One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
The 2023 District 2B Tournament Champion Malta M-ettes. Back Row: Coach Nate Hammond, Jade Imlay, Kelbie Nelson, Denvyr Tuss, Allison Kunze, Maddie Williamson, Addy Anderson, Kendall Clausen, Giona Lamb, Brittney Sorlie, AJ Marquis, Coach Shane Anderson, Macey Blunt, Emree Stuart, and Coach Mardee Scott. Front Row: Kenzie LaBrie, Alex Oshio, Layla Messerly, Brylee French, Ellie Anderson, Neva Jacobson, Addison Ulrich, Gracie Honey, Josslyn Hoge, and Danika Wilke. Photo by Pierre Bibbs.
Malta senior Allie Kunze on the fastbreak after securing one of her nine steals against Glasgow last Friday night at the 2B Tournament in Malta. Photo by Pierre Bibbs.
Malta senior Brylee French goes up for a fast break layup in Malta's win over Glasgow last Friday in the 2B District Tournament. Photo by Pierre Bibbs.
MHSA 2023 Northern B Girls Basketball Tournament
The Malta M-ettes basketball team earned their third consecutive District 2B Tournament Championship last Saturday, February 18, in Malta. The M-ettes defeated the Wolf Point Wolves 51-29.
"I just thought that we played really good defense," Malta Head Coach Nate Hammond said after the win. "We only gave up nine points in the first half."
To reach the championship Malta defeated the Glasgow Lady Scotties 70-26 in the semi-finals on Friday, February 17. The M-ettes were awarded a first round bye thanks to their 8-0 record against 2B opponents during the regular season, which also earned the team the 2023 Conference Championship.
This weekend, the M-ettes are slated to open the 2023 Northern B Girls Tournament against the Choteau Bulldogs, who currently have a 3-17 record, but picked up one of those wins in a surprise 62-61 victory over Cut Bank who is 9-6.
On the same side of the bracket is Glasgow and Conrad. Conrad took second after losing the 1B Championship game 61-59 to Shelby.
Malta has faced Shelby twice and has won both games.
In their championship win over Wolf Point, Malta was led in scoring by seniors Allison Kunze and Addy Anderson, who both scored 11 points. Kunze also had six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Anderson had four rebounds.
Denver Tuss had eight points and 10 rebounds. Brylee French had seven points. Maddie Williamson had five points, nine nine rebounds, four steals, and four assists. Kelbie Nelson had four points, Neva Jacobson had three points, and Kendall Clausen had two points.
Malta did not give up a single point in the first quarter of their championship win over Wolf Point, while netting 12 points of their own.
Both teams scored nine points in the second quarter. Malta led 21-9 at halftime. The M-ettes picked up steam after halftime outsourcing the Lady Wolves 17-8 in the third quarter and 13-12 in the fourth quarter.
"We tried to play man-to-man with them instead of that zone press," Coach Hammond said. "We played that zone and we were behind at the end of the first quarter, so we decided to change that a little bit. Our kids can play good defense a lot of different ways. Tonight we picked the right plan."
Malta outrebounded Wolf Point 35-26 and forced 20 turnovers, scoring 14 points off of those turnovers.
In Malta's win over Glasgow, the M-ettes had 26 steals, forced 33 turnovers, and scored 31 points off of turnovers. The M-ettes had 31 points off of the bench.
"You have to put a lot of pressure on their guards, come up and trap, and do a little more zone trapping," Coach Hammond said. "It paid off for us. I thought that we did a good job defending in their post."
Kunze led the offensive attack against Glasgow with 14 points. Kunze also had nine steals, six rebounds, and one block.
Williamson had 12 points, five steals, five rebounds, and three assists. Nelson had 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Jacobson had seven points, four steals, and two rebounds. Tuss had six points and nine rebounds. Elly Anderson had five points, French had five points, A. Anderson had two points, Gracie Honey had two points and two steals, and Addison Ulrich had one point.
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