Murekatete shines, but Genesis Prep falls in semis
LISA JAMES/Press Bella Murekatete of Genesis Prep gets around Salmon River players during their state 1A Division II semifinal game at Nampa High on Friday afternoon. Genesis Prep lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressChrista Manzi of Genesis Prep scores during the second half of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressBella Murekatete of Genesis Prep passes during the last quarter of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressGenesis Prep players rally during a timeout in the last few minutes of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressGenesis Prep passes played Salmon River in their state championship playoff game at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressRachel Schroeder of Genesis Prep tries to block Chevelle Shepherd of Salmon River during their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressBella Murekatete of Genesis Prep passes during the last quarter of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon.
LISA JAMES/PressJosie Scribner of Genesis Prep catches a pass during their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon.
LISA JAMES/PressBella Murekatete of Genesis Prep passes during the last quarter of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon.
LISA JAMES/PressJosie Scribner of Genesis Prep prepares to shoot a free thro during the last minutes of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon.
LISA JAMES/PressBella Murekatete of Genesis Prep shoots during the last quarter of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressBella Murekatete of Genesis Prep passes during the last quarter of their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon.
LISA JAMES/PressGenesis Prep players react after losing their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
LISA JAMES/PressGenesis Prep players react after losing their state championship playoff game against Salmon River at Nampa High School on Friday afternoon. Genesis lost 66-51.
NAMPA — Bella Murekatete had another monster game for Genesis Prep, but the Jaguars came up short in a 66-51 loss to Salmon River in the semifinals of the state 1A Division II girls basketball tournament Friday afternoon at Nampa High.
Murekatete, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, totaled 26 points, 23 rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots for Genesis Prep (14-6). On Thursday, she had 33 points, 29 boards, eight assists and five blocked shots in a 59-38 win over Rockland.
Sophomore guard Rachel Schroeder added 15 points and four assists for the Jaguars, who play Nezperce (20-3) today at 10 a.m. PST at Nampa High in the third-place game.
Sophomore point guard Chevelle Shepherd scored 29 points for Salmon River (17-5), which plays Butte County (23-0) today at 8:30 a.m. in the championship game at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Maddy Tucker added 19 points and seven steals for the Savages.
Trinity Morrow had five assists for Genesis Prep, playing at its first state tournament in its second season as an Idaho High School Activities Association-sanctioned program.
Genesis Prep 20 14 5 12 — 51
Salmon River 13 19 14 20 — 66
GENESIS PREP — Morrow 0, Manzi 0, Schroeder 15, Blood 2, Scribner 8, Jones 0, Kim 0, Martin 0, Murekatete 26. Totals 23-54 2-5 51.
SALMON RIVER — Tucker 19, Gubitosi 0, Hollon 0, Shepherd 29, Branstetter 5, Hofflander 0, Diaz 2, Laritz 11. Totals 18-52 29-37 66.
Ririe 69
St. Maries 53
BOISE — The Lumberjacks committed 38 turnovers in a loss to the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the state 2A girls basketball tournament at Bishop Kelly High.
“They’re a great defensive team,” St. Maries coach Jay Sines said of Ririe, which jumped out to a 12-0 lead. “They pressured the ball, and took us out of our offense.”
Shelby Holder had 15 points and six rebounds for St. Maries (16-5), which plays Soda Springs (22-4) today at 10 a.m. PST at BK in the third-place game. Kaylee Auer added 10 points and six boards for the Lumberjacks.
Haddi Williams scored 20 points for Ririe (24-3), which plays Malad (22-2) today at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa in the title game. Malad defeated Soda Springs 44-37 in the other semifinal.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-10 lead after one quarter and led by as much as 27 points.
“Like I told the girls, there’s a lot of girls in the state that would love to play for third place,” Sines said. “They’re down a little bit, but I think we’ll be ready tomorrow.”
St. Maries played without Devyn Wilson, who suffered a knee injury in Thursday’s overtime win over Cole Valley Christian and is out for the tournament.
Ririe 28 15 16 10 — 69
St. Maries 10 14 8 21 — 53
RIRIE — H. Williams 20, Coles 0, Gaxiole 0, C. Griffith 14, Brown 3, Boone 8, Johnson 7, I. Williams 0, Larsen 15, Ulrich 2, Park 0. Totals 24-60 14-28 69.
ST. MARIES — Sines 7, Peet 2, Borgman 0, Haeg 7, Cordell 1, Hill 0, Davenport 3, Becktel 0, Ke. Auer 8, Holder 15, Ka. Auer 10. Totals 14-44 22-31 53.
Carey 38
Lakeside 33
NAMPA — The Knights’ bid for a third state trophy in as many seasons came up short as Lakeside fell to the Panthers in a loser-out game at the state 1A Division II tournament at Nampa High.
Lillian Rhea had 18 points and nine rebounds for Lakeside (16-4), which went two and out after winning the consolation title each of the last two years. Sarah Daman grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Knights were just 14 of 49 from the field (including 1 of 13 from 3-point range), and 4 of 13 from the free-throw line.
Lindsey Morey, Athana Versis and Jaicee Parke each scored eight points for Carey (9-13), which plays Castleford (18-7) for the consolation title today. The Panthers were just 9 of 21 from the line.
Carey 9 12 8 9 — 38
Lakeside 9 6 7 11 — 33
CAREY — Koyle 0, L. Morey 8, Chavez 4, O’Riley 0, Smith 5, Versis 8, Parke 8, Green 5, Black 0. Totals 14-36 9-21 38.
LAKESIDE — Palmer 0, Rhea 18, S. Pakootas 2, SiJohn 0, Adrian 2, Daman 0, T. Pakootas 7, Arthur 1, Peone 3, Olson 0. Totals 14-49 4-13 33.