M-ettes take 2B crown in Wolf Point; Focus on state berth

:The Malta M-ettes would not be denied the 2B District championship last weekend, as they ran right through the Plentywood Wildcats 59-22 in the semi finals and then defeated Wolf Point 59-35 in the championship on Saturday in Wolf Point. "It's awesome to feel like we've got something accomplished and finally got a tournament out of the way. We're in the post-season now," Coach Nate Hammond told the PCN. It marks the third time in four years that Malta has won the district title. It's also Coach Hammond's second title in as many years coaching the team. Because of their efforts, Malta will open up the first round of the Northern B Divisional Tournament in Malta against the 11-8 Cut Bank Lady Wolves, who are the fourth seed coming out of the 1B District. If Malta can make it past the Lady Wolves they will more than likely see the Fairfield Lady Eagles who lost the 1B District title to the Choteau Bulldogs, who defeated Fairfield 46-32. The Divisional championship will likely go through Choteau, who has only lost to Rocky Boy and Fairfield early in the regular season. Choteau is matched up against Plentywood in the opening round. If Choteau defeats Plentywood, they will see the winner of the Conrad and Wolf Point game in a semi-final match. The key for Malta to win in a game against Choteau is to outplay their defense, who hasn't allowed over 50 points in a single game this year. "We just need to come ready to play and play like 'we' can," Senior forward Darby Schye told the PCN. In last week's 2B District Tournament Malta was as dominant as they've been all season. In their 59-35 championship win against Wolf Point last Saturday, Sophia Stiles exploded for 30 points, 26 of which she scored in the first half. She hit three treys that game. Stiles also had 10 rebounds, four steals and four assists. Hailey Nicholson had seven points and 11 rebounds. Markelle Lett had six points. Darby Schye had five points and eight rebounds. Marley Manoukian also had five points. Jada Nicholson had four points. Kelsey Keuhn had two points and six rebounds. "I couldn't score much tonight, but my teammates made up for that," Schye said. "It's nice to be able to have teammates that can make up for everything and score whenever we need to." To Wolf Point's credit, they were a tough team in the paint, not making it easy for anyone to score inside. "Mariah Weeks is a really good player. So is Kylie Driftwood and Jessica Bauer," Schye said. " This team definitely has the best post players in our district. "It's really nice to play them because it's real competition and fun," Schye continued. Malta had 42 rebounds to Wolf Point's 24. The M-ettes had 25 second chance points. In their 59-22 victory against the Plentywood Wildcats, Darby Schye led Malta with 19 points and eight rebounds. Stiles had 16 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and seven assists. Manoukian had eight points. Hailey Nicholson, Kuehn and Jada Nicholson each scored four points in the game. Lett and Shay Garfield scored two points a piece. Malta limited Plentywood to just seven buckets after attempting 36 shots (19 percent). Malta was 28 of 53 (52 percent) from the field. Malta outrebounded Plentywood 35-17. The M-ettes scored 30 points off of turnovers. "We passed great and played like we can. When we play like we can, it's awesome," Schye said. "We all just came ready to play. That's how it needs to be and that's when we get things done." Though Malta is good, the team knows there are a few things they can work on. "We've got to work on our offensive execution this week," Coach Hammond said. "We've got to keep up the defensive pressure and the rotations that our kids have gotten so good at." Coming into the divisional playoffs as an undefeated, Malta is a far shot from being an underdog, which can add pressure to any team. "The more confidence the kids have in what we're doing, the less pressure they feel," Coach Hammond said.