Nicholson, Stiles and Moore named Great Falls Tribune "Prep Athletes of the Week" within a month's time

Montana’s Hi-Line is chock full of great athletes, particularly in the game of basketball.

Phillips County is in the heart of the Hi-Line and has two girls basketball teams that have been terrors for any team they’ve faced in the last few years.

Over the past month three players Hailey Nicholson and Sophia Stiles of the Malta and Tatum Moore of the Saco-Whitewater have been named the Great Falls Tribune Prep Player of the week in separate weeks.

NICHOLSON

Hailey Nicholson was the first of the three. She was voted the Prep Player of the week on the Great Falls Tribune’s website on Tuesday December 20 because of her efforts against Class A opponents in Malta’s first two games of the basketball season.

Nicholson scored 20 points in the team’s win against the Havre Blue Ponies, who are Class A’s 2014 state champions.

She then scored 13 points against the Fergus eagles the next night.

“It makes you feel special that you’re picked out of a lot of teams,” Nicholson told the PCN.

Though there is an “i” in both Hailey and Nicholson, Hailey knows that she wouldn’t be anywhere without the help of her team.

“They helped me get there and I think we work really well together,” Nicholson said. “We have amazing guards and amazing posts, so I think with all of that combined, we are a great team.”

Nicholson’s favorite moment of the season so far was a moral victory for the team, who lost a close game in the State B championship to Fairfield.

“Playing Rocky Boy was fun, when Fairfield only beat them by four,” Nicholson said. “We came into the locker room, just wanting to blow them out of the water. All of us were ready for it.”

She did admit the team was a mess the next game against Roundup, which was a game that was closer than they wanted.

“We just weren’t ready for that game,” she added.

Nicholson is a tremendously good player with size and range. A player with her skill set only shoots for one thing and that’s perfection.

Though the M-ettes have been undefeated in season play, the team has yet to win the big game.

This is the end goal for Nicholson and the M-ettes.

“To win state,” she said. “We can’t underestimate any team that we go against. We need to come prepared and not look at the end result.”

She went on to say the team needs to work hard at every level, meaning the regular season, the district tournament, divisional tournament and state tournament.

Luckily for Hailey and the M-ettes, there is another Nicholson on the team, Jada, who is Hailey’s younger sister has been a strong player in Malta’s Varsity and JV teams this year and last year.

“It’s fun. I try pushing her hard to compete because I know that she can,” Nicholson said of her sister.

In a one on one game Hailey typically gets the best of her sister, but Hailey admitted she had lost to Jada.

“I think she’s beaten me one time,” Hailey said. “All I have to do is dribble to the post.”

Hailey did admit dribbling to the post can backfire as Jada (who’s wing-span is identical to hers) has blocked many shot attempts.

As far as her reflection on Phillips County’s strong basketball teams, Hailey shared her thoughts.

“I think we start earlier here than anywhere else,” Nicholson said. “There’s nothing really that you can do here and I think that we look to sports and it pays off in the long run.”

“So we get athletes like Sophia Stiles and Tatum Moore that are able to win honors like that,” Nicholson continued.

STILES

The next athlete from the Phillips County area to win was Sophia Stiles, who won the poll the week of January 4.

She earned the nod for her 16 point performance against the Wolf Point Lady Wolves and her 22 point performance against the Class A Havre Blue Ponies the next night.

“It’s a really big honor,” Stiles said. “I just think it’s cool that out of all the people that they could have picked from I was nominated and was voted to win.”

Like Nicholson, Stiles is really appreciative of her teammates.

“I don’t think I would’ve been nominated without them,” Stiles said. “All of my stats and everything comes from them.”

Her favorite moment of the year so far was the M-ettes win over Rocky Boy on January 9.

“ I was really nervous for the game after they lost to Fairfield by four, I was kind of nervous, so winning that game meant a lot.”

While many students’ parents were watching the game, Stiles’ parents were both coaches at Whitewater schools when Sophia was younger.

“They always brought my older brothers to the gym, so ever since I was little I was in the gym and I probably started dribbling a basketball as soon as I could,” Stiles said.

She remembers her first time playing team basketball was with her older sister, Mercedes, who she played with last season before Mercedes graduated.

“It’s been different, I have good chemistry (with the team without Mercedes), but Sadie and I would just give each other a look and we would know what the other was going to do,” Sophia said.

She admits she misses her sister but she is starting to build some of the same chemistry with Nicholson and her other teammates.

Her ultimate goal this season is the same as it will be any year of any competitor in high school ball.

“To be state champions,” she said.

Stiles said determination, hard work and having fun as a team will get the team there.

“When you’re not having fun I don’t think you play as well,” she continued.

MOORE

Lady Panther Tatum Moore was up for nomination on January 11, one week after Stiles won the poll.

A junior, Moore has had an incredible career with Saco-Whitewater thus far.

She was selected for the poll due to her 27 point performance against the Scobey Spartans on January 10.

Moore knocked down six treys in the win.

“It’s pretty awesome to think about how we come from such a small town but we get noticed by big people like that, so it’s pretty cool,” Moore told the PCN.

The Lady Panthers have put together great years with Moore, but she realizes she would not be in a position to be named the player of the week, without her team.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t trade my team for the world,” Moore said. “We’re such a great group together, we work so well together and we get along so good on and off the court. It;s just a great connection to be able to have on a team.”

Her favorite moment at the half point of the basketball season was facing and defeating Scobey.

“They were our biggest competition in our district,” Moore said. “We came out a little bit flat in the first quarter, but we knew what we needed to do to help us get that win.”

She went on to say the team stepped up, accepted their roles and fought back to win.

Moore is in her third year under Coach Amber Erickson’s system.

“She is a great coach, she pushes us in such positive ways. She never makes any of us feel down about ourselves but makes us rise to the occasion,” Moore said.

She went on to say that Coach Erickson treats the team like a family, and Erickson is the mother.

It was Moore’s actual mother that put a basketball in Tatum’s hand.

“My mom told me when I was four, I picked up a basketball and asked her to teach me how to play,” Moore said.

The end goal for Moore and her team is the state title.

“The State Championship game that Saturday night. that’s where we want to be and we want to be able to take that home with us,” Moore said. “We need to buckle down, we need to know what we need to do offensively, defensively, on and off the court.”

Moore had a few words of thanks.

“I would just like to thank everybody for giving me the opportunities that I’ve had throughout my basketball career. I’m just grateful and appreciative of that,” she said.

She is thankful for the families and the communities that have supported and continue to support the Panthers and Lady Panthers teams.