Who’s going to make the state tournament? Top storylines as girls basketball district tournaments get underway
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IDAHO FALLS – Girls basketball district tournaments get underway starting Saturday with District 5 and 6 conferences looking to crown champions and send teams to state.
Here are some storylines to watch.
Chasing the Trojans
Rigby finished unbeaten at 8-0 in 6A District 4-5-6 and had the top scoring defense in the conference at 49.33 points.
The Trojans were pushed by rival Madison in both regular-season matchups, winning by three points and then winning by two in overtime when the teams met last week.
Shippen chasing scoring record
Skyline’s Shay Shippen is chasing the state scoring record and could hit the mark during the tournament.
More importantly, the Grizzlies are the top seed and have their sights set on a 5A state tournament berth.
No. 2 Blackfoot handed Skyline its lone loss this week.
More 5A action
Pocatello breezed through its conference and has been ranked No. 2 in the state for the second half of the season.
The Thunder have won seven straight games since a 50-48 loss to Eagle, which is ranked in the 6A state poll.
Wild, wild Mountain Rivers Conference
State No. 1 Sugar-Salem is unbeaten, but faces a challenge from its two conference foes, South Fremont and Teton.
The Diggers won regular-season matchups with the Cougars and Timberwolves, but anything can happen in the district tournament.
South Fremont features one of the top players in the state in Brianne Bailey.
The conference gets 1.5 berths, so the loser of the championship game will get another shot at a state play-in game.
Bear Lake won the South East Idaho Conference.
Bulldogs the top seed in the Nuclear
Ririe is the top dog, but Firth and North Fremont each had winning conference records and both defeated Ririe during the regular season.
The tournament winner gets the automatic berth to state, but loser will get a slot in the play-in game.
From District 5, state No. 1 Malad hasn’t lost since its season opener Nov. 15 at Bear Lake.
The Dragons have won 20 straight games since, and will be a tough out in the postseason.
Pirates look to rebound
Butte County had won seven straight and was ranked in the state media poll, but lost its regular-season finale to Grace.
More Bulldogs at the top
Rockland persevered through a tough 1A Rocky Mountain Conference that saw five teams finish with winning records.
The Bulldogs finished 9-0 in conference and had been ranked No. 1 in the state media poll. They were No. 2 behind Genesee this week.
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