First ladies of MHS

The Malta M-ettes have won 10 State B titles, the most since the start of Girls' Class B Basketball in 1974 season. The first time Malta would earn a championship occurred a little over 25 years ago as the Malta M-ettes would down the Fairfield Eagles 54-52 in a double overtime thriller in Butte on Saturday, December 7, 1991.

The Phillips County News caught up with several players from that team to see where they are now and reminiscence about the year that set the standard for many M-ette teams since that glorious season.

With Skyla Sisco, Greta (Koss) Buehler and Cindi (Wiederrick) Nelson all earning All-Conference honors and Sherri (Starr) Houston being honorably mentioned, the M-ettes of '91 had plenty of talent but only one of those players had the distinction of hitting the game winning shot. That was Nelson.

With starters Houston, Sisco and Buehler each fouling out of the game, legendary M-ette Head Coach Del Fried, had one hot handed shooter left in the second overtime period.

"He (Coach Fried) decided on that play to give it to me," Nelson recalled. "He called the play because they had been in a man defense. Then they came out in the zone."

Despite Fairfield's defense shift which put them in a better position to stop Nelson's play, the M-ettes were able to run the screen play.

"I was able to get the screen and get the shot off," Nelson said. "That's what I remember about it. It was on the left hand side. Roxie Kielb was the one that set the screen for me. She came in at point guard."

After releasing the 12-foot shot and with only six seconds remaining after the score happened, Nelson recalls being aware enough to get back on defense to seal the win.

"I think I was pretty sure it was going in," Nelson said. "I was also aware that there was still some time left on the clock, so we had to get down and make sure they couldn't get a shot off. I think there is a really good picture of all of the players on the bench pointing down (down court) because some people were kind of wanting to celebrate and there was still some time left."

Nelson had a team-leading 16 points in the game and was 7-of-12 from the field, including a hot 4-of-4 start that put Malta up 12-4 in the first quarter.

"I hadn't been shooting like that all year," Nelson said. "I think it may have been the way that the matchups worked and the defense worked they had their best defenders on Greta and Skyla and sometimes I would kind of get forgotten about."

After her graduation in 1993, Nelson would go on Montana State University to earn a Degree in accounting, become a Certified Public Accountant for CHMS in Glasgow for 13 years and now ranches with her husband Travis and their children in the Opheim area.

The most well known M-ette that was a basketball standout may have been Buehler, who earned Hall of Fame honors for her accolades at the University of Montana for her college basketball career. After graduating from U of M that following spring, Buehler went on to play professional ball for the Utah Starzz, during the inaugural year of the Women's National Basketball Association.

Buehler currently lives in Helena with her husband Eric and their children Austin and Brett, where she works for a law firm.

She recalls the '91 being a unique group.

"We just all liked to hang out together, play sports together and we had a good time," Buehler said. "Looking back it was a really special group of girls that I was lucky to get to be around."

Buehler would go on to be named the MVP of the state tournament, and at a time where her team needed her most, she was unavailable to help due to a foul out.

"When it first happened it was overwhelming," Buehler said. "I remember being emotional because as I was walking off of the court I remember thinking, ah, that's my last game but you don't have time to think about it because the game is still going on."

She went on to say that it was hard to do anything but cheer given the situation.

"They obviously did a great job and pulled it out," Buehler said.

Buehler and Sisco both played for the University of Montana under former longtime Lady Griz head coach Robin Selvig and former M-ette Head Coach Fried.

"Their accomplishments kind of speak for themselves and they both won so many games at the college and high school level respectively," Buehler said. "I was pretty fortunate to play for both of them."

As Buehler eventually left Missoula, Sisco stayed, left to play professionally in Europe for a year and then returned to Missoula where she currently runs Green Spoon Media, a graphics and web design business. She earned her Bachelor's in Exercise from the University of Montana in 1998 and then a Master's in School Psychology 2003.

Sisco, who scored 12 points in the title game, was asked what she remembered most about the '91 M-ettes.

"What stands out the most is that we were all gym-rats," Sisco said. "There wasn't a lot for us to do in Malta. We just played a lot of basketball. I think that we all drove our coach nuts always driving up to his house asking for the gym keys. It's cold in the winter, so we spent a lot of time in the gym."

She went on to say that the team had a lot of confidence in each other.

