M-ettes Earn Fourth Straight Northern B Title in Glasgow

The Malta M-ette basketball team has again proven to be the top team in the Northern B after defeating the Wolf Point Lady Wolves 60-33 in the 2023 Northern B Divisional last Saturday night in a packed Glasgow High School Gynasium.

The win gave Malta their fourth straight Northern B Divisional title, and eighteenth in the team's history.

"It's crazy," Malta senior Allison Kunze told the PCN. "We are all so excited and its nice to get the fourth one. Hopefully we can go to state and redeem ourselves."

Fellow senior Brylee French was asked how the fourth championship win felt.

"It feels really good," French said. "We have all been working very hard these past four years, so it feels really good that our hard work is paying off. Especially since we got a good seeding in the state tournament. We are hoping that we can push on from this win. We only have three more games to get to where we want to be."

The M-ettes have also punched a ticket to the State B Tournament. State is set to take place in Great Falls from Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 11. The M-ettes will take on the third seed in the Southern Division on March 9, at 6:30 p.m. The Southern B takes place this weekend.

Last season, Malta's locker room was hit with sickness and the team was unable to even make the consolation finals. Kunze was asked what their approach will be heading towards state.

"I think we are going to have a good two weeks of practice, watch some of the other teams that we haven't played yet and get to work," Kunze said.

To reach the Northern B Championship, Malta defeated the Choteau Lady Bulldogs 76-52 in the opening round on Thursday, February 23. The M-ettes went on to defeat the Glasgow Lady Scotties 54-42 in the semi-finals on Friday, February 24.

Glasgow would later fight back to win the third place game and earn the right to challenge Wolf Point to the second and final Northern B spot at state. (Wolf Point won that challenge game 50-41, and earned the second spot at state, last Monday night in Glasgow.)

Glasgow's win in the consolation finals meant that Malta made state irregardless of a win on last Saturday night.

In their championship game victory over Wolf Point, Malta was led by Kunze, who had a 18 point, 13 rebound double-double. Kunze also had three steals, and three assists.

"I feel like we got everyone involved, everyone was really happy for each other, we were really gritty, and wanted the fourth (Northern B Championship) win," Kunze said.

Senior Addy Anderson had 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Senior Maddie Williamson had 11 points, four steals, and two assists. Freshman Denvyr Tuss had 9 points, 15 rebounds, one steal, and one block. Sophomore Kelbie Nelson had two points and junior Addison Ulrich had two points. Freshman Neva Jacobson had four assists and four rebounds.

Wolf Point was led by J Elle Garfield who had 13 points. Sierra Hamilton had 12 points.

Malta outscored the Wolves 13-5 in the first quarter, and had a 27-12 lead at halftime. Malta's defense kept rolling in the third quarter in which they only gave up 10 points, while they scored 21 offensively. The forth quarter featured reserves from both sides but Malta outscored the Lady Wolves 12-11.

Malta made 22-of-27 (33%) shot attempts and made 3-of-12 (25%) three point attempts. The also went 13-of-18 from the free throw line.

The M-ettes outrebounded the Lady Wolves 43-23, a number that included 19 offensive rebounds. Teams were close to even in turnovers. Malta forced 14 turnovers and gave the ball away 12 times.

In the M-ettes' semi-final win over Glasgow, Malta was led by Williamson who had 19 points, six steals, three assists, and one rebound.

Tuss had 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks. Anderson had 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Kunze had eight points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. Senior Brylee French had three points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Jacobson had two points, two steals, and two assists.

The Lady Scotties were led by eighth grader Mayze Yoakam, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Glasgow senior Daley Aune had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Malta forced 22 turnovers in their win and scored 23 points off of those turnovers. They were 20-of-52 (38%) from the field, 2-of-11 (18%) from three point range, and made 12-of-18 (66%) of their free throw attempts. Glasgow outrebounded Malta 35 to 34.

Malta jumped out to a 15-3 lead after the first quarter but Glasgow stuck around in the second quarter. The halftime score was 28-15. Malta outscored Glasgow 13-11 in the third quarter, and Glasgow outscored Malta 16-13 in the fourth quarter.

"They played really tough, knowing that that was our (fourth) time playing them," Kunze said. "They know how we all play. I feel like we stayed in it, we were composed, and we passed the ball well."

In Malta's win over Choteau, the M-ettes were led by Williamson who had 17 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists.

Anderson had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Denvyr Tuss had 12 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Kunze had 12 points and six rebounds. Jacobson had six points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. French had six points. Elly Anderson had four points and two steals. Nelson had three points. Ulrich had two points.

Choteau was led by Ada Bieler who had 36 points. Zoey Tobar had nine points.

"The key to our win was our defense," Kunze said. "There was a very good scorer on Choteau. We tried to stop her the best that we could, and I feel like a lot of us stepped up."

Malta forced 30 turnovers in the win, 16 of which were steals. They scored 22 points off of Choteau's turnovers. Malta made 28 of their 66 shot attempts (42%). Malta made 7-of-18 (38%) of their shots from three point range and was 13-of-19 (68%) from the free throw line.

Early on the Bulldogs kept up with Malta, only falling behind 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, and then eventually taking the lead with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter. Down 19-20, Anderson earned three trips to the free throw line, and earned a 25-20 lead for Malta.

"I noticed that we were rushing everything and were freaking out the second that we touched the ball, so I just tried to calm myself down and get to the basket and initiate some offense," Anderson said.

Malta found their offensive rhythm and outscored Choteau 23-12 in the quarter. The halftime score was 37-24. Malta outscored the Bulldogs 30-12 in the third quarter, and were outscored 16-9 in the fourth quarter.

Despite being in early foul trouble, Kunze was able to finish the game. She was asked how she was able to compete and finish strong.

"Starting with three fouls, I was in my head a little bit, but I knew that we would pull through and other people would step up," Kunze said. "I was able to play a role and not let it affect me too much."

Anderson was asked what would be the key to winning the next game.

"We need to not overlook the other teams," Anderson said. "We need to keep the main prize in our heads. We need to work together, execute, and have a lot of intensity."