M-ettes win Northern B Crown over Fairfield

The Malta M-ettes won the 2021 Northern B Divisional title over the Fairfield Eagles last Saturday night in Wolf Point, earning the team its second division title in two years.

"Our seniors have been very excited these last two weekends to have this success their senior year so far," Coach Nate Hammond said when asked of his senior's emotions after the Northern B. "I think it's also pretty sweet for these kids because a lot of this season and a lot of this year has been a question mark."

Entering this week's MHSA State B basketball tournament, the M-ettes will face the Missoula-Loyola Heart Breakers, who enter this week's tournament as the third seed out of the West. The team will likely be led by Natalie Clevenger, Lani Walker, and Kelsey Esh, each of whom are double-digit score threats. Clevenger led the Breakers in their state qualifying win over Bigfork last Saturday with 15 points and Walker added 14.

Malta will face either the Big Timber Sheepherders or the Anaconda Copperheads depending on the outcome of their games. Big Timber enters the tournament as the State's top-ranked team, having won the Southern B Championship 49-40 over Colombus last Saturday. The trio of Bailey Finn, Hailee Brandon, and Emily Cooley are each double-digit scorers. Finn scored 32 points in the Herders' 5B District Championship win over Whitehall a couple of weeks ago.

Anaconda is the West's runner-up after losing the Western B Championship 64-50 to the Eureka Lions last Friday night.

In addition to their 49-33 championship victory over the Lady Eagles, the M-ettes also defeated the Choteau Lady Bulldogs 64-22 on Friday, March 5, in the semifinals, and the Cut Bank Lady Wolves 63-22 in the opening round on Thursday, March 4.

In Malta's win over Fairfield, the M-ettes were led by Allie Kunze who had a 12 point, 12 rebound double-double. She averaged a double-double throughout the entire tournament.

"I think one of Kunze's biggest strengths is the ability to rebound offensively very well and know where the ball is going to bounce off of the rim," Coach Hammond said.

Kunze also had two blocks and two steals. Maddie Williamson had 10 points and four steals. Senior captain Kylie Hunter had nine points, each of which came in the fourth quarter off of three treys. Justine Lamb had seven points.

Erica Smith, an M-ette senior captain had seven steals and six points.

"Erica had a ton of steals all weekend," Coach Hammond said. "It was amazing how hard she was working on the defensive end this weekend."

Malta and Fairfield were locked in a defensive battle in the first half, and ultimately the team's entered half-time tied 19-19.

"In the first and second quarter, I think that we were a little over-anxious, especially when we had the ball," Coach Hammond said. "We turned the ball over in transition when we were trying to force things."

During the first half, Malta turned the ball over 11 times, in the second half they only had four. The M-ettes were able to force Fairfield to turn the ball over 24 times and score 17 points off of those turnovers.

After the half, the M-ettes outscored the Lady Eagles 30-14 in the second half of the game and limited the Lady Eagles to five points in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we settled down," Coach Hammond said. "We took better care of the ball, got better shots, and turned the ball over only four times in the second half."

Coach Hammond said that Fairfield was tough, and played a hard, smart, and competitive game.

In the team's 64-22 win over Choteau, the M-ettes kept the Lady Bulldogs to eight points or under in every quarter.

Malta was led by Maddie Williamson who had 14 points, four steals, and three rebounds. Kunze had a 13 point, 10 rebound double-double, which included 6 offensive rebounds. Kylie Hunter had nine points, five assists, and three steals. Justine Lamb had eight points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Addy Anderson had six points and four rebounds. Aubri Werk had four points and four rebounds. Kylee Nelson had four points and five steals.

Malta had 11 turnovers while forcing Choteau to turn the ball over 25 times. Malta scored 17 points off of turnovers. The M-ettes also out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs 35-to-22. Malta's bench accounted for 30 of Malta's points.

Malta reached the free-throw line for 17 attempts and made 12 shots (70%), and the Lady Bulldogs were 4-of-6 (66%). The M-ettes made 25 of their 54 shots from the field, and Choteau made 7-of-38 (19%).

In Malta's win over Cut Bank in the opening round, Malta outscored the Lady Wolves 42-12 in the first half. Kunze led all scorers with 22 points. She also had a double-double with 11 rebounds. Anderson had 10 points and six rebounds. Lamb had eight points, six rebounds, and three steals. Smith had eight points, seven steals, and four assists.

Malta had a total of 20 steals and scored 32 points off of their 23 forced turnovers. The M-ettes had 17 points off of the bench and 16 second-chance points.