Junior High basketball

A couple of Phillips County junior high basketball teams were crowned champions this past weekend.

The undefeated Dodson Coyotes were crowned the Junior High Boys District Champions for the first time in school history in Hinsdale last Friday, November 17, while the North Country Mavericks won their second District Title in a row in Saco that same day.

In the girl's championship game, the Mavericks edged out the Frazer Bearcubs 32-30 in a thriller.

Jaycee Erickson was able to hit a game-winning layup off of an assist from teammate Zandora Longtree, leaving five seconds remaining for Frazer.

"We were trying to do a stall, just passing it back and forth," Erickson said noting that she could hear Mavericks Coach Craig Nordahl scream shoot it!

The shot was roughly eight feet away from the basket but Erickson doubted the attempt was true.

"I shot it and then I was like oh boy," Erickson said. "I thought it was going to roll and go out."

Erickson led the Mavericks with 19 points, nine of which came from her 13 tries at the charity stripe.

Mattea McColly scored six points, Kora LaBrie had four points, Montaya Idler had two points and Longtree had one point. It was North Country's second straight title.

"It feels pretty good," Erickson said. "We had a lot of good players last year and we had a lot this year too, so it was pretty good."

North Country was dominant in the first quarter, going up 10-2 in the first quarter. Frazer would respond outscoring the Mavs 18-8 in the second quarter and grabbing a 20-18.

"We were off and running pretty good and then Frazer just made a basket and made another basket," Coach Nordahl said. "Jaycee picked up her third foul, so we had to take her out in the second quarter."

After taking Erickson out, Frazer added to their run, scoring six more.

The teams' defenses both stepped up in the third only allowing four points each. Frazer opened the fourth quarter with a 24-22 lead.

North Country would remain aggressive in the fourth quarter, getting to the free throw line for eight attempts. The team knocked down four attempts. Erickson had nine of the team's ten points that quarter. Frazer would only score six.

In the boy's game in Hinsdale, Dodson would defeat the Lustre Lions 39-36.

Michael Jaynes led Dodson with 11 points, seven of which came in the first period. Juliun Benson and Alex Werk would both score nine points, Dwight Werk had seven and Kadin Racine had three points.

Dodson was off to a hot start, starting off the game with a 13-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.

"I told them to play loose and to go have fun," Dodson Coach Frank Benson said. "They sure came in there (with that mindset.)"

Though the team started off loose, the team would cool down only scoring two points in the second quarter, while giving up an eight point run. The score would be 15-11 at halftime.

"They went back in with the lead and kind of tensed up," Coach Benson said.

Both teams would pick up things in the third quarter, with Dodson scoring 11 and the Lions scoring 15. The score was 26-24 at the end of the third quarter.

Dodson would allow the Lions to tie the game at 31 in the fourth quarter before a three pointer from A. Werk would give them a little breathing room, free throws from Benson and Werk would help Dodson keep the lead, securing the school's first Junior High District Title.

"That was a big shot that changed the game," Coach Benson said of A. Werk's trey. "He wasn't even supposed to shoot, but I was like 'what are you doing?' Then boom it goes in."

In a fit of superstition, Benson has refused to dye his hair all-season due to the team's winning streak, a trend that started during the junior high season, when five of the junior higher played on the Malta Mustangs junior high football team.

"Dwight (Werk) was like 'Your hair is getting gray' and I'm like, we haven't lost yet I can't dye it," Coach Benson said. "And it went into basketball and the next thing I know, we were 5-0. We haven't lost since I last dyed it."

The Lady Coyotes would take third place in the tournament after defeating Opheim in the third place consolation finals.

"The first half was ugly," Dodson Coach Francine KillEagle admitted. "The score ended up being 6-2. We couldn't buy a bucket and our shots were not falling for us."

In the second half, Dodson started their pressure defense and put the ball into the post, which made the difference.

In their first game, the Lady Coyotes were able to get a lead on Frazer up until halftime but ultimately failed to win the game.

"Frazer always has been and probably always will be a tournament team and they just created a lot of chaos and suck other teams into their chaos," KillEagle said.

In an earlier game, the Lady Mavericks defeated Opheim 27-10.

Erickson led with eight points, LaBrie and Longtree both had six points.

Montaya Idler was asked about the keys to their win.

"Rebounding, smart passes and smart playing," Idler said.

Idler forced a few key turnovers in the game.

"Forcing turnovers is pretty important because it makes the other team frustrated," Idler said. "Then you get into their head and they make more."

Though only one shot fell for Cienna Strommen, she displayed a lot of confidence shooting at will.

"My coaches just tell me to keep shooting," Strommen said. "I practice at least 15 minutes a day."

Strommen and her sister Elise, a varsity player for the high school Mavericks team play horse, Cienna admitted that Elise usually wins.

The Maverick boys took fourth place in the tournament after losing the consolation final to Frazer.

The Mavericks had previously defeated Opheim 28-26 in their first game of the tourney, led by post Aiden Albus who scored 17 points.

"It feels pretty good," Albus said about the team feeding him the ball.

Trey Johnson added six points.

"We had less turnovers than last time," Johnson said noting that they lost by two points in their last game against Opheim.