ORDER GAME PHOTOS

Welcome to new and (hopefully improved) Top 25 Daily Girls Basketball Rankings!

The goal remains the same: to bring you the Top 25 teams every weekday morning, based upon our IdahoSports.com Power Rankings formula.

Instead of listing everyone 1 through 25, though, instead we'll separate everyone by their respective classifications.

The idea is to highlight one noteworthy game or team performance each night, and explain how the result of that game shook up the Power Rankings landscape.

Think of it as a daily view of the girls basketball stock market.  Whose stock rose after a big win?  And who plummeted following a shocking loss?

With that said, the one game I wanted to highlight from the weekend was an intriguing 3A non-conference battle that went under the radar.

On Saturday, the Snake River Panthers hosted Kimberly in a matchup of our 3rd and 4th ranked 3A teams, respectively.  Snake River had dealt the Bulldogs a 51-27 setback in mid-November, but the rematch was much more competitive, albeit with the same result.

After the Panthers held a slim 19-18 lead at halftime, Snake River slowly pulled away in the second half to pick up the 47-38 win.

The key for Snake River in the second half?  They turned up the pressure on defense.  For the game, the Panthers forced 21 Kimberly turnovers while committing only five of their own.

Snake River also made their opportunities from the three-point line count, as five different players (Reese Baldwin, Camdyn Dunn, Rylie Edlefsen, Abby Gilbert and Madi Watt) made a shot from beyond the arc.

For Kimberly, Mekell Wright registered a double-double with 10 points and 19 (yes, 19!) rebounds.  Kelsy Stanger chipped in 11 points.

Overall, this game lived up to the billing

Snake River is paced by Edlefsen, a 5-foot-7 point guard who is starting to garner serious interest from basketball coaches at the next level.  The junior has no shortage of great players to get the ball to, including Watt and Dunn on the wings.

This Panthers team also has great size with Baldwin (5-foot-10), Taylee Carlson (5-foot-10) and Jackie Steadman (6-foot-even).

Could we be headed towards a third straight matchup between Kimberly and Snake River at the 3A State Tournament?  The margin for error is slim.  Kimberly has already lost to district rival Filer this year, and will play the Wildcats again on January 17th.  Snake River plays in just a three-team league, so an off night at districts would force Snake River to win not one, but two separate play-in games to qualify for state.

Either way, Snake River and Kimberly are two squads we'll keep our eyes on for the rest of the year.

Here's the rest of the Top 25 Daily Girls Basketball Rankings:

CLASS 5A

1. Boise (13-1)
2. Thunder Ridge (14-0)
3. Rigby (14-2)
4. Timberline (14-2)
5. Lake City (13-2)
6. Post Falls (16-0)
7. Owyhee (13-1)

CLASS 4A

1. Shelley (13-1)
2. Bishop Kelly (12-3)

CLASS 3A

1. Parma (13-2)
2. Weiser (14-1)
3. Snake River (12-3)
4. Kimberly (11-5)

CLASS 2A

1. Melba (16-0)
2. Cole Valley Christian (13-3)
3. North Fremont (11-2)
4. Soda Springs (11-3)
5. West Side (10-4)
6. Ambrose (10-6)

CLASS 1AD1

1. Lapwai (12-1)
2. Raft River (10-2)

CLASS 1AD2

1. Mackay (14-1)
2. Rockland (12-3)
3. Deary (8-0)
4. Leadore (10-2)

Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation on The Boards, SportsBoards.com!