M-ettes pick up opening day win

\ The Malta M-ettes basketball team kicked off the season with an overtime win over the Bigfork Valkyries on Thursday, December 12, as the team participated in the 2019 Shelby Coyote Classic.

"They were one of the top teams in the west," M-ette Head Coach Nate Hammond told the PCN. "They were fourth in their division and three of their top four scorers are back. They are expected to be one of the tougher teams over there, so it was a good win for us."

The M-ettes went on to lose 65-21 to the Belt Huskies on Friday, December 13, their second and final game last week.

"We only have two seniors, so there are quite a few younger kids and even freshmen getting to play, so there is going to be a little bit of a learning curve throughout the season, I think," Coach Hammond said.

The team will see their first district opponents this weekend as they travel to Harlem to face last year's Northern B Division Champion Harlem Wildcats on Friday, December 20. They will then come home to host the Poplar Indians in Malta's home opener on Saturday, December 21. The game will feature halftime entertainment by the Malta Cheerleaders and Holiday Friends.

In Malta's win over Bigfork the M-ettes were led in scoring by Addy Anderson, who scored nine points in ten minutes off the bench. Carly Garfield led all starters with nine points and ten rebounds.

"Carly had a big game," Coach Hammond said of his starting post player. "She played tough and she had a two-point basket in overtime, one-on-one in the post."

Malta was able to leap ahead 13-7 in the first quarter, and keep pace with Bigfork in the second and third quarters, outscoring Bigfork 9-8 in the second and 15-13 in the third.

Bigfork came roaring back in the fourth, even grabbing a two-point lead in the fourth.

"We had a nine-point lead going into the fourth and Bigfork just kept chipping away at it," Coach Hammond said. "They really picked up their intensity on defense and started shooting really well."

The game was sent into overtime thanks to a steal by Kylee Nelson, who threw the ball downcourt to Allison Kunze who was fouled. Kunze made both free throws, which tied the game at 42 before the end of regulation.

"That was an exciting part of that game," Coach Hammond said.

Malta went to outscore Bigfork 7-2 in overtime, winning 49-44.

"We got back to doing what we were doing for most of the game and outplayed them," Coach Hammond said.

Kelbee Denham and Justine Lamb each had six points in the win. Nelson had four points, six rebounds, and four steals. Maddie Williamson had four points and six rebounds. Erica Smith had four points, three steals, and a team-leading three assists.

Malta outrebounded Bigfork 41 to 18. Seventeen of those boards were offensive boards, which Malta turned into 12 second-chance points.

"We didn't shoot particularly well but we got a few more shots off than them and a lot of it was because of our offensive rebounds," Coach Hammond said.

Despite their victory, one issue for the M-ettes last weekend was turnovers. Malta had 25 turnovers against Bigfork, which the Valkyries turned into 21 points. The turnovers kept coming against Belt, who scored 20 points off of Malta's 27 turnovers.

In their 65-21 loss to the Huskies, Malta was led by Kunze who had six points and six rebounds. Nelson had five points. Denham had four points.

"They came out and put a lot of pressure on us and we kind of folded under the pressure," Coach Hammond said. "When things aren't going your way it's hard to make shots, it's hard to get your spacing. We kind of panicked and they jumped all over us."

The Huskies were led by Brooke Schraner who scored 28 points off the bench.