The brackets for this week’s girls’ basketball state tournaments in Idaho were finally completed Saturday evening.

All six tournaments will be held in the Boise area and get under way on Thursday. The two most compelling storylines from north central Idaho: Lewiston, appearing in its first state tournament since 1989, and Lapwai, gunning for back-to-back championships.

We’ll have much more on District II’s representatives in the coming days.

ALL TIMES PACIFIC

CLASS 5A

At Idaho Center, Nampa

Thursday

Highland (20-3) vs. Eagle (16-7), 12:15 p.m.

Boise (22-1) vs. Coeur d’Alene (19-4), 2 p.m.

Centennial (21-2) vs. Meridian (16-7), 5:15 p.m.

Lewiston (19-2) vs. Mountain View (15-10), 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A

At Mountain View High, Meridian

Thursday

Middleton (22-1) vs. Twin Falls (16-9), 12:15 p.m.

Moscow (7-15) vs. Rigby (17-8), 2 p.m.

Bonneville (23-0) vs. Bishop Kelly (17-6), 5:15 p.m.

Jerome (22-1) vs. Preston (16-6), 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A

At Skyview High, Nampa

Thursday

Weiser (14-8) vs. Shelley (13-12), 12:15 p.m.

Marsh Valley (18-4) vs. Kellogg (16-8), 2 p.m.

Kimberly (19-2) vs. Sugar-Salem (20-3), 5:15 p.m.

Priest River (16-6) vs. Fruitland (22-1), 5 p.m.

CLASS 2A

At Kuna High

Thursday

Declo (17-5) vs. Soda Springs (18-3), 12:15 p.m.

Firth (17-6) vs. New Plymouth (15-8), 2 p.m.

Parma (20-2) vs. West Jefferson (15-8), 5:15 p.m.

Grangeville (13-8) vs. Malad (12-10), 7 p.m.

CLASS 1A DIVISION I

At Columbia High, Nampa

Thursday

Shoshone (17-6) vs. Clearwater Valley (18-5), 12:15 p.m.

Tri-Valley (19-3) vs. Raft River (16-10), 2 p.m.

Lapwai (21-2) vs. Liberty Charter (17-4), 5:15 p.m.

Challis (20-3) vs. Troy (20-5), 7 p.m.

CLASS 1A DIVISION II

At Nampa High

Thursday

Clark Fork (15-5) vs. Richfield (18-4), 12:15 p.m.

Dietrich (18-4) vs. Rockland (9-12), 2 p.m.

North Gem (17-4) vs. Summit (16-5), 5:15 p.m.

Meadows Valley (14-4) vs. Carey (17-6), 7 p.m.

The brackets for the Idaho state girls’ basketball tournaments aren’t complete, but they’re starting to come into focus. One of my colleagues, David Bashore of the Times-News in Twin Falls, emailed out the most up-to-date pairings possible late Thursday night.

Check ‘em out: Continue Reading

If you’ve followed college baseball in the Tribune for the last 15 years, then you’ve read numerous stories written by Jim Browitt, our former sports editor.

Now that Browitt is in law school and I have his old job, I’ll be the main man on the baseball beat this spring. My first effort is the Lewis-Clark State season preview that appeared in today’s paper.

A few tidbits that didn’t make it into the story:

* The Warriors are deep and talented, but, at the moment, don’t appear to have any out-of-this-world superstars.

“We don’t have Beau Mills running around or Mark Thompson or somebody like that,” L-C coach Ed Cheff said. “But we’ve got a lot of depth and pretty good offense and defense at each position.”

* The Warriors always have a handful of in-state players, but there might be a few more than usual this season. Thirteen players come from Idaho hometowns, including Lewiston’s Adam Carson, Tyler Knigge and John Rohde; Moscow’s Zach Hull; and Potlatch’s Tim Stuvland.

“Our priorities are Idaho kids,” Cheff said. “We don’t want to miss on an Idaho guy — especially a North Idaho guy. … You should always look in your backyard first and not think you have to go to California to find a player.”

* In the weeks leading up to L-C’s season opener, the current players got to work out with former Warriors who are now in pro ball. These former players often return to Lewiston to knock off the rust before they have to report to their pro clubs’ spring training.

