Hard road for M-ettes

Despite winning the Northern B Title, the Malta M-ettes will open the State B Tournament in some unfamiliar territory against a few strong teams representing the South and West.

“There are three teams on our side of the bracket that we have not played this year,” M-ettes Head Coach Nate Hammond said. “The only two teams we’ve played are Wolf Point and Fairfield and they are on the other side.”

Malta’s first opponent will be the Three Forks Wolves (19-3) who lost the Southern B Crown last Saturday to the Colstrip Rams, after leading for most of the game. Coach Hammond and the team were present in Billings to see their opponents play at the Rimrock Auto Arena, the same venue the State B will be held starting Thursday.

“Three Forks had won the semi-finals the night before by over forty points,” Coach Hammond said. “They are a pretty good team.”

Hammond went on to explain some things that the Wolves did well.

“They are a great shooting team,” he said. “They shoot the three pointers very well. They are very fast. They run the floor well. They got a six-foot kid that runs well and a five-ten kid that runs well too.”

Having outlasted Fairfield in the Northern B Title game, the M-ettes likely faced their toughest opponent at the time, Three Forks is another beast.

“I think this is one of the tougher opening matches we have ever had for the first round of the tournament,” Coach Hammond said. “Both of those teams out of the south have a very good chance of playing well and being one of the best teams in the state tournament.”

Colstrip and Ronan aren’t the only threat to the M-ettes repeating as state champs. Ronan, the Western Divisional Champion was ranked among news outlets as the top ranked team for weeks after Malta suffered their lone defeat of the season.

“Ronan has some five-ten kids that can shoot three pointers well,” Coach Hammond said. “They can penetrate well. They are another team with a fair amount of seniors. They were at the state tournament last year with no seniors, so it’s a pretty seasoned crew there.”

The third team on Malta’s side of the bracket is Red Lodge, who has had hot and cold streaks this season. The Rams defeated St. Labre in the consolation finals, preventing the Braves from their second straight state appearance.

“When they’ve played really well, they have been able to win big,” Coach Hammond said. “They’ve got a six-one player that can score anywhere on the floor. They are the state volleyball champions this year and they’ve got really athletic kids that can jump.”