One Nation, Under God
Phillips County was well represented in a few Jamboree Basketball Tournaments over the weekend of Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17.
The fifth-sixth grade Jamboree Lady Mavericks, eight grade Malta M-ettes, and junior high Coyotes won titles in their respective groups during their district jamboree tournaments.
The Lady Mavericks only played nine regular season games, with only being three teams in the 3C District. The team played each district team twice and three teams outside of the district once. The Mavericks won all nine games. North Country won their first District Tournament game over Nashua. The score was 37-6. The team went on to defeat Frazer in the championship game 48-15.
"We came out ready to play," Mavericks Jamboree Coach Sherri Idler said. "We took it from the beginning. We were just on top of it defensively, and it was pretty amazing. It didn't matter who I put in they took care of business."
The Mavericks scored 32 points in the first half.
"The scores of our games don't really reflect what this team is capable of," Idler said. "Their ability to see the floor and move the ball was really unlike any young team that I have ever coached."
The Mavericks had previously defeated Frazer 32-8 in their first clash of the regular season and they won by nine points in their second game.
"A lot of our girls on this team really understood the basics of the game and have a love and IQ for the game," Idler said.
The 2B Tournament took place in Glasgow and the 8th-grade M-ettes rose to the occasion, defeating the home team Glasgow Lady Scotties 39-17 in the championship game. The M-ettes compiled a 20-0 record this season.
"The key was the girls' work ethic and their attitude pertaining to wanted to be successful," said 8th grade Malta M-ettes coach Caitlin Anderson. "They showed up to practice and put in the work. They put in a ton of work outside of the season."
In her six years of coaching, Smith said this eighth-grade team has made one of the largest impacts.
"They have awesome attitudes, and not just in basketball," she said. "They want to be successful in 4-H, band, in school, and any sport that they are doing. This group was really refreshing, and it has been one of my favorite years of coaching."
Coach Anderson also believes that this unit is capable of so much more in their future years.
"I have a lot of belief in the work that they are going to continue to put in and I am confident that they are going to bring more blue banners to hang in the gym," Anderson said.
The Dodson Coyotes junior high team won the 3C title for the second season in a row, blowing past Nashua in the semi-final round and then Lustre in the championship match. The team was 12-1 this year. In their game against Nashua, Dodson only allowed two points before halftime. According to Coach Frank Benson, the team won by 30 points.
"They play as a team," Coach Benson said. "They don't care about how many points they get. They play as a team and they care about winning. They don't care about anything else."
The team gained a 28-2 lead over Lustre during the first half of the championship and ultimately won 59-20.
"It was crazy," Coach Benson said, expressing pride in his team. "I didn't even need to be there because they were on a mission."
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