NC Rises to the Challenge

The North Country Mavericks have secured another state tournament berth. Their route to Great Falls took an extra turn they had not planned on – a challenge game from the Scobey Spartans – but the Mavericks rose to the occasion Monday night in Wolf Point with a dramatic 43-36 win.

North Country paid no heed to their first two opponents at the Eastern Divisional Tournament in Sidney. They dropped Froid/Lake by a 40-point margin – 62-22 – in their opening game on Thursday before silencing the MonDak Thunder with a running clock 58-13 score on Friday.

The Mavericks advanced to the chipper to take on the Plentywood Wildcats. The Wildcats took advantage of a slow start from the Mavericks as they went on to claim the Eastern title with a 48-39 score.

North Country rolled over Froid/Lake in their opening game Thursday. The Mavericks defeated the Redhawks by a 40-point margin, 62-22.

North Country established their lead with their first basket and never let Froid/Lake into the game. The victors led 18-9 after one. The Mavericks increased their lead to 21 points at the half, 35-14.

Another 17 points in the third quarter gave them a 52-18 lead heading into the final eight minutes. North Country again outscored Froid/Lake, 10-4, in the fourth quarter.

Paige Wasson ran the floor with 28 points, including going 3-for-5 from downtown. Jaycee Erickson scored 11 points, draining 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Teagan Erickson went 3-of-5 at the line and added 9 points.

Shelbi LaBrie scored 4, Kora LaBrie and Mattea McColly 3 each and Kendall Scheffelmear and Zandora Longtree both added 2 points.

J. Erickson led in assists with five followed by T. Erickson and Longtree each with two. Scheffelmear had one dish. T. Erickson led in steals with four. McColly and J. Erickson had three takeaways. Wasson and Longtree had two steals a piece and K. LaBrie and Scheffelmear had one each.

North Country dominated on rebounds, pulling down 37 boards to Froid/Lake's 20.

T. Erickson and Wasson grabbed eight each and J. Erickson had seven rebounds. McColly grabbed four boards, Scheffelmear two and Cienna Strommen and Longtree both grabbed one.

The Redhawks were called for 16 fouls while the Mavericks held their infractions to four. T. Erickson had two fouls while McColly and Longtree each had one.

The Mavericks faced the MonDak Thunder in the semifinal round. North Country again dominated the hardwood, going up 16-2 after one and leading 33-4 at the half.

A running clock hardly slowed down the Mavericks who outscored the Thunder 17-6 in the third and 8-3 in the final quarter.

Wasson again led in scoring, putting up 16 points, shooting 61.5 percent from the field. J. Erickson added 13 points, including a three-pointer, and T. Erickson scored 10, with a 55.5 shot percentage.

Scheffelmear shot 66.6 percent from the floor and added 8 points for the Mavericks. K. LaBrie hit a trey while McColly, S. LaBrie, Longtree and Josie Brown each added 2 points.

T. Erickson had three assists in leading the Mavericks. K. LaBrie had two dishes and Strommen and Scheffelmear added one a piece. T. Erickson and Wasson had three steals each in the win. S. LaBrie had two while K. Labrie, McColly, J. Erickson and Strommen had one takeaway each.

North Country had 29 rebounds to MonDak's 19. T. Erickson had seven in leading the Mavericks. Wasson grabbed five boards, J. Erickson and Brown three each and Scheffelmear two. Sammie Wisher, S. LaBrie, Strommen and Ava Hanley had one rebound each.

The Thunder racked up 13 fouls while the Mavericks held their infractions to two. T. Erickson and Wasson split the calls.

After dominating their first two contests, the Mavericks found real competition in the Plentywood Wildcats in the chipper Saturday night.

A slow start from the Mavericks allowed the Wildcats to go up 15-5 at the end of the first. North Country battled back in the second with 17 points to cut Plentywood's lead to 3 points, 25-22.

But Plentywood came out strong in the second half, outscoring North Country 12-7 in the third to carry a 37-29 lead into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks held a one-point advantage in the final eight minutes but it was not enough to overcome the deficit created in the first 24 minutes of the game.

J. Erickson led her team with 16 points, including two from downtown. T. Erickson added 13 points. Wasson scored 7 with a trey and Longtree hit a shot from the outside. K. LaBrie had two assists and T. Erickson had the third of the Mavericks' three. T. Erickson also had the team's only steal.

T. Erickson and Wasson each had six rebounds for North Country while McColly had three and K. LaBrie had one board.

North Country had 13 fouls in the game, one fewer than Plentywood.

Wasson was called for four infractions. K. LaBrie, McColly and J. Erickson had two each. T. Erickson, Strommen and Scheffelmear were called for one a piece.

The win by Plentywood opened the door for the Scobey Spartans to challenge the North Country for a state tournament berth.

With Wolf Point as the host, the Mavericks and Spartans hit the hardwood Monday night, both teams desperate to prevent the end of their season.

Scobey came out hot in the first half, leading by 3 points at the end of the first and second quarters. The Spartans went up 11-8 at the end of eight minutes and carried a 19-16 lead into the second half.

The intermission provided the Mavericks a much-needed chance to regroup and the girls from North Country came out much stronger in the third quarter. North Country increased their score by 18 points – powered in large part by Wasson's 10 – and held the Spartans to 7 in their return to the court.

Scobey outscored North Country 10-9 in the final eight minutes but found themselves on the wrong end of a 43-26 scored as the Mavericks celebrated a return trip to the state tournament.

Wasson led all scorers with 20 points, hitting two three-pointers in the third quarter and going 2-for-2 on free throws. T. Erickson added 7 points on two field goals and hitting 3-of-4 at the line. Longtree and J. Erickson both added 5 points while S. LaBrie, McColly and Scheffelmear all hit one from the field.

Scobey was called for 16 fouls, nine in the second half, while North Country held their infractions to 12, split evenly between the halves. K. Labrie and Wasson were called four, J. Erickson two and McColly and Scheffelmear were called for one a piece.

North Country plays the first game of the 2022 State Class C Girls' Basketball Tournament at the Montana Expo Park in Great Falls. They open the tourney with a noon game on Thursday, March 10, against Twin Bridges.