NAMPA, Idaho – Queen’s “We Are the Champions” was blaring outside of the Wildcats’ locker room.

That rang true – again.

Lapwai claimed the 11th girls basketball state championship in program history with a 63-37 victory over Prairie on Saturday. It was also the second in three years and the seventh in the 1A D1 classification. 

“I think just a lot of it has to do with the youth basketball before they get into high school basketball,” said Lapwai coach Ada Marks, who has coached players on seven of those teams and won one herself as a player (2002). “So that’s where a lot of the camaraderie comes from. These girls are molded into leaders and take ownership of the program from an early age.

“Lapwai in general, you’re held to a high standard.”

A standard the Wildcats (21-3) met and then some. All but two of their wins came by double figures. Their only losses were to 5A state qualifier Post Falls, Richland (WA), a 4A Classification team – the highest in Washington – that won the district championship for Eastern Washington, and at Prairie for the first time in eight years. Lapwai also beat 2A state champion Cole Valley Christian by 20 points this season.

“(It’s) one of the best,” said junior wing Lauern Gould, who had 15 points and four boards, when asked where this year’s team ranks among all the others.

Lapwai left little doubt on the game’s outcome. No. 3 Prairie (20-5) played its district rival close early on with the game tied at 6-6 with three minutes gone by. But the Wildcats ended the quarter on a 15-3 run before really putting the Pirates away in the third by holding them to just two points.

Prairie went just 15 of 53 (28.3%) from the field for the game. 

“We were playing the scoreboard for a while before slowing them down and playing on our level,” said sophomore guard Jordyn McCormack-Marks, who finished with a game-high 19 points and five rebounds. 

Senior guard Delanie Lockett and junior post Tara Schlader scored 10 points apiece. Schlader recorded a double-double with 10 boards for Prairie, which finished state runner-up for the third year in a row.