M-ettes split weekend games

It was a bittersweet weekend for the Malta M-ettes (4-6) as the team defeated the Shelby Lady Coyotes after losing to the Glasgow Lady Scotties (3-7) for the first time in over a decade.

The M-ettes are scheduled to take on the Harlem Wildcats (7-3) on Friday, January 18, at 7:30 a.m. The team will then travel to face the Poplar Lady Indians (9-2) on Saturday, January 19, at 5:30 p.m. On Tuesday, January 22, Malta’s JV team will travel to Dodson to take on the Lady Coyotes JV team at 6:30 p.m.

The M-ettes defeated the Shelby Coyotes 36-29 on Saturday, January 12.

“We got a lot of our confidence back,” M-ette Captain Erica Smith told the PCN. “We were shooting a lot more, so that was good.”

The team was led by Kyleigh Schipman who had a game-high 15 points and two steals. Schipman knocked down two treys and started the game three-of-three from the field, which included a pair of mid-range jumpers. Schipman was six-of-ten from the field.

“Kyleigh did awesome tonight,” Smith said. “She did great. She had a lot of confidence and she was just draining them. We were getting pumped and it brought a lot of energy to our team.”

Kloie Marks had six points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Smith had four points and three steals. Carly Garfield had three points and nine rebounds, which included five offensive boards.

Kelbee Denham, Raina Mortenson, Sidney Meeks, and Justine Lamb each scored a two-point field goal.

Being that it was the last game of the week, Garfield, the team’s other captain was asked about things the team needs to work on.

“We need to continue to work together as a team because sometimes we aren’t always good at that,” Garfield said. “And we always need to have confidence like we did tonight.”

Both teams ended the first quarter with 11 points after the M-ettes jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the game. Would outscore Shelby 6-3 in the second, bringing the halftime score 17-14. Malta scored 13 in the third quarter while holding Shelby to five. Shelby cut into Malta’s lead in the fourth quarter, but a pair of late free throws by Marks would seal the game, keeping Malta ahead by three possessions.

The M-ette JV team also defeated Shelby’s JV team 56-32. The team was led by Kylie Hunter who scored 14 points. Aidan Wiese had 11 points. Sidney Meeks had eight points.

The Lady Scotties defeated Malta 40-36 on Friday, January 11, at Scottie Gymnasium.

According to a Glasgow social media site, it was the first time in 15 years that the Lady Scotties had defeated the M-ettes. Had the M-ettes won last Friday’s game the M-ettes they would’ve defeated Glasgow 40 straight times.

“We didn’t have much confidence during that game but it was close most of the time,” Garfield said.

The M-ettes were led by Marks who scored 12 points and racked up five rebounds. Smith had 11 points, four steals, and three rebounds. Kyleigh Schipman had nine points, seven rebounds, six steals, four assists. Schipman had two points, four rebounds, and three assists. Raina Mortenson had two points and two steals.

Malta forced 21 turnovers, but the team also turned the ball over 17 times. Malta scored 17 points off of turnovers, while Glasgow scored ten. Glasgow out-rebounded Malta 29-23. Glasgow’s bench outscored Malta’s 10-2.

Glasgow made 14-of-35 (40%) shots from the field, while Malta made 11-of-39 (28%) from the field. Malta was one-of-thirteen (7%) from the three-point line. Malta also made 13-of-21 (61%) from the charity stripe.

Malta fell behind in the first quarter, giving up a 9-6 lead by the sound of the first buzzer. The team would bounce back in the second quarter outscoring Glasgow 11-7. Glasgow would gain the lead in the third, outscoring Malta 14-9, making the score 30-26 at the conclusion of the third period. Both teams scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.