ORDER GAME PHOTOS

A while back, in this very space, I marveled at the depth and talent that resides in Class 1AD1's Snake River Conference.

As a reminder, here's what the current top six looks like:

Oakley 15-4 8-0
Raft River 17-2 7-1
Carey 14-3 6-2
Murtaugh 14-5 6-2
Lighthouse 10-7 4-4
Shoshone 13-6 3-5

That's a combined record of 83-27 for a league that only gets to send two teams to state this year.

The depth of the league was showcased on Monday night, as all six of those teams were in action.

Oakley defeated Lighthouse Christian 48-23.  After holding a tenuous 17-10 lead at halftime, the Hornets outscored Lighthouse Christian 31-13 in the second half to earn the win.  6-foot center Falon Bedke led Oakley with 11 points in the win.  Lighthouse was paced by Jordan Wolverton's nine points.

Raft River blew past Hansen 58-19.  The Trojans put the clamps on defensively, allowing 14 points in the opening half and only five in the second half.  Six-foot center Caroline Schumann was devastating inside, coming away with seven steals and pullling down 11 rebounds.

In the most entertaining game of the night, Carey went to Shoshone and escaped with a 39-37 win.  The Panthers withstood a late Shoshone rally to earn the win.  Berenice Vargas scored 21 points for the Panthers, while the Indians were led by Karlie Chapman's 17 points.  The night was special for Shoshone fans, as longtime head coach Tim Chapman is retiring after this season.  He was honored before the game.

And Murtaugh kept pace with Carey in the league standings with a 47-17 victory over Castleford.  Courtney Jensen scored 11 points for the Red Devils.

With a nine-game league schedule, Oakley clinched the regular season title and #1 seed at districts with their win last night.  Usually that's a good thing, but in this year's wide open Snake River Conference, I'm not sure it matters much.

Similarly, Raft River has clinched the #2 seed because of head-to-head wins over both Carey and Murtaugh.

As for Carey and Murtaugh?  Wouldn't ya know it, they just happen to play each other on Wednesday in the regular season finale.

All of this is a precursor to what's sure to be a knock-'em-down, drag-it-out fight at districts.  Four of the five 1AD1 teams ranked in our Idaho Girls Basketball Daily Top 25 rankings hail from this league.

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

CLASS 5A

1. Boise (17-2)
2. Thunder Ridge (19-0)
3. Timberline (16-3)
4. Rigby (16-3)
5. Lake City (15-3)

CLASS 4A

1. Shelley (16-2)
2. Bishop Kelly (15-3)
3. Mountain Home (16-3)

CLASS 3A

1. Parma (17-2)
2. Snake River (16-3)
3. Weiser (16-3)

CLASS 2A

1. Melba (20-0)
2. North Fremont (15-3)
3. Soda Springs (15-3)
4. Cole Valley Christian (15-4)

CLASS 1AD1

1. Lapwai (17-1)
2. Raft River (17-2)
3. Murtaugh (14-5)
4. Carey (14-3)
5. Oakley (15-4)

CLASS 1AD2

1. Rockland (17-3)
2. Dietrich (15-3)
3. Leadore (14-2)
4. Mackay (15-3)
5. Deary (12-1)

IN: Oakley
OUT: Coeur d'Alene

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