M-ettes fourth in 2B

The Malta M-ettes lost a pair of games this past weekend in a pair of tough away games against Wolf Point and Havre.

"I was proud of our girls this weekend," Malta Head Coach Nate Hammond told the PCN. "They played hard with two tough road trips."

In Malta's 51-49 loss to Wolf Point on Thursday, January 25, the team was led by Erica Smith, who scored 14 points. Ella Schye and Kloie Marks both had nine points, Kyleigh Schipman and Taylor Gilkerson each had six points, Kelbee Denham had three points and Janessa Malmend had two.

Malta's offense rolled alongside Wolf Point and both teams entered the third quarter with 24 points each. Wolf Point's outscored Malta 16-13 in the third quarter and Malta would fall two points short in the fourth.

"We gave ourselves a good chance to win in Wolf Point and just barely came up short," Coach Hammond said.

Malta's defense kept them in the game against Havre during the first half as Malta was able to enter halftime with a 17-17 tie.

Havre outpaced Malta in the second half, scoring 30, while holding Malta to three points in the third quarter and three more in the fourth.

Malta was led by Smith, who had 10 points. Schipman had five points. Schye, Gilkerson, Denham and Carly Garfield each had two points.

"In Havre we struggled to score in the second half but played the first half even with the #1 ranked undefeated Class A team," Coach Hammond said. "Our JV teams won and are playing much better as well."

The M-ettes, who are currently fourth in 2B basketball with a 1-6 record in the district and 1-13 overall, will face Rocky Boy in Malta on Thursday, February 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Coach Hammond was encouraged by the growth of his team this past weekend and he hopes for continued growth in the last few games of the regular season.

"We hope to keep building on our improvements as we get closer to post season play," Coach Hammond said.