Jessie Mier, Kyle Greene and Marc Kaiser have already taken part in some L-C workouts, and Justin Fuller and Mark Thompson were expected to turn up later on.

“They were a big part of a lot of that success during the years that they played,” pitching coach Gus Knickrehm said. “They’re definitely true Warriors, no doubt about that.”

This is a little late, but here are this week’s Idaho and Washington high school basketball polls. Quality wins for the Lewiston girls and Clarkston boys resulted in slightly loftier rankings. And the Colton girls, who saw their almost 2-year-old winning streak snapped at 42 games, still held the top spot in the Washington 1B poll.

This is the final Idaho girls’ poll this season, since those teams are diving into the postseason. Continue Reading

The latest Idaho and Washington high school basketball polls were released Wednesday. Scroll down to see both.

Of local interest, the Lapwai and Colton girls kept their respective No. 1 rankings while the Prairie boys took the top spot for the first time.

IDAHO BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL POLL

(First-place votes in parentheses)

TEAM RECORD POINTS

CLASS 5A

1. Eagle (5) 10-1 40

2. Madison (3) 10-1 37

3. Post Falls (1) 11-2 26

4. Coeur d’Alene 11-2 16

5. Timberline 9-2 11

Others receiving votes: Vallivue 3, Borah 1, Lake City 1.

CLASS 4A

1. Skyview (9) 9-1 45

2. Twin Falls 9-1 36

3. Moscow 9-2 24

4. Middleton 7-2 13

5. Hillcrest 7-3 8

Others receiving votes: Jerome 7, Minico 2.

CLASS 3A

1. Sugar-Salem (6) 9-1 42

2. Priest River (3) 7-3 29

3. Fruitland 8-3 28

4. Weiser 8-2 10

5. Snake River 8-2 8

Others receiving votes: McCall-Donnelly 6, Shelley 5, Salmon 3, Filer 2, St. Maries 2.

CLASS 2A

1. Glenns Ferry (9) 10-1 45

2. Kamiah 7-3 23

3. Declo 7-2 19

4. Firth 6-5 15

5. West Side 6-3 12

Others receiving votes: Soda Springs 10, Melba 7, Cole Valley Christian 2, Aberdeen 1, New Plymouth 1.

CLASS 1A DIVISION I

1. Prairie (3) 10-1 37

2. Troy (5) 7-3 34

3. Castleford (2) 7-1 27

4. Shoshone 8-1 18

5. Raft River 6-3 10

Others receiving votes: Genesee 7, Horseshoe Bend 1.

CLASS 1A DIVISION II

1. Carey (6) 8-1 40

2. Mackay (2) 7-1 37

3. Nezperce 7-2 18

4. Murtaugh 6-1 17

5. Richfield (1) 2-4 9

Others receiving votes: North Gem 8, Dietrich 4, Clark County 1, Greenleaf Friends 1.

Voters— Greg Lee, Spokesman-Review; Mark Nelke, Coeur d’Alene Press; David Bashore, Times-News; Mike Lycklama, Post Register; Mark High, Blackfoot Morning News; John Wustrow, Idaho Press Tribune; Paul Kingsbury, editor Idahosports.com; Jesse Zentz, The Statesman; Ryan Collingwood, Lewiston Tribune.

IDAHO GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL POLL

(First-place votes in parentheses)

TEAM RECORD POINTS

CLASS 5A

1. Boise (6) 16-0 42

2. Coeur d’Alene (3) 15-1 39

3. Centennial 15-2 24

4. Highland 13-1 14

5. Lake City 11-4 7

Others receiving votes: Lewiston 6, Meridian 2, Post Falls 1.

CLASS 4A

1. Bonneville (9) 14-0 45

2. Jerome 13-1 32

3. Middleton 14-1 31

4. Bishop Kelly 11-3 15

5. Minico 11-3 8

Others receiving votes: Preston 2, Mountain Home 2.

CLASS 3A

1. Fruitland (8) 12-0 43

2. Timberlake 13-1 32

3. Sugar-Salem (1) 11-3 28

4. Kimberly 11-1 15

5. Priest River 9-3 9

Others receiving votes: Marsh Valley 5, Snake River 3.

