Midseason Treat: G-Town Vs. Wolves

Scottie basketball throws itself to the Wolves – talented ones – this weekend. How the undefeated boys and resilient girls teams emerge from Saturday's conference games at Wolf Point could give insight into the rest of their seasons.

For the boys, G-Town vs. Wolf Point is a Montana Top 10 midseason clash. The squads are tied atop District 2B at 3-0. MaxPreps ranks Glasgow (8-0 overall) third in the state with a 16.3 rating and the Wolves (5-2) eighth with a 10.4 rating.

"Saturday could be the biggest test of year for us so far," GHS boys coach Norm Braaten told The Courier. "Wolf Point is solid and playing hard. We will be tested and that's what we need – to be tested."

Braaten said his team is "doing some things defensively and with conditioning in practice this week" as the senior-led Scotties continue their mission to go for it all. First comes Friday's game at Poplar (2-2, 4-4).

Asked if he expected the Scotties to be 8-0 at this stage, Braaten answered, "Yeah. It's something you worry about when you go to Sidney and Glendive (where the Scotties won), but we're playing well enough to be 8-0."

Glasgow is coming off a 49-23 win at Harlem (1-2, 2-6) last Friday and 65-17 tuneup against young, visiting Plentywood (0-3, 1-8) on Saturday.

Jake Kolstad led the balanced Scotties with 11 points. Others scoring: Jason Thibault and Chase Fossum with 9 each, Jake Page 8, Keil Krumwiede 5, Zach Miller 4, Gage Legare 2 and Ethan Etchart 1.

They led 17-11 at the half before pulling away. Braaten said The Scotties "didn't shoot the ball well but played good defense, maybe the best all year" and shut down Harlem star Trenton Gone "pretty good."

"It's always a nice win at Harlem," Braaten said. "Tough place, tough kids."

Against Plentywood, putting up double digits were Krumwiede (12 points), Fossum (11) and Thibault (10). Following were Miller with 9, Kolstad and Page with 6 each, Etchart 5 and Legare 4.

Glasgow was able to rotate every player who dressed in the fourth quarter, with two coming in and two coming out every 2 minutes. Braaten called it an outing of good defense, playing hard and knocking down shots for GHS.

For the Scottie girls (2-1, 3-5), it was a weekend of two comeback wins and the first winning streak for rookie coach Jon Kolstad. The team sits in fourth place in 2B – behind Malta (3-0, 8-0), Plentywood (2-1, 6-3) and Wolf Point (2-1, 5-2).

Glasgow roared back to beat Harlem, having trailed 37-28 at the half and 37-32 after three quarters before outscoring the home team 18-6 in the fourth quarter for a 50-43 victory.

Scoring for GHS were Abbi Kolstad with 18 points, Leinie Hughes 10, Amanda Wolff 9, Tyra Johnson 6, Jordan Kulczyk 4, Khloe Krumwiede 2 and Lexie Nixdorf 1.

Leading Harlem were Mari Ereaux with 15 and Teche Ereaux 12.

Glasgow next handed Plentywood its first 2B loss of the season in a back and forth game, winning 41-37. Glasgow led 23-15 at the half and the Lady Wildcats 30-29 after three quarters.

Wolff led the Scotties on the floor and in points with 17. Also scoring were Hughes with 10, Kulczyk and Nixdorf with 6 each and Kolstad with 2.

Next up are Poplar (0-3, 2-5) and Wolf Point (2-1, 5-2). The Lady Wolves are getting notice in state rankings.

MaxPreps Montana Boys Class B Rankings: 1 Choteau (7-0 record, 25 rating), 2 Bigfork (7-0. 21.7), 3 Glasgow (8-0, 16.3), 4 Loyola-Sacred Heart (6-2, 16.1), 5 Florence-Carlton (6-2, 13.9), 6 Columbus (5-1, 13), 7 Sweet Grass County (6-1, 12.5), 8 Wolf Point (4-1, 10.4), 9 Powell County (3-5, 7.6), 10 Ronan (5-3, 7.4).