M-ettes head to state

The M-ettes will have their hands full this week as they head to Butte for the 2020 State Class B Girls' Basketball Tournament. The tournament will be played alongside the Boys' tournament this week starting Thursday, March 12, and concluding on Saturday, March 14.

The Northern B will be represented by the champion Malta M-ettes, runner up Shelby Coyotes, and third place Harlem Wildcats. The Western B will be represented by the champion Loyola-Sacred Heart Rams, and second place Bigfork Valkyries. The Southern B will bring the champion Colstrip Lady Rams, second-place Big Timber Sheepherders, and third place Forsyth Dogies.

Prior to the post-season six of eight state contenders were ranked in the top ten class B schools around the state in 406mtsports.com's top ten. Malta was not one of those teams, but the team has taken well to being underestimated, winning the Northern B title last weekend, going 3-0.

Malta Head Coach Nate Hammond shared his approach to the shortened week.

"A lot what we are working on is the mental side of the side, not so much conditioning," Coach Hammond said. "We will only have two practices at home and then we will hit the road Wednesday and practice there."

The M-ettes are slated to take on the Dogies, who was listed in the aforementioned website's top five. Their first-round game is scheduled for Thursday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center.

"We are just really excited about the way we are playing right now and that we will get a chance at state to do the same thing and play the same way," Malta Head Coach Nate Hammond said. "

The Dogies amassed a 16-2 record in the regular season, which included an eight-game winning streak to finish the regular season. Forsyth made it to the 3B District Championship against Colstrip on Saturday, February 22, but lost 30-29.

The Dogies went 3-1 at the Southern B Divisional tournament, losing their semi-final game against Big Timber. The score was 51-45. The bounced back defeating Whitehall and then Roundup to take third place and the south's last spot in the state tournament.

The Dogies feature a rare talent at the center position in Lindsey Hein, who has ties to Malta. Her mother Former Forsyth Head Coach Terri Hein (Weiderrick) is a former M-ette and the daughter of Ross and Karen Weiderrick.

Lindsey has been a star post for Forsyth, standing at 6'6".

"Lindsey is a great player with long arms, who does a lot of great things," Coach Hammond said. "She presents a lot of challenges on offense and defense."

According to Coach Hammond, Hein isn't the only facet to Forsyth's game.

"They have some really quick guards and every team at the state tournament is good," Coach Hammond said. "They are really good and it will be fun."

Depending on the outcome of the game, Malta will either see Sweet Grass County (Big Timber) or Big Fork in the next round.

Prior to their Southern B Divisional Championship loss to Colstrip, Big Timber was undefeated, racking up 22 wins this year. They won the 5B District title over Three Forks. The score was 45-34. Big Timber reached the Southern B title game by defeating Lodge Grass and Forsyth in the first two rounds.

Big Timber will likely be led by Bailey Finn who led them in the South's title game with 23 points.

"She is a very good guard for them," Coach Hammond said.

Finn is also surrounded by Emily Cooley, Alyssa Boshart, Darby Johnston, Lauren Neibur and Hailee Brandon, who all have socred in double-digits in games this season.

Before coach Hammond moved to Malta, he was the Girls Coach at Bigfork High School.

"We played Bigfork in the first game of the season and beat them in overtime," Coach Hammond said. "Bigfork has a big group of seniors and they are a well-rounded team with a lot of good players. All of the teams are a little different on our side."

On the other side of the bracket, Colstrip kicks the tournament off against Shelby. The Rams are the only team to have defeated Big Timber this season. Their game starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Colstrip was 13-4 during the regular season and haven't lost a game since Saturday, February 8. The Rams were led by Kya and Baily Egan who each had 14 points in their Southern B Title win.

Shelby has been on the receiving end of two championship loses this season, suffering a 47-40 loss to Fairfield in the 1B District title game and then a 47-38 loss to Malta last Saturday in the Northern B Championship.

In their loss to Malta, Shelby was led by Maddison Underdal and Bailey Johnson who had 11 points and 10 points that night.

Game two will feature Harlem and Loyola-Sacred Heart. Harlem has only had two losses this season. The first loss was against Malta in Malta in January. The team's second loss was by the hands of Shelby, who defeated them 53-45 at the Northern B on Friday night. Harlem bounced back to defeat Wolf Point and then Glasgow in the elimination bracket, earning them the last spot out of the North.

The team will likely be led by L'Tia Lawrence, Taya Trottier, and Kailee Henry, who are each a three to score in double-digits on a nightly basis. Lawrence had twenty points in Harlem's win over Glasgow, while Trottier added 16 and Henry added 13.