Sweetwater Athletics

Scorebook Live website

February 17, 2022

See all articles;

https://scorebooklive.com/idaho/2022/02/17/breaking-down-all-six-2021-22-ihsaa-girls-basketball-tournaments-with-schedules-scouting-reports-and-predictions/

CLASS 1A (DI)

Over the next several days, girls basketball teams in Idaho will experience both jubilation and heartbreak at the IHSAA state championships in Boise.

So who are the teams to beat? Here is SBLive Idaho’s breakdown of who and what to follow in each classification tournament:

Thursday’s schedule

No. 1 Lapwai (18-3) vs. No. 8 Liberty Charter (11-9), noon, Columbia High School

No. 4 Raft River (19-4) vs. No. 5 Oakley (17-6), 2 p.m., Columbia High School

No. 3 Prairie (18-4) vs. No. 6 Notus (16-3), 5 p.m., Columbia High School

No. 2 Butte County (21-0) vs. No. 7 Wallace (16-4), 7 p.m., Columbia High School

FAVORITE: Butte County (21-0)

Back at state for the first time since the last of their back-to-back 1A DII titles in 2018. Only close games came against 2A’s West Jefferson and reigning state champion Grace. Eighteen wins have come by double digits with an average margin of victory of nearly 28 points. Senior guard Kiya McAfee has scored more than 1,000 points in her career.

CONTENDER: Lapwai (18-3)

The Wildcats have pretty much owned this classification since its inception in 2009 with six state titles, the last of which was only two years ago. Senior forward and leading scorer Sayq’is Greene (12.8 ppg) was on that team and missed last season. Lapwai is also the No. 1 team heading in.

DARKHORSE: Prairie (18-4)

It’s kind of odd calling the Pirates a dark horse, considering they’ve been ranked in the state media poll all season. But it has been eight years since their last championship. Prairie is the only 1A D1 team to hand Lapwai a loss this season. It is also one of the most storied programs in the state with nine titles altogether. Junior guard Kristin Wemhoff is the go-to player.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION

Lapwai 67, Butte County 63.