Imperious Pirates sail past Tigers and into district title game

Prairie of Cottonwood has reached the final of every girls basketball district tournament it has played for more than a decade running, and the Pirates were not to be denied in continuing that streak despite a spirited effort from the Kendrick Tigers in Saturday’s semifinal round at Lewiston High School.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Pirates will also enter the final holding the top seed. Prairie topped Kendrick 55-41, setting up a Class 2A district title clash with perennial rival Lapwai.

Pirate possession pays off

The Pirates (19-2) were not at their best shooting, going 23-of-66 (35%) in field goal attempts and 3-of-11 (27%) from the foul line, but they dominated possession and had far more scoring opportunities than the Tigers. Kendrick (11-11) was more accurate at 17-of-45 (37.8%) from the field and 7-of-10 (70%) at the line, but could not make up the difference.

As they have done much of the season, cousins Lexi and Kylie Schumacher headed things up for Prairie, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Kylie Schumacher made her effort a double-double with 12 rebounds. Sydney Shears added another 11 Pirate boards to go with her seven points, and Hailey Hanson had a complete showing with five points, six assists and six steals.

“I would say for us, we should literally dominate the paint in our league, because we are so much bigger than everybody else,” said Prairie coach Lori Mader, who logged her 300th career win with the Pirates on Jan. 21 against Clearwater Valley of Kooskia. “I wouldn’t say this was our best performance, but there’s always things to get better with, and we need to get better with each game. If you’re the No. 1 seed, you need to get better with every night.”

Hali Anderson of Kendrick was the game’s overall high-scorer with 22 points courtesy of a 7-for-13 night from the field and a spotless 6-for-6 free throw performance, adding nine rebounds to boot. The Tigers’ Hayden Kimberling was a “monster on the glass,” in the words of coach Blair Moore, as she snagged a much-needed 14 boards in addition to scoring eight.

“I’m super-proud of how we played,” Moore said. “It takes a pretty perfect game to beat Prairie. They’re tough, and I think we played them well.”

It was the middle quarters that established Prairie’s dominance, with the Tigers struggling to get up shots or keep the ball at all as nearly every pass they attempted for long stretches of play was intercepted or fiercely contested by the Pirate defenders. Kendrick did not go away, managing a slight resurgence in the final frame kicked off by a traditional three-point play off a steal and fast break layup from Anderson, but fell short of cutting the deficit to single digits.

Up next

Kendrick returns to action in loser-out play against Troy on Monday at 7:30 p.m., while Prairie faces Lapwai in the final on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., both back at Lewiston High.

The Pirates and Wildcats split two regular-season league encounters, with Prairie prevailing 55-49 on Jan. 16 before Lapwai struck back for a 50-46 decision nine days later. That was the Pirates’ only loss from their last 15 games. They currently hold second place in the idahosports.com Class 2A state power rankings, trailing only Oakley — the other team to defeat them this season — with the Wildcats close behind in third.

“I feel like if we come out strong, thinking we can do it, we (will) play very good,” Lexi Schumacher said, expressing excitement and confidence. “If the outside shooters are having an off time, we can rely on our posts, and if they’re having a hard time — we have everyone participating.”

KENDRICK (11-11)

Hayden Kimberling 4 0-0 8, Mercedes Heimgartner 1 1-2 3, Hali Anderson 7 6-6 22, Ashna Casto 0 0-0 0, Brehlynn Clemenhagen 0 0-0 0, Hailie Hoffman 3 0-0 6, Shylei Johnstun 0 0-0 0, Blake Boyer 2 0-2 4. Totals 17 7-10 41.

PRAIRIE (19-2)

Lexi Schumacher 6 0-0 14, Aubree Rehder 1 0-0 3, Sydney Shears 3 1-2 7, Hailey Hanson 2 0-0 5, Nadia Cash 0 0-0 0, Mia Anderson 1 0-0 2, Ellie Nuxoll 3 0-4 6, Kadence Kalmbach 0 0-0 0, Erica Schlader 0 0-0 0, Sage Elven 3 0-0 6, Kylie Schumacher 5 2-5 12. Totals 23 3-11 55.

Kendrick 13 10 10 8—41

Prairie 17 19 15 4—55

3-point goals — Anderson 2, L. Schumacher 2, Rehder, Hanson.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.