M-ettes split 2B games

The Malta M-ettes ended the weekend on a good note, defeating the Poplar Lady Indians in Poplar on Saturday, January 19, after losing to Harlem at home last Friday, January 18.

The M-ettes are scheduled to face the Wolf Point Lady Wolves in Malta on Thursday, January 24. The team will then travel to Havre to take on the Class A Havre Lady Blue Ponies on Saturday, January 26.

Malta and Poplar went back and forth during their match last Saturday. Eventually, Malta would pull away in the fourth quarter.

“We would have a few runs and then they would get right back in it with a couple of big plays,” M-ettes Head Coach Nate Hammond said. “We would get up to a seven or eight point lead and then they would get back to within two. We just couldn’t pull away from them.”

The team was led by Kelbee Denham who scored 18 points and posted nine rebounds, two steals, and two assists. Denham was 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Carly Garfield had 12 points and five rebounds. Garfield was 4-of-5 from the free throw line.

“At the end, we were able to make free throws and we took care of the ball well enough,” Coach Hammond said.

Raina Mortenson had eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Mortenson was 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Kloie Marks had six points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Kyleigh Schipman, Sidney Meeks, and Justine Lamb each had two points. Schipman also had seven rebounds and two steals.

The M-ettes posted their highest free throw percentage this season, having made 10-of-12 attempts (83%). Both teams shot low percentages from the floor with Malta making 18-of-54 attempts (33%) and Poplar making 17-of-46 attempts (36%).

In Malta’s 52-40 loss to Harlem, Malta was led by Mortenson, who had 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

“Raina did well,” Coach Hammond said. “She is a really good scorer and she always comes out and gives us a lot of energy on the offensive end.”

Denham had seven points and five rebounds. Schipman had five points and seven rebounds. Carly Garfield had four points and nine rebounds. Marks had four points. Lamb had three points, and Kylie Hunter had one point.

“We had trouble with their pressure defense and their press and they scored 20 points in the first quarter to our 10 and we didn’t have any answers for their quickness offensively and how hard they played defensively,” Coach Hammond said.

Malta lost the turnover battle to Harlem, giving up 22 points on 18 turnovers, while Malta only scored three points off of Harlem’s 10 giveaways. Malta scored 24 second chance points, while Harlem only scored 12.