A good day to be a Cougar
Courtesy photo Genesis Prep Academy senior Bella Murekatete signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Washington State University on Wednesday afternoon. From left are, Barry Buer (host parent), Bella Murekatete and Kim Buer (host parent). In the back row are Genesis Prep athletic operations manager Shella Brearley, Genesis Prep boys basketball coach Marsell Colbert, Genesis Prep girls basketball coach Brandon Haas and Genesis Prep principal Chris Finch.
For someone that stands 6-foot-5, Genesis Prep senior Bella Murekatete was pretty unknown in her early days on the basketball court.
That all changed after her sophomore season of high school basketball.
Murekatete, a center from Ngoma Huye, Rwanda, was playing for the North Idaho Elite AAU basketball team at the time when she caught the eye of coaches at Washington State University.
“They actually sent another guy down to watch a different player,” Genesis Prep girls basketball coach Brandon Haas said. “They were watching another girl, and he ended up calling his coach and said ‘you’ll never guess what I’m looking at.’”
On Wednesday, Murekatete signed a letter of intent — the first day of the early signing period in all sports except football — to continue her career at Washington State starting next fall.
“I’m definitely relieved right now,” said Murekatete, a three-year starter for the Jaguars of Post Falls. “It’s great to have it done.”
At the conclusion of last season, longtime WSU coach June Daugherty stepped down and Mary Etheridge, who coached at Northern Colorado, took over the program.
“I was thinking of a lot of different schools,” Murekatete said. “Arizona State, Gonzaga, Oregon State and Boise State. But Washington State just felt like a family. As a player, you want to go somewhere where you’re wanted and it feels like a family atmosphere. And it feels like it’s going to have everything I need. It’s close enough to home (Post Falls) and it’s only a few hours away.”
“Boise State was heavily recruiting her,” said Haas, who begins his second year as coach this year. “She definitely had some good schools interested in her.”
Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s tournament last March.
“I’m excited to play at that level,” Murekatete said. “It’s something that I’ve been preparing for and feel like I’m ready for that. I’m ready to play against those kinds of players at that level.”
In addition to Murekatete, Lake City senior Bridget Rieken signed to join the Cougars women’s soccer program.
A three-sport athlete, Rieken helped lead the Timberwolves to 53 wins over her four seasons, and was the 5A Inland Empire League MVP as a junior and senior.
Genesis Prep senior Jonny Hillman signed to continue his playing career as a member of the NAIA Carroll College men’s basketball team. Hillman led Genesis Prep to back-to-back state 1A Division II championships in 2017 and 2018.
Gonzaga added Jacob Rutherford, a Post Falls High senior, to its baseball roster starting in the spring of 2020.
Post Falls finished third at the state 5A baseball tournament in May with a 17-12 record. It was the program’s first trophy from state since 2005, when the Trojans finished second in 4A. Post Falls was at state for the first time since 2006, also in 4A.
Ridge Lovett, a senior from Post Falls High, signed to wrestle at Nebraska starting in the fall of 2019. Lovett, a three-time state 5A champion, enters his senior year 129-0. In July, Lovett won a national title in Greco Roman wrestling at the Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. He also won a national title in folkstyle.