NAMPA − The Rockland High School girls basketball team doesn’t travel on a school bus.

It made the 227-mile trek to state inside a van with “Rockland Bulldogs and the school’s logo painted on the side instead.

“I’ll tell you what, our van was rocking this morning. We had Kendrick Lamar blaring on the speakers at 8 a.m. and at every stoplight, we were shaking the van left to right,” senior Calyn Permann said with a laugh. “Our van probably brings us closer together because it’s so small. Every seat in that van is full and we have to sit next to each other and we have to smell each other. We are right next to each other constantly on the four-hour road trips and the 40-minute road trips. It’s so fun.”

But there was still just enough room for some added cargo on the return trip home.

The Bulldogs claimed their third state championship in six seasons with a 56-39 win over Genesee in the Class 1A Final Saturday inside the Ford Idaho Center.

“I might have to hold the trophy on my lap, and we might have to put the banner across a couple of laps,” said Rockland head coach Jordan Black with a laugh. “But we’re not letting those out of our sight. Those are coming with us.”

It’s hard to blame them.

While they already had two other pieces of blue hardware in their trophy case and a pair of banners up in the gym’s rafters (2020, ‘22), these ones are different. They’re the first without former longtime coach Vern Nelson.

He stepped down abruptly at the end of the 2022-23 season due to his bout with pancreatic cancer. Nelson, who guided the program to those two aforementioned state titles during his 28 years at the helm, actually coached that season while undergoing chemotherapy.

He lost his battle on Feb. 22, 2024 at the age of 71.

But one of the last things he did was watch his beloved program beat conference rival Mackay in a state consolation semifinal game just six days earlier. The Bulldogs even commemorated the moment by taking one last team photo with their legendary coach.

“Thanks for taking care of my girls,” said Black, who needed a moment when asked what Vern would have said to her after this win.

“We’ll never forget Coach Vern and what he did for us and his legacy,” added Permann. “Vern’s biggest thing is offense wins game, defense wins championships. And I think we showed that today.”

Rockland (21-5) certainly did. Particularly in the second half.

Genesee (22-2) scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut the Bulldogs’ seven-point halftime lead down to two at 25-23 just a minute and a half in. It prompted Black to call a quick timeout.

“I told them, ‘We need to get back, relax, settle in and just play our game,’” said Black who is just in her second season after coming from Grantsville, Utah. ‘”Don’t give in to what they’re trying to give out − the chaos, make us lose our balance a little bit. Just stay focused, stay the course.’”

The in-game speech worked.

The Bulldogs answered with a 18-5 run to end the quarter. After forcing 13 second-half turnovers, the lead grew to as much as 18 points at 54-36 on a 3-pointer from backup Madison Radford with 2:55 remaining in regulation.

“It’s huge,” said Black of the response and getting the backups into the game. “Because at the end of the day, I want for us to be back here. That’s the goal. So getting them out there, even if its only for a minute, to have that experience, lights a fire inside of you.”

Rockland was amped up well before that, though.

After missing its first seven shots of the game and falling into an early 6-2 hole, it took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by senior Alexa Permann with 30.2 seconds left in the opening quarter. It was all part of a 13-3 run over the next four minutes for the Bulldogs, who created 21 turnovers in total. Genesee also had its second-worst offensive output of the season − only the 34-29 win against Deary during the fifth game of the season on Dec. 17, 2024 was worse.

Genesee shot just 25.9% from the field, including 8-of-35 (22.9%) from 3-point range.

“If all else fails, play solid defense and that’s what they did,” Black said. “We told them, limit Genesee opportunities to score. All we got to do is cut off the lane and put pressure on the perimeter. They knew their job. They knew what they were supposed to do. They knew what was going to have to be required of them to pull out a win.”

Which is something the Bulldogs have been doing a lot lately.

This was their seventh consecutive postseason appearance. They’re 145-36 (.801), including five 20-win seasons, and now have five state trophies during that timespan.

Prior to the state championship in 2020, Rockland had never even played in a title game before. The only other times it had even placed at state was in 2014 (third) and 1998 (fourth).

Now, the Bulldogs are just the fifth Class 1A program to win three state titles in a six season span in Idaho history.

“It’s a dream honestly, because we’ve wanted this since our freshman year,” said Alexa Permann, who dressed as a freshman during the previous title run. “We knew we could do it. It’s just the manifestation and the want. Watching the older teams do it, that’s really what pushed me. Sitting on the bench, watching that team win, was a good motivator.”

So is her cousin Calyn Permann.

The dynamic duo nearly outscored Genesee themselves with a combined 35 points. Calyn, who is the oldest, led the way with a game-high 20 points to go with six steals, five rebounds and four assists. Alexa finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards.

“I didn’t get to play with my sister who won it her senior year. So playing with Calyn, it’s just a dream,” Alexa said. “It’s what we work for. It’s like playing with a sister.”

“We obviously have our moments where we probably fight like sisters,” added Calyn. “But seriously, the bond, it has been something that I’ll never take for granted. I’m so glad that we were able to end on this high note.”