"We were incredibly deep for a small town," Sisco said. "Three of us fouled out in that championship game and we were still able to win. I think that's incredible to have that kind of depth."

Like Buehler, Sisco sat on the bench powerless, watching the younger M-ettes battle for the title.

"I remember sitting there with Greta and Sherri with fingers crossed, white-knuckled, feeling powerless and just cheering because that was all that we could do," Sisco said.

Sisco was appreciative of her years as an athlete and shared what it teaches.

"I think being an athlete teaches you teamwork and discipline and passion," Sisco said. "And all of those things are easily translatable into life. When you meet people in the work world and they've been a part of a successful or unsuccessful team they just have the ability to deal with people in a better way."

Sisco and Buehler were two of the eight M-ettes (including newly signed current M-ette Sophia Stiles) that have played for the Lady Griz, making Malta High School the school with the most alumni to play for the Lady Griz in the state.

"Malta has produced more Lady Griz than Missoula itself," Sisco said.

Houston went to school at Montana State University Billings after graduating from Malta High School in 1992.

Houston would eventually go on to earn her LPN license at Dixie University in St. George, UT. She currently lives in Las Vegas, Nev. with her husband Skip and their children.

"We were a pretty good team," Houston said. "We were all really good friends. We loved our coaches."

Houston recalls a state trophy being the team's goal.

"That was always our goal because we had never won it," Houston said.

Houston remembers that game, her final as an M-ette being the only game that she had fouled out.

"If I remember right, it was a foul that everyone said was not a good call," Houston said with a smile.

Houston was asked about the team's strong points.

"It depended on the game but we did well on both (offense and defense)," Houston said. "Greta was really good underneath but she could shoot outside if she had to. Skyla was just a good shooter anywhere. I think our offense and defense were pretty well rounded."

Houston's mentality was that of a pure point guard, almost to a fault.

"I wasn't one that loved to shoot first," she said. "I was always getting in trouble from coach because I would always pass first. Get the ball down court and get it to somebody. Sometimes I would be wide open and (people would yell shoot!) but I would pass it. "

Gretchen (Carnahan) Boardman lives in Malta with her husband Jay and their two children Kasen and Kambyr. Boardman currently works at Big Flatt Electric. Boardman was a sophomore but was another big part of the '91 team going 3-for-3 and scoring six points.

"I personally remember Greta, mainly because she was such a good role model," "She was always upbeat and positive and then I remember Skyla because she was unbelievably athletic. She made everybody around her better."

Boardman also recalls the camaraderie.

"Our whole team was so close," she said. "They were literally who you hung out with everyday."

Kathy (Solberg) Sinnema was a starting post player for the '91 M-ettes. She lives in Amsterdam, Mont. with her husband Adam and their four children. She went to Montana State University Bozeman to attend the school's nursing program after graduating from Malta in 1992.

"A lot of good memories for my class were in 1992," Sinnema said. "We started in fifth grade and it was nice transitioning up to high school with Mr. Fried, who I always looked up to with the varsity team. We were good friends, we liked playing together and we had a lot of good teamwork."

The team that became the first M-ette champions wasn't looking so good in middle school.

"In junior high, when we started out, we always lost," Sinnema said. "So as we graduated up, and then became seniors we never took any of that for granted. We knew what it was like being on the losing side. Our goal was to do the best we could at each game."

Sinnema believes that when Houston transferred to Malta for that class' freshman year it made all of the difference.

"Mr. Fried pulled us up to the varsity team our freshman year, which was great and gave us a lot of experience right off of the bat," Sinnema said. "It was a great honor."

Sinnema remembers the crowd being loud and encouraging during the state tourney. She also shared what it meant to have such a good traveling crowd from Malta, which showed their support before and after their title win.

"After that last, unforgettable game, it wasn't just us," Sinnema said. "We quickly saw that the win meant that the entire town was number one. For quite some time, it literally showed on people's faces, attitude, and conversations. What a gift it was to everyone!"

The '91 M-ettes left quite the legacy and their legacy had paved the way for many other great teams to follow.

A quote from Coach Del Fried sums up how special the 1991 M-ettes were.

"Dreams came true for the M-ettes in 1991 as a determined group of young ladies captured the State Championship. The goal was achieved with hard work, team work and long hours of developing skills. Truly a great team of unselfish players, they willingly sacrificed for the good of the team. A super bunch that I will always remember – thanks, girls, for the memory." -Coach Del Fried.