Whose House?

The Malta M-ettes stood tall and were once again crowned 2B champions, despite facing a tough Poplar Lady Indian team, who gave Malta their lone loss this season.

Four of five 2B teams advanced to the Northern B Divisional scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon in Glasgow. Malta will see their first action against the Shelby Coyotes, a team they were able to defeat 58-21 the first time the teams met in late January and 44-27 the last time the teams met in February.

"We definitely have to come out ready to play strong defense," M-ette guard Sophia Stiles said. "They have good guards and they are pretty quick, so they can get to the basket pretty easy and they are also very good shooters."

Only three of eight teams will advance to the State B Tournament in Billings on Thursday, March 9.

If the M-ettes can defeat the Lady Coyotes for a third time this season, the team will face the winner of the Glasgow, Choteau game. If the team loses to Shelby they will face a tough climb in which they would need to win three straight games in consolation, which would include the consolation championship.

The M-ettes have won the 2B title in the last four years, making Saturday's title pretty special for Malta's seniors, including Sophia Stiles who started for all four years.

"It's amazing," Stiles said. "It just feels like a lot of hard work ever since I was younger has paid off. I just really owe it to my coaches and my teammates and the creator, he has blessed us a lot. It has all come together and it feels really good."

Seniors Jada Nicholson, Shay Garfield and Eva Harms were all a part of each of those teams, whether on sub-varsity or as a part of the team's management. Raleigh Hunter was a part of those teams in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

In the championship game, Malta and Poplar were neck and neck throughout the first half, with teams switching leads seven times. Malta had a 28-26 lead over Poplar going into the half but Malta was able to hold on and defeat the Lady Indians 61-50.

Malta was led by Stiles, who had 18 points, seven steals, five rebounds and four assists. Nicholson had 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Eva Harms had 13 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists.

Malta scored 27 points off of 28 forced turnovers. The M-ettes also out-rebounded Poplar 34-24, which included a 21-4 advantage on the offensive boards.

The stands were packed on both sides of the Malta High School gymnasium and with both crowds cheering; the teams were able to feel the pressure.

"You have the jitters before the game because it's the district championship and you want to win," Stiles said. "The crowd just makes it more (intense). I just felt like I was fumble fingers at the beginning and that both teams couldn't keep their hands on the ball but the crowd definitely makes for a more interesting game."

Stiles found herself in early foul trouble in the first few minutes of the game, being called twice.

"No one likes getting fouls but getting two very early, usually it takes me out of my game," she said. "I try to do my best."

Stiles would only pick up one more foul in the third quarter, despite staying in the game throughout most of the first half.

The win also gave Coach Nate Hammond his fourth district title as an M-ette head coach.

"You just feel so proud for those kids, especially those seniors with it being their last game in this gym," Coach Hammond said. "Every trophy you get is pretty special and I was proud of them tonight."

The M-ettes opened the 2B District Tournament with a bye thanks to their first place finish in the regular season. The team was pitted against Glasgow, who won a play in game against the Harlem Wildcats on Thursday night at Malta High School. The M-ettes defeated the Lady Scotties 55-36.

Malta was led by Stiles who scored 22 points. Jada Nicholson had 12 points and Eva Harms had 10.

Glasgow was able to keep it close in the first quarter, though Malta was able to maintain a 17-14 lead at the end of the period.

Malta would hold Glasgow to four points in the second quarter, while scoring 14 making the halftime score 31-18. Malta's 12-2 run would put them up by as much as 22 points, their largest lead of the game.

"It was a very physical game," Coach Hammond said. "Glasgow did a good job packing that zone in. We had to hit a few threes and we made four of them, three in the first half. Our man to man pressure against them forced enough turnovers and got the pace of the game going enough that we were able to get enough points to win."