CLASS 2A

1. North Fremont (9) 13-0 45

2. Parma 12-2 30

3. West Jefferson 10-2 23

4. Soda Springs 9-3 12

5. Grangeville 9-3 10

Others receiving votes: Kamiah 7, Firth 4, Butte County 3, Ririe 1.

CLASS 1A DIVISION I

1. Lapwai (9) 11-2 45

2. Challis 13-1 32

3. Troy 14-3 19

4. Clearwater Valley 10-3 18

5. Liberty Charter 12-2 16

Others receiving votes: Notus 4, Shoshone 1.

CLASS 1A DIVISION II

1. Dietrich (7) 10-2 43

2. Richfield (2) 10-2 35

3. Summit 10-2 22

4. Carey 8-3 16

5. Clark Fork 10-4 10

Others receiving votes: North Gem 9.

Voters— Mark Nelke, Coeur d’Alene Press; Greg Lee, Spokesman-Review; Matt Baney, Lewiston Tribune; John Wustrow, Idaho Press-Tribune; Jesse Zentz, Idaho Statesman; David Bashore, Twin Falls Times-News; Zach Kyle, Idaho Falls Post Register; Mark High, Blackfoot Morning News; Paul Kingsbury, Idahosports.com.

WASHINGTON BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL POLL

SEATTLE — How a state panel of sports writers rates Washington high school boys basketball teams in the weekly Associated Press poll of 2010, by WIAA divisions, with won-lost record and total points (first-place votes in parentheses):

SCHOOL RECORD POINTS

CLASS 4A

1. Federal Way (9) 10-0 90

2. Curtis 11-0 75

3. Gonzaga Prep 9-1 74

4. Richland 10-0 67

5. Jackson 8-1 44

6. Kamiakin 9-1 39

7. Walla Walla 7-2 38

8. Kentridge 8-3 32

9. Decatur 8-2 18

10. Foss 8-3 6

(tie) Garfield 8-26 6

Others receiving votes: Skyline 5, Todd Beamer 1.

CLASS 3A

1. Enumclaw (4) 10-0 92

2. Bellevue (3) 11-0 90

3. Rainier Beach (3) 8-3 88

4. Shadle Park 9-2 66

5. Lakes 8-2 59

6. Seattle Prep 9-3 52

7. Mount Si 9-3 32

8. O’Dea 9-3 28

9. Hazen 9-3 21

10. Capital 9-1 8

Others receiving votes: Meadowdale 6, Franklin 5, Mercer Island 1, Columbia River 1, Foster 1.

CLASS 2A

1. Squalicum (9) 7-1 99

2. Ephrata (1) 8-0 87

3. Burlington-Edison 8-1 82

4. Fife 8-1 66

(tie). Mark Morris 7-1 66

6. Steilacoom 7-1 45

7. Lynden 8-2 34

8. Eatonville 8-1 28

9. River Ridge 5-3 14

10. Selah 6-2 12

Others receiving votes: North Mason 6, Grandview 4, Elma 3, Clarkston 3, Deer Park 1.

CLASS 1A

1. Vashon Island (10) 11-1 100

2. Chelan 9-1 89

3. Granger 9-0 74

4. Onalaska 11-0 61

5. Okanogan 9-2 57

6. Cascade Christian 9-2 46

7. King’s 7-3 37

8. Castle Rock 8-1 29

9. Meridian 8-2 24

10. Cascade (Leavenworth) 10-1 11

Others receiving votes:Coupeville 8, Freeman 7, Mabton 4, Columbia (Burbank) 2, Toledo 1.

CLASS 2B

1. Bear Creek School (4) 12-1 48

2. NW Christian (Colbert) (1) 9-2 46

3. Davenport 10-1 37

4. LaConner 10-2 29

5. Pe Ell 10-2 27

6. Entiat 7-1 26

7. Adna 8-2 23

8. Lind-Ritzville 9-3 18

9. Northwest Christian (Lacey) (1) 7-3 17

10. Riverside Christian 10-2 13

Others receiving votes: Garfield-Palouse 9, Liberty Christian 8, White Swan 6, Toutle Lake 6, Lyle 4, North Beach 3, South Bend 3, Wahkiakum 2, LaSalle 2, Life Christian Academy 1, Waitsburg 1, Oroville 1.

