M-ettes fall to 2B foes

The Malta M-ettes fell to a pair of 2B foes this past weekend, losing to the Harlem Wildcats and Poplar Indians, leaving Malta 1-5 in the conference.

The Malta High School gymnasium featured it's loudest and largest crowd of the season and many Lady Wildcat fans poured into the school's bleachers on Friday, January 19, to see if the Lady Cats would sweep the season series.

On Malta's side, the crowd came to show their support for the M-ettes as well as the Little Cheerleaders, who had been working on their halftime routine since Little Cheer Camp earlier this year.

In Malta's loss to Harlem, the team was led by junior Taylor Gilkerson and sophomore Kelbee Denham, who each scored eight points.

Janessa Malmend had four points. Ella Schye, Taylor Eggebrecht, Kloie Marks and Erica Smith each had three points.

Malta struggled to score in their set offense, not scoring a single field goal in the first quarter. The quarter ended with Harlem taking a 15-3 lead.

Malta's woes continued into the second quarter, as the team was held to only five points, giving them 8 in the half. Harlem added 13, giving them a 28-8 lead going into half-time.

Malta's offense stepped up in the second half, outscoring Harlem 24-20 but it was too little, too late for the M-ettes.

"We had a much better second half," M-ette Head Coach Nate Hammond said. "We just started making some shots. The first half was pretty bad shooting-wise. It was the same thing when we went to Harlem; We had a poor first and second quarter. But I thought we came out and did well in the second half. I thought we played better defense and got to the basket better."

He went on to say the team's confidence went up after they had become more acclimated to Harlem's defense.

"Part of it is just confidence and being able to attack," Coach Hammond said. "I think that once they were able to break that press that there were some open kids. Sometimes it's easier to see them from the bleachers than it is when somebody has got their hands up in your face and trying to get the ball from you or from the coaches' bench."

Seeing Harlem for a second time, the coaches came up with a plan, but it fell short.

"Part of it was that we changed things defensively, a little bit," Coach Hammond said. "What I thought was going to work and what we worked on all week didn't work, and that's just the way it goes."

Coach Hammond was asked how to build on the momentum of their second half against Harlem as they were getting ready to face Poplar.

"A lot of times if you make a shot early and get that confidence early or some kid gets a steal and makes a shot and every starts feeling like they are into it, sometimes it's all it takes," Coach Hammond said.

Malta's offense started off hot against the Poplar Indians on Saturday, January 20 and the team went up 19-15 by halftime. Malta outscored Poplar 12-4 in the second quarter. Poplar would slowly closed the gap, outscoring Malta 15-13 in the third quarter, making the 32-30 at the end of the period. The Indians would turn on the jets in the fourth quarter, outscoring Malta 22-9 and winning the game 52-41.

The M-ettes will see the Wolf Point Lady Wolves in Wolf Point on Thursday, January 25. The games are set to begin at 3 p.m. as the girls JV teams will square off. The girls Varsity game is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The M-ettes will then travel to Havre to face the Lady Blue Ponies. Games are scheduled to start with the boys JV game kicking off at 1 p.m. The girls Varsity game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.