Genesee claims first girls basketball district title in two decades
Bulldogs defeat Nezperce to claim their first district tournament championship in more than 20 years
LAPWAI — Heading into Tuesday night, the Genesee Bulldogs had not claimed a girls basketball district title in over 20 years.
They got that proverbial monkey off their backs, though not without having to work for it first. Top-seeded Genesee bested the Nezperce Nighthawks 57-51 in the 1A Whitepine League district title game to lift the trophy at Lapwai High School and book its first trip to State in recent memory.
Nighthawks start strong
Based on the teams’ previous encounters — both comfortable wins for the Bulldogs, the more recent being a 58-32 rout exactly a month earlier on Jan. 11 — one might have expected the No. 1 seed to cruise to the title without drama.
The Nighthawks, however, have stepped up for the postseason, as evidenced by their season-high scoring performance in a 73-21 win against Timberline of Weippe to start the district tournament and decisive 45-32 upset over second-seeded Deary in the semifinals.
They led early and continually tested the Bulldogs, who not only entered as regular-season 1A Whitepine League champions and top seed, but were and are No. 1 in Idaho Class 1A state power rankings generated by both idahosports.com and maxpreps.com.
Nezperce coach Kaci Ralstin said her team’s focus coming out was to “shut down the perimeter” on the rangy Bulldogs (20-1), and the Nighthawks found quick success in doing so. Genesee connected only once from long range through the first seven-plus minutes of play while Nezperce (9-10) focused its offense on the inside, achieving a two-possession lead at 12-7.
Monica Seubert broke a 3-point drought for the Bulldogs in the closing seconds of the first quarter to cut things back to 12-10, then Kendra Meyer followed up with another shot from well outside the arc on the first possession of the second, putting Genesee up 13-12. From there, things heated up as the Bulldogs and Nighthawks traded leads several times before Nezperce went cold and Genesee led 31-22 at halftime.
Bulldogs come in clutch
Heroics around the hoop from Jada Jensen kept the Nighthawks in it through much of the third quarter, with a Jensen layup rolling in at the buzzer to bring things within single digits at 46-38 as the Bulldogs had been threatening to pull away.
Dueling chants erupted from the teams’ fan sections heading into the fourth, and the Nighthawks came out with a sense of urgency on fast breaks and defense that saw them draw back within a single possession at 39-36 midway through the final frame.
Ultimately, however, Genesee kept its cool and maintained the lead while Nezperce missed a half-dozen critical free throws over the last few minutes of play.
“I told (the Bulldogs) on one of our last timeouts when (the Nighthawks) were making a little bit of a run that they’ve been clutch all year, and I just told them to believe in themselves,” Genesee coach Greg Hardie said.
Stats of note
In the end, the Nighthawks had a 23-22 edge in total field goals, but Genesee’s 3-point production and superior accuracy from the free-throw line (7-of-10 to Nezperce’s 5-of-14) carried the day.
The Bulldogs owed the bulk of their offensive output to Chloe Grieser (22 points), Kendra Meyer (14) and Monica Seubert (11).
“Especially being a senior, it’s really special to make it this far,” Meyer said.
Seubert is also a senior, while Grieser is a junior. All three are making their first-career trip to State for basketball.
Genesee coach Greg Hardie calls the trio his “three basketeers.”
“That’s been pretty typical throughout the season,” he said of the scoring numbers.
Jensen totaled 16 points for the Nighthawks. Teammates Morgan Kirkland, Kairys Grant, Paityn Ralstin and Avery and Aubree Lux chipped in around a half-dozen apiece, with Ralstin grabbing a team-high five rebounds.
Up next
Nezperce will face Highland at 6 p.m. Thursday back at Lapwai in a consolation game for a chance to advance to a state play-in game against an opponent to be announced at Post Falls High School on Saturday. Genesee enjoys a rest, then travels to the Idaho Class 1A state tournament at Nampa High School on Feb. 20-22.
“When it comes down to crunch time, they’ve been tough all year, and I’m just really proud of them,” Hardie said.
NEZPERCE (9-10)
Avery Lux 3 0-0 6, Raegan Mosman 0 0-0 0, Paityn Ralstin 3 0-0 6, Aubree Lux 2 2-4 6, Elizabeth Duuck 0 0-0 0, Helen Wilcox 2 0-0 4, Abigail Duuck 0 0-0 0, Morgan Kirkland 2 3-4 7, Jada Jensen 8 0-6 16, Melia Johnson 0 0-0 0, Izzy Horton 0 0-0 0, Kairys Grant 3 0-0 6. Totals 23 5-14 51.
GENESEE (20-1)
Sydney Banks 2 2-2 6, Monica Seubert 4 2-4 11, Miley Grieser 2 0-0 4, Alia Wareham 0 0-0 0, Rylie Baysinger 0 0-0 0, Mya White 0 0-0 0, Chloe Grieser 10 1-2 22, Kendra Meyer 4 2-2 14, Sophie Johnson 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Herman 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 7-10 57.
Nezperce 12 10 16 13—51
Genesee 10 21 15 11—57
3-point goals — Meyer 4, Seubert Grieser.
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
