North Country Girls Bring Home State Silver

Coach Amber Erikson expected some tough competition from Roy-Winifred and Fort Benton at the girls Class C State basketball tournament and her Mavericks found it. North Country rolled over Garfield County, 66-27, before moving on to face Roy-Winifred. After a back-and-forth first half followed by an even second half, the Mavs won by a five-point margin, 43-38. The win sent them to the championship game against Fort Benton, who handed North Country their sole loss of the season, 74-60. The Mavericks finished their season as the runners-up at the state tournament.

North Country took game one at the state tournament easily enough. Garfield County played only the third quarter tight, allowing the Mavs to take a decisive victory. North Country snatched an 11-6 first quarter lead and shut out Garfield County in the second quarter while draining 25 points. Garfield County held tight with North Country in the third, getting outscored by a single point, 14-13. But the Mavs raged back in the final eight minutes, doubling their opponents' scoring, 16-8. Coach Erickson took advantage of her team's significant lead to put every player on the floor.

The Mavs had three players hit double digit scoring: Kia Wasson 18; Jaycee Erickson 16 and Kaitlyn McColly 15. Kora LaBrie and Paige Wasson added 5 points each. Zandora Longtree had 3 while Mattea McColly and Jayden Erickson had 2 each. Kelsee Cummings pulled down 6 rebounds while K. McColly, P. Wasson and Longtree had 4 a piece. LaBrie snagged 5 steals and K. Wasson had 4. North Country kept their fouls to 11 in the game while Garfield County had 19.

The win pitted the Mavericks against Roy-Winifred, who defeated Seely Swan in the first round. Roy-Winifred leapt out to a 10-4 lead after the first but North Country answered with a strong second quarter, outscoring Roy-Winifred 15-4 for the 19-14 lead at the half. The third quarter saw Roy-Winifred cut North Country's lead to four points, 30-26. In the fourth quarter, the Mavs outscored their opponents 13-12 to win by 5, 43-38.

K. Wasson put up 14 points for the Mavs, followed by K. McColly and Erickson with 8 each. Teagan Erickon added 7 points and LaBrie and Cummings had 2 each. T. Erickson crashed the boards for 6 rebounds and K. McColly brought down 5. K. McColly and Jaycee Erickson led the Mavs in steals with 4 each. Roy-Winifred had 15 fouls in the game while North Country held theirs to 12.

The Thursday night victory sent North Country to the Saturday night championship match-up against Fort Benton. The two teams played a tight game until Fort Benton broke loose in the fourth quarter. The 25-point performance in the final eight minutes propelled Fort Benton over North Country for the state title. After the first eight minutes, the eventual champions held only a one-point lead, 18-17. Both teams put up 16 points in the second. Fort Benton outscored North Country 15-13 in the third quarter, to take a 49-46 lead into the final eight minutes.

North Country again put three players in double digits as Jaycee Erickson connected for 20 points, K. McColly had 15 and K. Wasson scored 12. Cummings and P. Wasson had 4 points each, T. Erickson 3 and LaBrie 2. K. McColly and Cummings pulled down 5 rebounds each and T. Erickson had 4. K. Wasson and Jaycee Erickson had 3 steals each in the game.

Coach Erickson said before the state tournament, "This team has worked very hard over the past several years to get to the level we are playing at this season. I have several players on my team that love basketball and have put a lot of time in the gym on their own to become solid shooters and players." She will lose only three seniors and return an experienced roster of players next season. She noted all 12 of her players were solid this year and she was able to put five players on the court at all times who could score, indicating the Mavericks will prove to be a powerhouse for the foreseeable future.