Lady Mavericks Third at State C Tourney

For the second year in a row, the North Country Mavericks have brought back a State C Girls Basketball trophy, after finishing third last Saturday, March 12, in Great Falls.

"It feels great," North Country Head Coach Amber Erickson said. "Bringing home a state trophy is amazing and it takes a lot of things to align right, things to go your way, and a lot of hard work."

She said that to end your season on a win, you either win first or third place.

"In a weird way, it feels way more amazing than last year just because of the fact that we were able to finish on a win," Coach Erickson said.

Last season, the Mavericks fell 74-60 to Fort Benton, who didn't return to state this year.

The North Country Mavericks earned the 2022 third-place trophy by winning three out of four games at state in dominant fashion including their consolation finals game over Twin Bridges, who they also defeated in the opening round of the State C Tourney.

The Mavericks defeated Twin Bridges in the consolation finals 68-30.

On Thursday, March 10, the Mavericks opened the State C with a 59-28 win over Twin Bridges. Then lost a hard-fought semifinal battle with Box Elder on Friday, March 11. Box Elder lost the State C Championship to Roy-Winifred on Saturday.

After their loss to Box Elder, the Mavericks defeated Carter County 72-39 on Saturday morning, setting North Country up for their third-place finale against Twin Bridges.

"The girls put together a great tournament," Coach Erickson said. "We came up a little short last night (against Box Elder), but Box Elder is a good team. My kids left it all out on the floor. They played hard and didn't have a lot to hang their heads on."

In their consolation finals win over Twin Bridges, the Lady Mavericks were led in scoring by senior Jaycee Erickson and sophomore Paige Wasson who each had 21 points. Wasson also had seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Sophomore Teagan Erickson, who had a 19 point outing in the first game against Twin Bridges, scored six points, against Twin Bridges, but racked up 13 rebounds and led the Mavericks with five assists and four blocked shots. She was 3-of-3 from the field.

"She was a facilitator and only shot the ball three times," Coach Erickson said.

Kora LaBrie had eight points and two steals. Zaondora Longtree had six points and three steals.

North Country outscored Twin Bridges in every quarter; 17-6 in the first quarter, 16-7 in the second quarter, 17-10 in the third quarter, and 18-7 in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks' largest lead was 66-27 (39 points) late in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks were 25-of-46 (54.3%) from the field and knocked down 8-of-15 three-point attempts. North Country made 10-of-11 free throw attempts. J. Erickson was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

In the Mavericks' consolation semifinal win over Ekalaka, North Country was led by senior J. Erickson who scored 20 points along with six steals, four assists, and four rebounds.

Wasson had 17 points and two steals. T. Erickson had eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Kendall Scheffelmear had eight points and seven rebounds. Kora LaBrie had seven points, Shelbi LaBrie had five points, Cienna Strommen had three points, Zandora Longtree and Josie Brown each scored two points.

North Country jumped out to a 27-7 lead in the first quarter and led throughout the game. Their largest lead was by 35 points. The Mavericks outscored the Bulldogs 21-12 in the second quarter and 12-8 in the third quarter. Both teams added twelve to their total in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks forced 17 turnovers in the win. North Country had a total of 14 steals. They outrebounded Ekalaka 36 to 24.

In the Mavs semifinal loss to Box Elder, North Country was led by J. Erickson who had 16 points, three assists, and three steals. Jaycee was 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. T. Erickson had a 14 point, 15 rebound double-double. She also had two blocked shots.

Wasson had 12 points and six rebounds. Kora LaBrie had seven points and three rebounds. Longtree had three points and Scheffelmear had one point and one steal.

"We needed a few more stops and we couldn't get them when we were catching up and closing the gap, but we responded really well and came back Saturday," Coach Erickson said. "We were just ready to get after it and go for that third-place trophy."

In the Mavericks' first-round win over Twin Bridges on Thursday, the Mavericks rode the momentum of a dominant first half to a 59-28 victory. The Mavericks only allowed 12 points in the first half, while scoring 37. They also outscored Twin Bridges 22-16 in the second half.

T. Erickson led the Mavericks with a 19 point, 11 rebound double-double along with four blocks. Wasson had 13 points, six rebounds, and four steals. J. Erickson had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

North Country remained relatively free of sickness during the state tourney, with only one starter falling ill to the "12-hour" stomach flu.

"Only one of my assistant coaches got it, and everyone else stayed healthy, so that was a huge blessing," Coach Erickson said.