BASKETBALL is the BOND

To be good at basketball, it’s said that a player needs to invest countless hours into the sport.

Practicing consistently, finding time to take some jumpers, work on some skills that might pay off down the road.

This group at Lake City High, they are no different.

Practicing consistently and working on skills to be better at whatever comes next.

Now basketball, that’s a little different.

“I only play basketball during the high school season,” said Bridget Rieken, a 6-foot senior post and soccer star. “From the end of districts last year, to the beginning of basketball season this year, I didn’t play basketball. Basketball is one of the fun sports for me, so to keep it that way, I don’t need to do it 24/7.”

Rieken’s not alone.

“This is my second year (on varsity),” said 5-6 senior guard Klaire Mitchell, a volleyball standout. “But I hadn’t played before then since the sixth grade. I always came to games because my friends played. I always wanted to join and see if I was even good at it.”

“Not all of us are specified to basketball,” said 5-5 senior point guard Chloe Teets, who like Rieken excels at soccer. “We’ve got a couple of players that are starting like Dejah (Wilson), Kendall (Pickford), Sara (Muehlhausen) and Brooklyn (Rewers) that are mainly dedicated to basketball. Whereas me, Klaire and Bridget, and some of the other players that basketball isn’t our sports, but it’s more fun. This year, it’s turned into our main sport as we’ve been competing throughout the year.”

Lake City finished third at state in both girls soccer and volleyball in the fall.

“Comparing the environment from basketball to soccer, it’s a different feel,” Teets said. “You see in ‘The Den’ (Lake City’s student section), there’s 100 kids behind you, whereas in soccer, it’s different. You play a two-hour game and score maybe four times a game. In basketball, you’re scoring almost every second. The Den’s going crazy, and the fans are going crazy.”

Mitchell has signed to play volleyball at NCAA Division I Grand Canyon in Phoenix. Rieken has signed to play soccer at Washington State. Teets will continue her soccer career at NAIA College of Idaho next fall.

“It’s just one of those things that I’ve just done it,” Rieken said. “I stopped playing AAU basketball in eighth grade. I just realized I don’t have to do it 24/7. In high school, it’s just one of those fun things I do to keep in shape and stay active.”

Muehlhausen, a 6-3 post, signed with NAIA Lewis-Clark State to play basketball in October.

“I started playing basketball a lot later in life,” Muehlhausen said. “I started playing in seventh grade, and since then, I’ve played quite a bit. Lewis-Clark State has a great program and they’re looking for length and agility, and think I can bring that to their program.”

Muehlhausen was encouraged to begin playing by her family.

“I always liked to play street ball with my brothers,” Muehlhausen said. “I tried out in seventh grade for the first time and was picked up by an AAU team. I’ve had some coaches that have told me I’ve got a lot of potential, so I’ve just continued to stick with it.”

Once it turns to basketball season, Rieken, Mitchell and Teets are all in on basketball.

“This team is a blast to coach,” second-year Lake City girls coach James Anderson said. “They have so much fun together, but then they are so competitive on the court. Every one of them hates losing a drill in practice. It feels like war some days. We will miss the competitive nature of the seniors.”

Both Rewers and Wilson — who play basketball year-round — play on competitive travel ball teams.

“It really gets me exposed to college coaches, so I play a lot during the (high school) offseason,” said Rewers, a 6-3 sophomore post, who plays for the Northwest Blazers of Portland.

“I play a lot of basketball,” said Wilson, a 5-8 guard who has played travel ball with Spokane Legacy and North Idaho Elite. “I spend a lot of time in the gym. When I have free time, I get out and do it.”

Lake City (20-3), which won the 5A Region 1 championship last week, opens play at the state tournament on Thursday against Eagle (19-5) — the District 3 runner-up — at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa at 12:15 p.m. PST.

“The first game, it’s one of those games where the atmosphere plays a huge role in it,” said Rieken, who played on Timberwolves teams that qualified for state in 2016 and ’17. “A lot of the girls on the team haven’t been to state and been in that atmosphere. When you get to that big arena, and the lighting and music, it’s a new experience. The first game will be the toughest. Once we get past the first game, I think we’ll be OK. In that first game, we’ll just have to play our game and calm down a little bit.”

Thanks to a full-court pressing style on defense, Wilson shattered the school record for steals in a game (10) and in a season (105). The previous record was 78. Mitchell has 78 steals, Rieken 74 and Teets 60 this year.

“At least three kids will break the record in the same year, maybe four,” Anderson said. “I’ve never heard of that. That’s so unique and speaks volumes to how hard this team plays defense. In the championship game (at the Evergreen Christmas tournament in Vancouver, Wash.) vs. Burlington-Edison, Dejah broke the record for steals in a game (10) for the second time this year. In that game, she had 12 steals and deflected 16 other passes vs. high-level competition. I’ve also never heard of such a feat. Credit should also be given to having two 6-3 posts behind them protecting the rim, which has allowed us to be so aggressive.”

“I’ve always spent time playing defense,” said Wilson of the steals record. “My dad has always told me that defense wins games. It was never my intention, but I knew I was never the best shooter. I just try to contribute the most that way, and see the ball well.”

“We’re a pretty fast team, and I think our press is one of our strengths,” Rieken said. “It allows us to press people and we can fluster them easily.”

“It’s a mix of everything,” Rewers said. “We’ve got some players in the post, and some players that can shoot the ball. It really just depends on what happens on any given night. Overall, I think we mesh together really well.”

“It’s just all of our personalities together,” Wilson said. “We all get along really well. We’ve got a special bond, and it just works out for us. We have a lot of fun together. We all have our special talents, and it just works really well together.”

In the Vancouver tournament, Lake City beat Union of Vancouver 56-31 and previously unbeaten Skyview of Vancouver 60-41.

“We played the top teams down there, so just seeing what we could do, it really helped us,” Mitchell said. “We improved a ton that weekend. It was super good for us.”

Lake City has lost once — a 56-50 loss to Central Valley at home on Jan. 19 — since Dec. 1.

“Our strength is really just how athletic everyone is,” said Rewers, whose sister, Lauren, is a sophomore playing at Hawaii. “The group of girls and skill we have almost makes a perfect team.”

Lake City fell at Mountain View in the Timberwolves’ third game of the season. The night before, Lake City won 57-51 over Boise, a team the T-Wolves could meet in the semifinals with wins by both on Thursday.

“To me, this is such a special team,” Anderson said. “The community has really embraced us. We’ve had so many little kids coming to games this year because they look up to these girls so much. They’ve been in our camps and our locker room with us, and great connections have been made. Everywhere we’ve traveled, people have commented on how our girls play, how they carry themselves, and how much fun they are to watch.”

Of those already committed to playing at the next level, only Teets is weighing playing multiple sports.

“I’ve thought about doing basketball as a walk-on, or maybe being a practice player,” Teets said. “I definitely want it to be part of my life later on. Playing basketball has had a huge impact on my life. They (College of Idaho) have Jocelyn Cook-Cox (who played her freshman year of basketball at North Idaho College, and soccer as a sophomore) that does both. I don’t know; I think it would be fun to get that in a college atmosphere.”

Before that happens, there’s the team business this week to finish off.

“To be successful, it’s going to take everyone coming together,” Wilson said. “It’s kids like Aubrey (Avery) coming off the bench and shooting the ball well. Klaire and I up top, and Bridget and Brooklyn down low. We’re all just working together, finding the right shots and playing good defense.”