Jaguars settle for second

NAMPA — It was nearly an wonderful day to be a Runnin’ Jaguar.

After fighting back from an early 13-2 hole, Genesis Prep had its shot, and Rachel Schroeder delivered.

But Butte County had the final shot, and scored the final points of the game.

Tausha Cummins hit a 12-foot jumper with 7.8 seconds left to push Butte County of Arco past Genesis Prep of Post Falls 43-41 in the state 1A Division II championship game Saturday morning at the Ford Idaho Center.

Bella Murekatete, a 6-foot-4 junior post who had a record-breaking tournament, had 25 points and 30 rebounds for Genesis Prep, which finishes 15-10. The Jaguars, in their third season as an Idaho High School Activities Association-sanctioned program, were third last year in their first trip to state. Butte County, which won a second straight 1A Division II title, concludes 23-3.

Schroeder, a junior point guard, hit a 3-pointer with 14.8 seconds remaining to tie the game at 41, the first time the game was even since the opening tip.

“I was in rhythm and Bella gave me a great pass,” Schroeder said. “We executed the play really well and the shot fell in.”

Murekatete finished the tournament with 86 points, breaking the classification record by eight points. She also had 62 rebounds in the tourney, 52 coming on the final two days. The IHSAA does not keep state tourney records for rebounds.

“What matters right now is the team,” said Murekatete, from Rwanda. “This hurts right now. It’s nice, but this hurts as a team. This state tournament is one for the books. Next time, we’ve got to dig deeper. You’ve got to hustle and do whatever you can to help your team win.”

Butte County, which won its fifth state title in program history, hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to jump out to a 13-2 lead. The Pirates led 15-4 after the first quarter, and were up by as much as 21-6 in the second quarter.

“We were hoping we could get enough pressure up front and get some turnovers and get enough of a cushion,” Butte County coach Carla Hansen said. “We knew they were going to lob it up to her (Murekatate), and it’s a crapshoot. And usually she wins that battle. We still let them get enough points off that and knew we had to contain No. 25 (Schroeder) because she’s a great shooter and good ballhandler. She’s just a player.”

“We’d talked about that first-quarter run after the game,” first-year Genesis Prep coach Brandon Haas said. “The biggest thing that helped that was we switched to a man-to-man defense. And the girls just responded and had a lot more energy. And they fought the entire way. That man-to-man defense was intense.”

After Schroeder’s 3-pointer went in to tie the game, Butte County rushed up the court to set up the final play.

“My coaches wanted me to call a timeout,” Hansen said. “I told them know the girls are fine and they know what to do. And they did. Shay (Lambson) went to drive and pitched it to Tausha and she came through.”

Murekatete scored 14 in the second half for Genesis Prep.

“We kept her under 30,” Hansen said with a laugh. “She’s tough and we knew that she was going to be tough. She’s an athlete, and I’m not sure how you defend her. We don’t usually play against players of her size, and she can shoot the ball too.”

“Rachel gets Bella open,” Haas said. “And those two played the best three games they’ve played together. With Rachel just getting the ball inside, with all the pressure she had, my goodness, it was probably enough to create a black hole in the universe. But Bella, again, was straight poised. Once she started settling in and the ball started falling, she just kept on that roll. And they did that together. I could be more proud of the entire team. They rose up to the task, put their nerves to the side and played basketball. From where we started the season to where we finished, it’s not the same team. Emotionally, physically, they grew. Us as coaches, we’re proud of them.”

With a chance for Butte County to extend its lead in the final minute, Josie Scribner of Genesis Prep blocked a shot, corralled the rebound and got the ball to Schroeder, setting up the tying basket for the Jaguars.

“She’s been doing that all year long for us,” Haas said of Scribner. “She comes up with this key moment where she — she’s a great volleyball player — and she gets this volleyball spike going. And it’s perfect timing. When she did it, we just kind of looked, and said, ‘Oh, she did it again.’”

Scribner finished with six rebounds and two points.

“We’ve just got to play harder next time,” said Scribner, a junior. “We’ve got to play as a family and work together and won’t fall apart at the end. This tournament started really good for us and I thought we put up a great fight in the end.

“It’s hard right now because first was right in our hands,” Schroeder said. “But, after we sleep on it, it’s still a great accomplishment.”

“It’s still a great day to be a Runnin’ Jaguar,” Haas said. “These girls should walk out of here with their heads held high. I’m so proud of them. We’re walking out of here knowing we did our job.”

Butte County 15 8 13 7 — 43

Genesis Prep 4 13 12 12 — 41

BUTTE COUNTY — Buxton 4, Coburn 3, Cummins 12, Brownlee 2, Lambson 22, Isham 0. Totals 15-57 7-8 43.

GENESIS PREP — Schroeder 14, Greiner 0, iManzi 0, Scribner 2, Martinez 0, Kim 0, Murekatete 25. Totals 15-47 8-12 41.