocatello guard Abby Lusk, a Gonzaga signee, is the reigning 5A All-Idaho Player of the Year. She is Pocatello's all-time leading scorer with 1,494 points. Middleton, last year’s runner-up, petitioned up this year mid-cycle and is the third seed at the state 6A tournament. 

Notes: Bishop Kelly, at state for the fifth straight year, opens against second-seeded Sandpoint. The Bulldogs are at state for the sixth time in seven seasons, and first under coach Madi Schoening, who took over for Will Love when he became the Sandpoint boys coach. Bulldog junior guard/forward Jordyn Tomco has committed to NCAA Division II Alaska Anchorage. Sandpoint won its only state title in 2023.

4A 

Third-seeded Timberlake, which opens against No. 6 Weiser today at 4 p.m. PST at Skyview High in Nampa, is at state for the 15th time in 18 seasons, with four state titles, the last one in 2021. Timberlake finished third last year. Weiser was not at state last year. Defending champion Sugar-Salem, 23-0, is the No. 1 seed and enters the tournament on a 49-game win streak, which includes a win over Timberlake in last year's semifinals. Bear Lake, the runner-up, is the No. 2 seed, and could meet Timberlake in the semis. 

3A 

Eighth-seeded Kellogg, at state for the second time in three seasons, opens vs. top-seeded Malad today at 11 a.m. PST at Kuna High ... Malad lost to Parma in last year’s state title game. Parma did not qualify this year ... Grangeville, which lost to Melba in the third-place game last year, has two college commits — guard Caryss Barger (NCAA Division III Whitworth) and forward Addi Vanderwall (NAIA University of Providence in Great Falls).

1A 

Salmon River, the first-round foe for Kootenai today at 11 a.m. PST at Owyhee High in Meridian, lost to Carey in last year’s third-place game. Salmon River guard Rylee Walters (21.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.5 steams, 1.5 blocks per game) has signed with NAIA Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls ... Defending champion Rockland is the fifth seed this year, opening vs. No. 4 Deary. Carey is the third seed. Mackay, the No. 2 seed, went two-and-out last year.