In what probably could be an early look at the Idaho Class 1A Division I district and possibly state championship game, the Prairie and Lapwai girls basketball teams advanced to today’s final in the Avista Holiday Tournament at the P1FCU Activity Center on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College.

Prairie notched a 49-37 win Wednesday against Clarkston in one semifinal contest, and Lapwai earned a 51-32 decision vs. Lewiston in the other.

The two Whitepine League Division I foes will meet in the championship game at 4 p.m. today.

Here’s how it all went down:

Prairie played like it had nothing to lose

Clarkston (4-3) firmly was in control against Prairie in the first two minutes, with a 7-2 advantage. That lead evaporated quickly as the Pirates (7-2) went on a 14-2 spurt to end the quarter to take a 16-9 advantage.

“I just told the kids to stop watching the scoreboard and control what we can control,” Prairie coach Lori Mader said. “We just kept fighting and that’s the biggest thing for me. You have to keep fighting and keep your eyes off the scoreboard.”

Clarkston began to claw back in the second, coming as close as 18-17 with five minutes remaining. But Prairie ended the quarter on a 13-3 run to take a 31-20 lead into the locker room.

Much of that was because of the floor facilitation of senior guard Kristin Wemhoff and the defensive effort of senior post Tara Schlader.

Wemhoff finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. When Wemhoff wasn’t scoring, Schlader was able to get rebounds and second-chance points. She made her living on the glass, finishing with 16 rebounds, adding 13 points.

“They’re two different people, but they complement each other so well on the floor,” Mader said. “They’ve both been playing for me since they were freshmen and their knowledge of the game is just irreplaceable.”

The Pirates’ defense also was impressive, limiting the Bantams to just 27% shooting.

Clarkston will play Lewiston at 1 p.m. at the Activity Center in the third-place game.

A game of spurts

From the outside looking in, it might be weird that a 1A DI team is a favorite against a Class 5A team, but you have to realize who Lapwai is.

After Lewiston’s Zoie Kessinger drilled a 3-pointer to open the game, it wouldn’t score again in the first quarter as the Wildcats (9-1) closed the period on a 23-0 run.

The Bengals (4-6) demonstrated some heart in the second by going on a 14-4 spurt to find themselves down 27-17 at the half.

“We thought we were going to bring that same effort (as the first quarter) into the second,” Lapwai coach Ada Marks said. “But (Jaelyn) McCormack-Marks got into some foul trouble and losing her kind of slowed our offensive production down.”

Kessinger hit three more 3s in the quarter and she finished with a team-high 16 points.

The Wildcats were paced by McCormack-Marks’ 20 points.

CLARKSTON (5-2)

Kendall Wallace 3 1-3 7, Olivia Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Ryann Combs 1 0-0 2, Taryn Demers 0 0-0 0, Eloise Teasley 2 0-0 5, Ella Leavitt 1 4-4 7, Alahondra Perez 3 0-0 7, Samara Powaukee 3 0-0 6, Joey Miller 0 1-3 1, Alexia Villavicencio 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 6-10 37.

PRAIRIE (7-2)

Lexi Schumacher 4 1-2 10, Kristin Wemhoff 4 6-11 14, Riley Enneking 0 0-0 0, Tara Schlader 5 3-6 13, Alli Geis 1 1-3 3, Hailey Hanson 1 1-4 3, Sage Elven 0 0-0 0, Kylie Schumacher 3 0-2 6. Totals 18 12-28 49.

Clarkston 9 11 6 11—37

Prairie 16 15 7 11—49

3-point goals — Teasley, Leavitt, Perez, L. Schumacher.

———

LAPWAI (9-1)

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks 8 0-0 20, Jordyn McCormack-Marks 5 4-5 14, Ama George 0 0-0 0, Skylin Parrish 0 2-4 2, Lauren Gould 3 4-4 11, Jayden Leighton 0 0-0 0, Taya Yearout 0 0-0 0, Qubilah Mitchell 0 2-2 2, Madden Bisbee 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 12-15 51.

LEWISTON (4-6)

Reese DeGroot 0 2-2 2, Breanna Albright 0 0-0 0, Bay Delich 0 0-0 0, Dilynn Albright 0 0-0 0, Addison McKarcher 4 2-4 10, Zoie Kessinger 6 0-2 16, Lillian Samuels 2 0-0 4, Savanah Burke 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-8 32.

Lapwai 23 4 17 7—51

Lewiston 3 14 9 6—32

3-point goals — Ja. McCormack-Marks 4, Gould, Kessinger 4.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.