Prep profile: Scheffelmaier hopes to enjoy state experience a final time

Kootenai High senior point guard Cassie Scheffelmaier said the highlight of her basketball career came in her freshman year.

The good news for Kootenai fans is that her high school career isn’t over yet.

Scheffelmaier, a four-year starter, helped her team take fifth place at state back in 2004.

Cruising into this week’s 1A District I tournament with a 16-2 record, the Warriors of Harrison are looking to one-up – at least – their finish of three years ago.

“That was a fun season, because we had a pretty good team and I got to play with my sister, Linda,” Scheffelmaier said of her freshman campaign. “But anything can happen this year – there’s a possibility we can do even better.”

So what’s it going to take?

“We need to have a lot less turnovers. When you get to state you can’t have 30 turnovers a game – there’s no way you can win with that,” said Scheffelmaier, who averages about 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals this year.

“We’ve been learning how to control ourselves this year, and we’re hoping that experience gets us there.”

With numbers like hers, pressure to perform is always there, but Scheffelmaier takes it in stride.

“I feel like I have to be in there and I have to be doing something,” said Scheffelmaier, who had 1,373 career points through last week. “But, I mean, I only scored one point last week against Clark Fork, and Kendra Willms stepped up and scored 27.

“I had 11 assists that game, so I was happy with that.”

The third of four sisters, Scheffelmaier said her whole family “is pretty competitive” and she’s learned a lot from at least two of her siblings – for better or worse.

“My older sister Janelle has taught me all the post moves I know, so she’s helped me a lot there,” Scheffelmaier said. “And me and Linda, we just go at it – we’re very competitive, and we love playing with each other.

“But when we’re against each other, the games would go on forever – neither one of us wanted to lose, and sometimes it would get pretty dirty.”

Scheffelmaier said she plans to attend a community college next fall – Walla Walla, Mt. Hood in Oregon and Casper in Wyoming are on the short list – and wouldn’t mind if playing basketball were part of the curriculum.