M-ettes Defeat Lady Scotties and Lady Wolves, Lose to Lady Golden Eagles

The Malta M-ettes went 2-1 last week as they defeated the Glasgow Lady Scotties 57-43 on Thursday, February 1, and the Wolf Point Lady Wolves 58-40 in Malta on Friday, February 2. They fell 53-46 to the Fergus Lady Golden Eagles on Saturday, February 3.

Malta was scheduled to face the Class A Havre Lady Blue Ponies for the second time this season on Tuesday, February 6. Recap of that game will be in next week’s PCN.

The M-ettes will face the Poplar Lady Indians in Malta on Friday, February 9, at 6 p.m. The night will serve as Senior Night, Little Mustang Night, and Little Cheer Night. The M-ettes will also host the Harlem Lady Wildcats on Saturday, February 10, at 5:30 p.m.

In Malta’s win over Wolf Point, the M-ettes were led by Kelbie Nelson who had 13 points, seven steals, and five rebounds. Elly Anderson had 12 points, three steals, and three assists.

“I think that we worked the ball into the post a lot better,” Anderson said of the win. “We were confident and threw it into the post which created a lot more shots for us tonight.”

Denvyr Tuss had 11 points, nine rebounds, and two steals. Kendall Clausen had seven points, five rebounds, and three steals. Giona Lamb had six points. Neva Jacobson had five points and three rebounds. Emree Stuart had four points and five rebounds.

Lamb displayed confidence in the paint, but the senior also took a rare three-point shot which nearly went in.

“I was wide open, so I thought, might as well try and shoot it,” Lamb said. “Our coaches always tell us, if you think you’re open and you think you can shoot that, go ahead and shoot. So, I shot it.”

Malta and Wolf Point traded buckets early in the game, with Malta leading 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. The M-ettes were able to pull away in the second quarter, stifling the Lady Wolves’ offense to four points in the second quarter, while they scored 13. Malta also outscored Wolf Point 21-15 in the third quarter, and 12-11 in the fourth quarter.

Malta was 19-of-40 (47.5%) from two-point range. The M-ettes forced 31 turnovers and scored 31 points off of those turnovers. Malta also scored 32 points in the paint.

Malta scored the first four points of the game in their loss to Fergus, but the Lady Golden Eagles took control of the game in the first quarter and outscored Malta 15-10 in the quarter. Fergus also outscored Malta 16-13 in the second quarter, leading by as much as 15. The M-ettes did not go away as the team outscored Fergus 16-7 in the third period and took a 39-38 lead going into the fourth quarter. After the teams reached a 42-42 tie, Fergus went on a 11-4 run to end the game.

Jacobson led the M-ettes against Fergus with 13 points and three rebounds. Clausen had 11 points and six rebounds. Tuss had six points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Stuart had six points and four rebounds. Nelson had four points, five rebounds and two assists. Anderson had four points and three steals. Lamb had two points and three rebounds.

The M-ettes were 14-of-35 (40%) from two-point range. They outrebounded Fergus 39-34 and scored 16 second chance points.

In Malta’s win over Glasgow, the M-ettes were led by Tuss who scored 14 points. Jacobson had 13 points. Stuart had seven points. Nelson had six points. Anderson had six points. Clausen had five points. Lamb had four points and Caitlin Wilson had two points.

Malta outscored the Lady Scotties 17-8 in the first quarter, 12-8 in the second quarter and 17-11 in the third quarter. Glasgow scored 16 points in the fourth while holding Malta to 11 points.

Ulrich, a senior, was asked what the team needs to improve as the postseason is only a week away.

“We need to work on our ball-handling more and less turnovers,” Ulrich said. “We need to be patient on offense instead of trying to shoot every chance that we get the ball.”