M-ettes Defy Doubters, Earn Fifth Northern B Title

The Malta M-ettes earned their fifth consecutive Northern B Divisional Championship last Saturday, March 2, as the M-ettes defeated the Poplar Indians 47-40.

Malta will face the Florence-Carlton Lady Falcons, the third seed out of the Western Divisional on Thursday, March 7, in the opening round of the State B Girls Basketball Tournament. State will be held in Billings at MetraPark First Interstate Arena in Billings from Thursday to Saturday, March 9.

"It feels amazing," M-ette sophomore Neva Jacobson said after winning the Northern B Championship. "It's the fifth year in a row. No one thought that we could do it, so we just came and proved them wrong and it feels so good."

Senior Elly Anderson shared the words of her younger teammate.

"This one is definitely the best one yet because no one thought we could do it," Anderson said. "It's my senior year and it feels good to get five in a row."

For the last four years, Malta had a strong group of athletes that graduated last spring, including Allison Kunze, Maddie Williamson, and Addy Anderson.

"No one thought that we could do it without them, so it felt good to show the community that we could do it," Elly said.

Sophomore Denvyr Tuss was asked how it felt to earn a spot at state.

"It feels so good," Tuss said. "I am so happy for us. We worked hard this season and it is good to see all that hard work pay off."

To reach the Northern B Championship, the M-ettes also took down the Chinook Sugarbeeters (22-2) 55-41 on Friday, March 1, in the semifinals.

Chinook fought back in the consolation bracket, defeated Fairfield 55-35 in the finals, and earned the right to challenge Poplar for the second seed. The challenge game took place on Monday, March 4, and Chinook won 62-39 in Glasgow.

Malta defeated the Shelby Lady Coyotes 62-43 in the opening round of the tournament.

In Malta's Northern B championship win over Poplar, Kendall Clausen led the charge for Malta. Clausen had 11 points and three rebounds.

Clausen was asked how she was able to get things rolling for Malta in the third quarter with a corner three.

"I just asked (Coach Shane Anderson) what was going on with my shot and he just said, Kendall, just shoot with confidence," Clausen said. "So when I stepped on the court, I was like, ok, just shoot it! When I caught the ball. I shot it and made it!"

Tuss had a 10 point, 13 rebound double-double. Jacobson had 10 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

"We kept our heads and kept our cool," Jacobson said after the win. "We knew that we were going to win it, so we just came in with a mindset that we could do it and we did."

Senior Addison Ulrich went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to earn her five points. She also had four rebounds, and one steal.

Ulrich was asked how she was able to get to the line throughout the game.

"Just drawing fouls when they were needed and playing my best," Ulrich said.

She was also asked what this title meant to her.

"It means a lot," Ulrich said. "Just knowing that we worked really hard all year and we are finally on our way to the state tournament."

Ulrich and Giona Lamb have been featured in reserve roles, roles that they have selflessly played on. Both made an impact in the championship game, being subbed in for starters in foul trouble.

"It feels good helping my teammates out," Ulrich said. "Helping my teammates play their best, helping myself play my best. It feels really good."

Kelbie Nelson had five points, five rebounds, and two steals. Emree Stuart had four points, three rebounds, and two steals. Elly Anderson had two points and three rebounds. Lamb had three rebounds.

Malta led wire-to-wire in the win, leading by as much as 15 points late in the fourth quarter. They outscored Poplar 10-5 in the first quarter, 11-8, in the second quarter, and 12-11 in the third quarter. Poplar made a late run in the fourth and outscored Malta 16-14.

Tuss led Malta in their victory over Chinook. She had a 18 point, 15 rebound double-double, and two blocks. She woke up sick prior to the game.

"I slept a lot on Friday," Tuss said. "I got 13 hours and got over it. Thanks to my parents (Spike and Janine Tuss); they helped me get over it."

Elly Anderson had 10 points. Emree Stuart had eight points and four rebounds.

"We had a lot of fire under our butts for that one because in the beginning of the season, they beat us by 30 points in the Shelby Tournament," E. Anderson said. "We were the underdogs last night so we had nothing to lose. We just went out, played together and gave it all we got."

Malta led 11-9 at the conclusion of the first quarter and expanded their lead 24-16 by halftime. Malta also outscored Chinook 19-17 in the third quarter, and 12-8 in the fourth quarter.

In Malta's win over Shelby, Malta trailed for the first and only time of their Northern B Divisional games early in the first quarter. The score was 4-2. Malta led the rest of the game.

Tuss was asked about the team's key to victory over Shelby.

"Our rebounding and shooting was spectacular," Tuss said. "It really got us through that rough first game."

Stuart led Malta in their first victory of the tournament with 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Anderson had 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Kelbie Nelson had 11 points and seven rebounds. Jacobson had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Clausen had five points, three rebounds, and three assists. Tuss had four points and seven rebounds. Lamb had two points, two rebounds, and one steal. Ulrich had two points and two rebounds.

Malta had their best shooting performance of the weekend, making 18-of-39 (46.2%) of their two-point attempts, 7-of-19 (36.8%) of their three-point attempts, and 5-of-8 (62.5%) of their free throws. The M-ettes had 30 points in the paint and scored 17 points off of the 13 turnovers that they forced.

Malta's first opponent at state, Florence-Carlton earned their spot by going 3-1 in the Western B Divisional Tournament and winning their consolation final game against St. Ignatius 53-43. Maggie Schneiter led Florence-Carlton with 20 points. Kenzy Pickering had seven. Pickering had 17 points in the Flacons' 50-34 win over Eureka. Pickering and Schneiter both scored 19 in the teams' 62-47 win over Thompson Falls in the Western C Divisional's opening round. Emory Ralston and Kendyl Meinhold also hit double-digits in games during the tournament.