It’s that time of the year again…time to pick the winners of the “Real Dairy Shootout”- the state championships for Girl’s Basketball.  There are six divisions to predict now ranging from 5A down to 1A Div 2.  So here goes:

5A:  Highland comes in with the best record at 21-1 and Coeur d’Alene has the second best mark at 18-2.  Lewiston beat Coeur d’Alene last year and they are back at state again this year to try for a repeat in 2012.  Vallivue and Centennial are the two teams from District III.  There are some very good teams here to choose from, but my gut tells me to go with the runner-ups from last year, so I am picking the Coeur d’Alene Vikings to win it all over the Highland Rams.

4A:  The Middleton Vikings come in as two time defending champs and a perfect 23-0 mark in 2011-2012.  Rigby and Bishop Kelly both have fine records at 20-4, and they open up in the first round with each other.  I cannot go against the favorite here so I will pick the Middleton Vikings and a three peat over the BK Knights.

3A:  The Sugar Salem Diggers are the defending champs, but they did not make it back this year.  The Marsh Valley Eagles have a perfect 22-0 record this year.  Weiser has the next best record with an 18-4 mark.  The Eagles seem to be the cream of the crop so I have them beating Weiser for the title.

2A:  The Grangeville Bulldogs are the defending champs, and for the first time in quite some time, they are not at the state dance.  The #1 and 2 seeds from District III, New Plymouth and Marsing, were both upset at District, so this year’s 2A is wide open and up for grabs. Butte County (20-3) and Deco (20-5) have the best records, but they are on the same side of the bracket.  I am going with the Declo Hornets to win the title over the Kamiah Kubs.

1A D1:  Lapwai returns to the state field again as the defending champ in a blow out win last year, and they are always ready to take off running in the state dance. Liberty Charter has a perfect 22-0 mark, and Notus has the second best record at 20-2.  The Prairie girls are always a tough team at state, so this bracket is a difficult one.  I still like the play of the Lapwai Wildcats at state, so I am picking them for a repeat title over the Prairie Pirates.

1A D2:  The Dietrich Blue Devils beat the Richfield Tigers in last year’s title game, and both are back again as perennial 1A powers.  The Blue Devils are perfect at 21-0.  The next best teams,Tri-Valley and Summit Academy, have 6 losses apiece.  I will go with the Blue Devils winning two in a row over the Carey Panthers.

So there you have it. If you want to try your hand at the six champions, just comment to this blog and make your picks.  And, of course, every single state game will be webcast by idahosports.com starting on Feb 16^th and running through the 18^th.  Good luck to all the teams and competitors.