M-ettes hang on to beat Glasgow

The Malta M-ettes basketball team split a pair of games against tough competition last week.

The M-ettes were defeated by the Havre Blue Ponies on Tuesday, January 25. The team bounced back with an exciting win over the Glasgow Lady Scotties on Thursday, January 27.

The M-ettes are scheduled to face the Rocky Boy Lady Stars on Thursday, February 3, in the MHS gymnasium at 6 p.m. They will then travel to Roundup to face the Roundup Lady Panthers on Saturday, February 5, at 2:30 p.m.

The M-ettes defeated the Glasgow Scotties last Thursday night in Malta. The score was 38-33. Malta junior Allison Kunze was asked what was key in their victory.

"I think teamwork," Kunze said. "We all came together at the end, we had good intensity, and we just worked really well together and knew to play smart."

Malta was led by a trio of scorers, Kunze, Brylee French, and Addy Anderson had eight points apiece. Justine Lamb had six points, Lauren Tuss had four points and Maddie Williamson had four points.

Glasgow was led by Sabrina Harsh, a new transfer student, who scored 14 points off of the bench and sparked the Lady Scotties defensively and offensively. Abrianna Nielson had 10 points.

Harsh, a 6-0 junior, gave the M-ettes a problem in the paint, racking up a few blocks in the first half, and helping Glasgow limit Malta to seven points in the first quarter. Glasgow scored nine points.

Malta's offense started to roll in the second quarter, knocking down three treys, two of which came from French. The M-ettes totaled 16 points, while holding Glasgow to nine; all scored by Harsh. The halftime score was 23-18 in favor of Malta.

The Lady Scotties outscored Malta 8-6 in the third quarter and earned the lead with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

M-ette starters Kunze and Lamb were in foul trouble throughout a majority of the game, and both players had four fouls early in the third quarter. The duo would defend the paint well, without fouling out of the game.

"I was struggling with it, but knew that I had to be mentally tough and that I had to be tough for the team, keep my hands straight and see what happens," Kunze said.

Anderson, a starter described what it was like out, there without two of Malta's leaders in Kunze and Lamb.

"It was kind of nerve-wracking not having our two posts out there to help with (Harsh) because she is really good," Anderson said. "It was pretty scary not having them in there."

Anderson just said that she had to keep herself in check, mentally.

Glasgow led 33-29 with less than 3:31 remaining. During a late M-ette possession, Kunze was fouled on a shot and knocked down one of two free throws, making the game 33-30.

Glasgow would fail to score on their next possession thanks to a steal by Tuss, and Kunze knocked down a pullup jump shot in transition, making the score 33-32.

Malta stopped Glasgow from scoring during the next few possessions, but could not make a shot to take the lead until less than 30 seconds remained. Coach Hammond called a time-out during Malta's possession with 32.6 seconds remaining in the game.

The play was a layup, drawn up for Justine Lamb, who did not disappoint a very loud Malta crowd. Lamb's layup put Malta on top 34-33 with 21 seconds left.

After a Glasgow timeout, Malta's Kunze would contest a layup by Harsh and would steal the ball, drawing an immediate foul.

Kunze would miss the one-and-one, but the ball was rebounded by Anderson. Anderson made both bonus shots, putting Malta up 36-33.

Glasgow would turn the ball over on another possession, and Kunze would seal the game 38-33, after making two single-bonus free throws.

The M-ettes had a tough outing against the Havre Blue Ponies and lost 55-26.

The M-ettes were led by Kunze, who had 11 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Williamson had eight points and seven steals. Tuss had three points. Lamb had two points, six rebounds, and two steals. French had two points.

Havre outscored the M-ettes 28-11 in the first half and 27-15 in the second half. The M-ettes were held to four points in the first quarter and three in the fourth quarter. Malta shot 8-for-39 (20%) from the field and was outrebounded 39-to-19.