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M-ettes fall in 2B Title Game

The Malta M-ettes were in the 2B District Tournament Championship for the first time since 2017, but lost the game to 48-46 Harlem last Saturday, February 22.

The M-ettes will now enter the 2020 Girls Northern B Divisional as the 2B's second seed. They will face the Rocky Boy Morning Lights on Thursday, March 5, at 8 p.m. in the opening round, giving the team a couple of week's rest between tournaments.

"I don't really like it so much, but if we don't have it before divisionals, then we will have it before state," Malta M-ette Head Coach Nate Hammond said. "It has its benefits but the problem is that you don't know what you are going to have a week and a half later."

Last weekend in Malta at the 2B District Tournament, the M-ettes nearly found themselves winning the title and giving Harlem their second loss this year. Teams split their regular season with Harlem winning their first meeting 48-47 late December, and Malta taking the second game 49-40 last January.

In last Saturday's game, Malta found themselves up by as much as nine points in their championship loss. The M-ettes were led by junior Erica Smith who had 14 points. Freshman Kylee Nelson had nine points. Senior Carly Garfield had eight points and six rebounds.

"I thought we were playing hard and playing our game pretty well," Coach Hammond said. "It felt like Harlem shot the ball well enough to win. They really got after it by setting those screens on the baseline and hitting threes."

Senior Kelbee Denham had six points and twelve rebounds.

Harlem was led by L'Tia Lawrence who had 19 points. Kailee Henry had 17 points and had five treys. Taya Trottier had seven points.

The M-ettes had turned the ball over 19 times, while Harlem only gave up the ball nine times. The M-ettes won the battle of the boards, racking up 45 rebounds, while the Lady Cats had 27.

While the first quarter was a close 9-8 in favor of the M-ettes, Malta eventually started to pull away, outscoring Harlem 15-9 in the second quarter. The peak of Malta's lead was 26-17 in the third quarter.

The perimeter heated up for Harlem in the third quarter and the Lady Cats had a 15-6 run in the third, eventually tying the game 32 all.

Malta was unable to stop the momentum that Harlem gained. Both teams traded buckets and the lead several times in the fourth period.

Malta had a 46-43 lead with 1:20 left in the game, but a trey by Lawrence tied the game. Harlem's Taeshon Sheaffer drew a foul with only 23 seconds left in regulation. Sheaffer made both attempts, putting Harlem up 48-46.

Malta had multiple attempts at shots in their final possession but the team was unable to score.

The third time did end up being a charm in Malta's opening game against the Glasgow Lady Scotties on Friday, February 21. The M-ettes were able to finish strong with a 21-10 fourth quarter to defeat Glasgow 50-44.

"We had a great fourth quarter," Coach Hammond said. "There were a lot of runs throughout the game. We had two three pointers in the last thirty seconds of the first quarter, they made two threes to end the second, they went on an 8-0 run at the end of the third and we went on a run in the fourth."

The M-ettes were led by freshman Allie Kunze who had 12 points and six rebounds. Smith had 11 points and six rebounds. Denham had 11 points.

"Defensively, we worked our tails off against Glasgow and I was really proud of that," Coach Hammond said. "I think we had been disappointed in how we played Glasgow in the last two times. This time, I think our kids wanted to come out and have a better night."

 

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