Scotties' Season Ends in a Dogfight

CHOTEAU – The Glasgow girls basketball team came up just a bit short of the State Tournament losing 59-51 to Choteau in its effort to grab the third and final spot from the Northern B Division.

The Scotties fell behind early, struggling to get their legs underneath of them after beating Conrad 59-53 earlier in the day. Having to wait seven hours between games killed the flow the Scotties had in the first game and the hometown Bulldogs clearly had the advantage in the consolation final. It also didn't help that junior forward Shelby Fossum had to leave the game with a knee injury in the first few minutes of the game.

Glasgow fell behind 11-0 before Taylor Markle threw in a mid-range jumper to get the Scotties on the board. A 3-pointer and a free throw got the Scotties seemingly back in the game before Choteau went on a scoring spree in the last minute to give the Bulldogs a 16-6 lead after the first.

The second quarter marked a trend that ended up being the death of Glasgow in the tournament. After an early 3-pointer by Markle, the Scotties struggled to score for long stretches of time, a problem that plagued them in the earlier game against Conrad as well. The Scotties went scoreless for more than four minutes, luckily holding Choteau to only three points over the drought. By the time Choteau's Ashley Vandolah nailed a 3-pointer as the buzzer closed the second quarter, her fourth three of the first half, Glasgow trailed 31-14 and was looking at a long uphill climb to making the game close.

The game got as bad as a 25-point deficit for the Scotties, before they finally got their range back.

Chloe Sukut and KayCee Markle hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions for the Scotties, slowly bringing them into the game, but even though the girls had garnered some momentum, the Scotties still trailed by 20 entering the fourth quarter.

Then Glasgow went off in the fourth.

Sukut and KayCee Markle stayed hot from long range, and with help from Tiffany Wetzel led the Scotties on a 17-1 run to begin the quarter, closing to within four points of the lead after Sukut buried a three with 1:13 to play.

Unfortunately, the comeback was not quite enough, a few missed chances on the next few possessions along with solid free throw shooting from the Bulldogs left Glasgow just short of traveling to Belgrade this weekend, losing 59-51.

Sukut led the brigade with 16 points while Taylor and KayCee Markle both had nine points to end the night. Wetzel scored eight points, Rose Reyling finished with six points and Hanna Schultz had two points on the night. Quinn Vaira, who along with Sukut and Taylor Markle, played her last game for the Scotties on Saturday, ended with one point on a free throw that came in the first quarter.

The girls played very well in the rest of the tournament, with their only other loss coming to eventual runner-up Fairfield.

The Scotties demolished Cut Bank in the opener, beating the Wolves 60-40.
Glasgow came out firing in the game, burying Cut Bank by halftime, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 45 percent from the field.

Taylor Markle finished with a game-high 13 points in the opener, as Sukut and Fossum each had eight points and Reyling, Vaira and Jami Johnson each had seven points. Wetzel finished with six points and Schultz and Haley Messmer each had two points.

In the semifinals, Glasgow hung tough with Fairfield, hanging with the defending Class B champs with a balanced offensive attack. The Scotties trailed by only four points at halftime, but were never able to get over the top, losing 51-40.

Sukut again led the team in scoring, finishing with 11 points. Taylor Markle had nine points, Reyling scored six points, and Fossum ended with five points. Jami Johnson scored four points, KayCee Markle had three points and Wetzel finished with two points to round out the scoring for Glasgow.

In the early game on Saturday, the Scotties took charge in the third quarter outscoring Conrad 11-4 in the period to give themselves a 39-34 lead entering the fourth. An early burst in the final period gave Glasgow a large enough lead to withstand the free throw battle that closed out the game.

The Scotties shot an amazing 78 percent as a team from the free-throw line in the game, allowing them to easily maintain their lead as the game came to a close.
Sukut and Reyling each had 14 points to lead the Scotties. Fossum and Taylor Markle each scored 10 points in the game, Wetzel finished with five points and Johnson and Vaira each had three points.

Malta won the divisional by besting Fairfield in the championship game 47-39. The two teams, which combined have won each of the last three Class B championships, swept through the bracket and along with Choteau will represent the Northern Division at the state tournament in Belgrade this weekend.