CLASS 1B

1. Rosalia (5) 13-0 50

2. Wellpinit 10-2 41

3. Wilbur-Creston 10-2 28

4. Neah Bay 10-2 24

5. Cusick 10-2 23

Others receiving votes: Pateros 15, Lummi 13, Tri-Cities Prep 10, Almira/Coulee-Hartline 8, Lopez 8, Tulalip Heritage 7, Mt. Rainier Lutheran 7, Sunnyside Christian 6.

WASHINGTON GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL POLL

SEATTLE — How a state panel of sports writers rates Washington high school boys basketball teams in the weekly Associated Press poll of 2010, by WIAA divisions, with won-lost record and total points (first-place votes in parentheses):

SCHOOL RECORD POINTS

CLASS 4A

1. Auburn Riverside (9) 12-0 90

2. Federal Way 10-2 80

3. Woodinville 10-0 69

4. Lewis and Clark 7-4 52

5. Issaquah 9-1 50

6. Newport (Bellevue) 9-1 35

7. Bellarmine Prep 7-3 31

(tie). Kentwood 9-2 31

9. Chiawana 9-1 25

10. Monroe 9-1 9

Others receiving votes: Pasco 6, Richland 4, Edmonds-Woodway 4, Jackson 3, Bethel 2, Central Valley 2, Wenatchee 2.

CLASS 3A

1. Kennedy (7) 8-3 106

2. Holy Names (3) 9-2 99

3. Mercer Island 8-3 81

4. Shadle Park 7-4 71

(tie). White River (1) 9-1 71

6. Yelm 9-1 53

7. Prairie 7-4 34

8. West Valley (Yakima) 8-2 28

9. Port Angeles 8-2 21

10. Sumner 8-3 11

Others receiving votes: Mt. Rainier 7, Lakes 7, Shorecrest 6, Bonney Lake 6, North Central 2, Blanchet 1, Capital 1.

CLASS 2A

1. River Ridge (11) 8-0 110

2. Elma 7-1 96

3. Lynden 5-2 74

4. Archbishop Murphy 7-2 66

5. Burlington-Edison 8-1 63

6. Ellensburg 9-0 58

(tie)West Valley (Spokane) 7-0 58

8. East Valley (Yakima) 7-1 38

9. W. F. West 5-2 16

10. Prosser 6-2 9

Others receiving votes: Pullman 6, Eatonville 3, Kingston 3, Squalicum 2, Colville 2, Hoquiam 1.

CLASS 1A

1. Seattle Christian (2) 9-2 90

2. Freeman (6) 12-0 89

3. Granger (2) 9-0 85

4. Lynden Christian 8-2 67

5. Okanogan 11-0 55

6. Chelan 10-1 50

7. Columbia (Burbank) 7-1 37

8. Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 11-1 23

9. Vashon Island 9-3 19

10. Toledo 9-0 14

(tie) Bellevue Christian 9-1 14

Others receiving votes: Cascade (Leavenworth) 5, Cascade Christian 1, Ilwaco 1.

CLASS 2B

1. LaSalle (3) 8-1 63

2. Napavine 10-2 56

3. Reardan (2) 10-1 52

4. Colfax (1) 7-3 42

5. St. George 12-1 32

6. NW Christian (Lacey) (1) 10-1 28

(tie). Entiat 6-2 28

8. Mary Walker 13-1 23

9. LaConner 9-2 12

10. Toutle Lake 7-5 10

Others receiving votes: North Beach 8, Bear Creek School 8, Tacoma Baptist 6, Kittitas 5, Oroville 3, Northwest Christian (Colbert) 3, Asotin 2, DeSales 2, Liberty Bell 1, White Swan 1.

CLASS 1B

1. Colton (5) 9-0 50

2. St. John-Endicott 10-0 45

3. Almira Coulee-Hartline 11-1 38

4. Columbia (Hunters) 10-2 28

5. Sunnyside Christian 5-3 25

Others receiving votes: Glenwood-Trout Lake 8, North Sound Christian 6.