Former M-ette becomes National Champ

Former Malta M-ette standout Darby Schye ended her college basketball career on the highest of notes last Tuesday, March 19, as the University of Montana Western Bulldogs won the 2019 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship.

By winning the championship, Schye, a senior, has ended her career as a champion in college as well as high school in 2015 with the M-ettes.

"I feel like the State Championship games really prepared me for that moment," Schye told the PCN. "I felt calm and I felt comfortable in the situation with my teammates because I knew what it had been like to be in that situation and it's really cool. It's indescribable. It's really cool because I have gotten to know really cool people and really hard working people through it."

Schye, the daughter of Tad and Amy Schye former educators at Malta Public Schools, became the first M-ette since Shayley (Bebee) Simanton to win a national title in collegiate basketball. Simanton won the NAIA Championship in 2000 with the University of Mary Marauders.

The Bulldogs defeated the Oklahoma City University Stars 75-59 to win the title at the Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings, after defeating the Freed-Hardeman University Lions 78-71 in the semi-finals of the NAIA Tournament on Monday, March 18. The two wins of the tournament gave Schye and her team redemption having been knocked out of last year's tournament by Freed-Hardeman in 2018, and Oklahoma City in 2017.

"We were really nervous for the semi-final game more than the championship, because after the semifinal game we knew we were meant to win this and we are built to win this," Schye said. "We decided right then that we were going to win it."

During the team's championship win Schye was a perfect 2-of-2 from the field, hitting a jump shot from the top of the key in the first half and a reverse layup in the second half. Schye also grabbed a pair of rebounds.

The Bulldogs controlled the game throughout gaining an 18 point lead over the Stars at halftime.

"We got in the locker room and we were all pumped," Schye said. "Then Coach (Lindsay Woolley) reminded us that the game was not over."

Coach Woolley reminded his team that Oklahoma City had overcame a 20 point deficit earlier in the year. Schye would later be confident that the Bulldogs would win after the conclusion of the third quarter.

"We had a really great third quarter and we didn't let up and it just carried over," Schye said. "The last couple of seconds of the game, it really set in."

The team was led by tournament MVP Brianna King, who scored 37 points in the championship game, and 39 points in the semi-final game. King hit a buzzer-beating trey to tie the game in regulation.

"I am just really blessed to have played with really good point guards my whole life," Schye said. "Playing basketball with a nice point guard makes things a lot smoother. Things are fluid and happen easier."

Schye was a dominant post player in her days of M-ette years, having played with two-time Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Sophia Stiles who currently plays basketball for the University of Montana Lady Grizzlies.

Schye didn't pick a favorite guard between Stiles and King but praised both guards for their approach to the game.

"I have no idea what that matchup would be like, they are completely different players," Schye said. "Bri is definitely a score first type and Sophia knew when she was open but she also knew when somebody else was open and she would try to get them the ball. They are both similar because they can just take over a game and control things when they need to."

Though she was all-conference from 2013-2015 in Malta, Schye was not relied on as a scorer in her college years, and she humbly accepted her role as a rebounder and defender, noting that her favorite college game happened when she was put up against Master's University's Stephanie Soares, a 6'6" post. Schye is 6'0".

"I had to work as hard as I could for my team because it could have been our last moment," Schye said.

Playing the role of a rebounder in games was a role that started even in her M-ette days. The selflessness that Schye displayed in accepting her role was common amongst the Western players and staff.

"Growing up in Malta was perfect for me because I did well but I was never scoring like Sophia or Hailey Nicholson," Schye said. "Everyone that was on my team from my teammates to my coaches, my trainers, and my managers; everyone did what they could and accepted their roles."

Despite not shooting much in her career, Schye made over half of her shots in her senior season going 28-of-53 (53%) from the field.

"I told myself that this was it," Schye said. "I wasn't going to force anything."

Throughout her career, Schye had constant support from mother, father, siblings (Tucker and Ella), extended, family and friends at games, especially when games were in Eastern Montana. Though many couldn't attend the games, many in Phillips County and around the country saw Schye's final moments on the court by tuning into ESPN 3 for the NAIA Championship game.

"The fans that I had in Malta were awesome," Schye said. "So many people were sending me pictures, texts and were congratulating me saying that they watched the game and I can't even say how good it felt. It was astonishing."