Mavericks fall one game short of state tourney

The season for the North Country Lady Mavericks ended in Wolf Point last Saturday in the consolation final round of the 2016 Eastern C Tournament.

"I was very proud of my girls," Lady Mavericks Head Coach Amber Erickson told the PCN. "I felt they competed very hard at the divisional tournament. I thought it was the toughest divisional tournament I've coached in since I've been here."

Despite its youth, the team played valiantly, and nearly clinched a berth in the 2016 State C Tournament in Great Falls.

Ultimately the fatigue of the consolation rounds caught up to the Lady Mavericks, who lost their final game 48-35 to the Mon-Dak Thunder.

In their opening game at the Eastern C tourney, North Country defeated Mon-Dak 49-47 in dramatic fashion as they ended the game with a fast break layup. It was a game that almost ended in heartbreak, as Mon-Dak stormed down the court only to miss the good ahead layup that would have given them the advantage.

As Mon-Dak attempted a fast break bucket with less than fifteen seconds to go in the game, North Country's Bailey Funk cut off the lane forcing the Mon-Dak player to go up too hard on the layup, grabbing the offensive board Mon-Dak had another opportunity that would be blocked by 6-footer Mickayla Johnson who also grabbed the rebound, passed the ball to Kayleigh Cummings, who found point guard Tatum near half court, who rifled a pass to Jada Sudbrack who turned the pass into the game winning layup.

Moore led the charge scoring 22 points. Johnson scored 12 points. Sudbrack had eight points. Funk had four points. Cummings would score two points and Casity Boucher had one point.

"They battled through and got that first win by fighting hard, keeping at it and not giving up," Coach Erickson said.

The team would lose their next game the following night to the Froid-Medicine Lake Redhawks. The score was 57-52.

"Had we played our best game, we would have beaten Froid-Medicine Lake but unfortunately the shots just didn't fall for us that night," Coach Erickson said.

Moore led in scoring with 23 points. Sudbrack would score 15. Johnson would score eight points and Casity Boucher would score six.

The team would have a strong start, outscoring the Redhawks 19-9. The second and third quarters would ultimately sink the team as they were only able to score four points in the second and eight points in the third. They outscored the Redhawks 21-18 in the fourth but the damage was done and the Lady Mavericks would find themselves facing elimination.

Saturday morning the Mavericks would earn a trip to the consolation championship game by defeating the Richey-Lambert (RL) Thunder.

"Defense always wins," Cummings said when asked about the key to their victory over the Redhawks.

Where the second and third quarters were a liability against Froid-Medicine Lake, those quarters would ultimately put them up enough to win the game. The quarter by quarter scores were: 11-10 RL, 23-20 NC, 36-28 NC and 48-44 NC.

Boucher also had a strong outing in the Eastern C tourney. She agreed with Cummings' opinion on how they won.

"Our defense gets us going," Boucher said. "Our defense gets up tips and transition lay ups. That's where we score a lot of our points."

It was the first time the team had seen Richey-Lambert this season and the first time in the career of many Lady Mavericks including Boucher.

"We were a little bit nervous because we've never seen them play, not even in this tournament," Boucher said.

Defeating Richey-Lambert would ultimately take its toll on the Lady Mavericks as they would lose 48-35 later that day.

Moore would score 17 points. Sudbrack would score 12 points, Johnson would score 11 points. Cummings would score four points. Funk and Boucher would score two points each.

"It's really hard mentally and physically to bounce back after a semi-final loss," Coach Erickson. "We were able to get that morning win and that was a tough, hard-fought game. Saturday night I think we ran out of gas. It's not that they weren't in good shape, I just think we were just physically and mentally exhausted at that point."

She gave some credit to Mon-Dak for having a strong bench and very athletic players.

"We were trying, we just couldn't get things going," Coach Erickson said. "I am proud of how they competed and I'm proud of the great season they had after we lost (the state championship.)"

The team had high goals despite its youth.

"Their goal was to play Saturday night at divisionals, to win the conference and to win the district," Coach Erickson said. "We started thinking that state was right there. And it was right there in our grasp but they played Saturday night in divisionals and that was of their goals. We had a great season."

She went on to say how proud she was of her team's improvement throughout the season.

The end of the year, means the Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale co-op has played its final game with its brightest star thus far, Moore who has led the team in nearly every game she has played as a Panther or Maverick.

Moore has had a stellar career racking up 1,704 points, 295 assists and 335 steals.