{"id":498429,"date":"2026-02-23T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T07:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498429\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T07:58:09","slug":"eagle-crowned-6a-champs-in-thrilling-weekend-for-state-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498429\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagle crowned 6A champs in thrilling weekend for state basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eagle won its first girls basketball state title since 2019, while Pocatello repeats as queens of the 5A.<\/p>\n

NAMPA, Idaho \u2014 In a weekend filled with euphoria, heartbreak and lasting memories, girls basketball teams from across the Gem State converged on the Ford Idaho Center with one goal: hoisting a state championship trophy.<\/p>\n

6A \u2014 Eagle 57, Middleton 48<\/p>\n

Middleton jumped out to an early double-digit lead behind a strong first half from senior Zoey Blackwell, who drilled a 3-pointer seconds after the opening tip.<\/p>\n

Eagle settled in behind senior guard Trinity Holsinger, who answered with several 3-pointers of her own and finished the first half with 14 points, helping the Mustangs claw back to tie the game 28-28 at the break.<\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

Holsinger and the Mustangs kept their foot on the gas in the second half, pulling away from a tenacious Middleton defense for a 57-48 victory before a raucous crowd. Holsinger finished with 23 points. Eagle claimed its first state title since 2019.<\/p>\n

5A \u2014 Pocatello 62, Sandpoint 49<\/p>\n

Defending champion Pocatello wasted no time asserting itself, jumping to an early lead and never looking back. Abby Lusk poured in 23 points as the Thunder cruised past Sandpoint 62-49, winning back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n

4A \u2014 Bear Lake 65, Sugar-Salem 57<\/p>\n

In a rematch of the 2025 state title game, Bear Lake erased an early 10-point deficit to stun top-seeded and previously undefeated Sugar-Salem, which entered the game riding a 51-game winning streak. The Bears topped the Diggers 65-57.<\/p>\n

3A \u2014 Malad 68, Ambrose 43<\/p>\n

Ambrose made its first state title game appearance but ran into an experienced Malad squad that built a commanding halftime lead and never let up. The Dragons relied on playoff experience and sharp shooting to pull away, winning 68-43.<\/p>\n

2A \u2014 Lapwai 40, Prairie 29<\/p>\n

Lapwai advanced to the finals on the strength of a thrilling overtime win in the semifinals, then knocked off rival Prairie from Cottonwood 40-29 under the lights of the Idaho Center. It is the first state title for the Lapwai girls program since 2022.<\/p>\n

1A \u2014 Deary 55, Nezperce 42<\/p>\n

Deary capped an impressive 23-2 season with a convincing 55-42 victory over Nezperce, claiming the program’s first state championship in school history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eagle won its first girls basketball state title since 2019, while Pocatello repeats as queens of the 5A.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-498429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}