Lady Mavericks take second at State C

The North Country Lady Mavericks ended the 2021 basketball season as runner-up in the 2021 State C Girls Basketball Tournament at Lockwood High School in Billings, last Saturday, March 13, as the team fell 74-60 to the Fort Benton Lady Longhorns in regulation.

The team was second out of 82 Class C teams around the state this year.

The loss capped an otherwise perfect 23 win season, but their one loss didn't define this year's team, according to Lady Mavericks Coach Amber Erickson.

"We were sad," Coach Erickson said. "When you make it to the ultimate game, your dreams come true and you have the opportunity and it doesn't go your way for that one game, yes, we were sad, but when I look back at it, I am not disappointed in these kids."

"I am not disappointed in how they came out and played every single game," she continued. "They were fighters. They worked very hard in practice every day. They were a very unselfish group of kids and they left it all out on the floor that night."

Coach Erickson said that getting to the game and all of the memories that the group shared were just as powerful as the game.

She said that for her seniors, it was a year that they were able to overcome many close games, that they had lost in previous seasons.

"Those are the things that will stick with them forever, as well as their friendship and the relationships that they have built with their teammates," Coach Erickson said.

Despite the loss, Coach Erickson felt that it was a great and very competitive championship game.

The Mavericks were tied 46-46 with Fort Benton in the final seconds of the third quarter until Longhorn Ashlee Wang knocked down a buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Longhorn's run continued into the fourth quarter, and eventually, late foul shots kept the game away from the Lady Mavericks.

"They (Fort Benton) shot amazing and they hit every open shot," Coach Erickson said. "They came out hot and stayed pretty hot pretty much the whole game."

Though North Country kept pace, late lapses in defense during the first few minutes of the fourth quarter played a role in the loss according to Coach Erickson.

"In that span of the game was where they pulled away and got away from us a little bit and it made it really hard to get close," Coach Erickson said. "Up to that point, they would go up and we would match it. They would hit a shot and then we would hit a shot. It went back and forth."

North Country was led by junior Jaycee Erickson who had a game-leading 20 points and five assists. Erickson also had three steals. Senior Kaitlyn McColly had 15 points and five rebounds. Senior Kia Wasson had 12 points, three assists, and three steals.

To reach the state championship game, the Lady Mavericks won in dramatic fashion as senior Kia Wasson hit a game-winning three-pointer to put North Country up by three in their 43-38 win over the Roy-Winifred Outlaws in the semifinals last Thursday night.

"I just thought that it was crazy that I was actually open," Wasson said. "When it went in, it was kind of like, holy, we can win this game."

Coach Erickson said that the play wasn't planned, it was just a kick out from McColly who found a wide-open Wasson in the corner for three points.

"It was a huge shot that gave us the lead and we were able to make free throws to seal the win," Coach Erickson said.

The Outlaws were the 2020 Co-State Champions with the Belt Huskies last year due to the tournament ending early.

After the team's win, the PCN caught up with a few Lady Mavericks.

"I am super excited!" J. Erickson said. "Defense was key, we needed to stop their big post players and that pressure in full-court is what we needed to do."

With tears in her eyes, McColly said that making it to the championship game was a dream come true.

"I don't know how else to put it but we worked our (butts) off and it's just all falling in line," McColly said.

She said that to compete hard and win, defense has to be the number one priority.

"Our shots will fall after we get a good defensive stop," McColly said.

North Country provided several highlight-reel plays defensively throughout the week, one of the largest coming from Teagan Erickson who chased down a potential buzzer-beating layup to end the first half of the semifinals.

In the opening round, the Lady Mavericks used their defense to blow past the Jordan (Garfield County) Mustangs 66-27 on Wednesday morning.

The Lady Mavericks fan section consisted of fans from all around Phillips County throughout the tournament, including the Malta M-ettes, who were fighting for hardware of their own in the 2021 Class B State Tournament being hosted at MetraPark, also in Billings.

In North Country's Semifinal win over Roy-Winifred, the Lady Mavericks were led by Wasson who had 14 points, and three rebounds. McColly had eight points, five rebounds, and four steals. J. Erickson had eight points, six assists, and four steals. Freshman Teagan Erickson had seven points, six rebounds, and three blocks. T. Erickson was also 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

North Country fell behind 10-4 at the end of the first quarter but responded with a 15-4 outing in the second quarter. The teams traded buckets throughout and eventually were tied at 37-37 before Wasson's corner three-pointer put the Mavericks up. The Lady Mavericks tacked on three more points at the free-throw line.

Despite their height disadvantages in going against sisters Isabelle Heggem and Madeline Heggem, the Lady Mavericks fought hard in the paint, drawing 15 fouls for 18 attempts at the charity stripe. Of those 18 shots, the Lady Mavericks made 14 (78%).

"They (the Outlaws) work really hard and they are tall," Wasson said. We had multiple shots blocked but we just worked around it and found a way to win that game."

The Lady Mavericks were 13-of-50 from the floor, making only 26 percent of their attempts, thanks in part to the challenging length that Roy-Winifred possessed. Still, T. Erickson and senior Kelsee Cummings were up to the task, fighting hard.

"They stepped up and I am so proud of them," J. Erickson said.

After the sound of the buzzer, the community of Phillips County shared laughs, hugs, and tears with the Lady Mavericks who had reached one of their largest goals of the season, and for a few, their careers.

In the Lady Mavericks' win over Garfield County, the Mavericks were led by Wasson, who had 18 points and four steals. Kora LaBrie had a game-high five steals. J. Erickson had 16 points and three steals. McColly had 15 steals and four assists. LaBrie had five points, Paige Wasson had five points and four rebounds, Zandora Longtree had three points and four rebounds, Jaydyn Erickson had two points and Mattea McColly had two points.

The team was 23-53 from the floor (43%), 3-of-11 from the three-point line, and 17-of-23 from the free-throw line (74%).

The Lady Mavericks outscored Garfield County 11-6 in the first quarter, then 25-0 in the second quarter, 14-13 in the third quarter, and 16-8 in the fourth. The Mavericks had 19 steals.