Scottie Girls Impressive Postseason Run Concludes

When teams and coaches talk about peaking right before postseason, rarely does anyone do it in as dramatic a fashion as the 2022-23 Scottie girls basketball team did this year. After finishing the regular season with a a 3-5, 3-15 overall record, Glasgow more than doubled their wins in the postseason.

The Scotties emerged from the District 2B tournament with a 2-1 showing in Malta and a third-place trophy. They advanced to the Northern B Divisional tournament in Glasgow this past weekend and gave the home crowd much to cheer for.

The Scotties started the tournament Thursday with a decisive 66-37 victory over the Conrad Cowgirls. Glasgow faced Malta Friday, losing 54-42 but giving the M-ettes the toughest game they faced in the two teams' four meetings this season. In loser-out action Saturday morning, the Scotties battled back from a double-digit first half deficit against the Fairfield Eagles to post a 47-32 victory.

The win placed the Scotties in the consolation game that night, where they faced the Poplar Indians for a fourth time this season. Glasgow took control of the game early and won 71-57. Following Glasgow's win, Malta defeated Wolf Point in the championship game, opening up a path for a State Tournament berth for the Scotties.

Glasgow challenged Wolf Point Monday night in front of a packed Scottie gym and proved they had earned the right to challenge. The game was full of surges and momentum shifts but when the final buzzer sounded, Wolf Point held the 50-49 advantage. Glasgow made the Wolves earn their trip to Great Falls and sends the team off stronger for having faced a hungry Scottie team.

The District 2B teams swept the first day of the Northern B Divisional tournament and the top four slots with Malta taking top honors, Wolf Point in second, Glasgow third and Poplar fourth.

Glasgow's first game against Conrad gave the crowd a good taste of the postseason Scotties. The Scotties led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. A 27-point performance in the second had them up 40-18 at the half. Glasgow outscored Conrad 14-11 and 12-8 in the final two quarters.

The Scotties shot 43.8 percent from the court and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. Daley Aune set the nets on fire with 33 points, hitting three shots from downtown and sinking all six of her free throws. Joely Chappell added 12 and Tatum Nyquist scored 8, all from the field. Carly Nelson added 6, Mayzie Yoakam hit a three-pointer and Hayden Green scored 2 points.

Glasgow grabbed 42 rebounds to Conrad's 29 boards. Aune led with seven followed by Nelson with six and Yoakam with five. The Scotties had 23 assists, 17 turnovers and 19 steals. Aune and Nelson each had four helpers and four assists to lead the team. The Cowgirls registered 13 assists, 22 turnovers and eight steals.

The Scotties held their fouls to eight while the Cowgirls drew 12 calls. Nyquist had three calls against her and Nelson two fouls. Brielle Partridge, Tanae Baker and Yoakam had one foul each.

Glasgow faced Malta Friday, falling behind 15-3 after one quarter. The Scotties held even with Malta in the second, getting outscored by a single point, for a 28-15 M-ette lead at the half. Malta outpaced Glasgow 13-11 in the third. The Scotties put up 16 in the final eight minutes but the M-ettes scored another 13 to earn the win.

The Scotties shot 25.5 percent from the court and 66.7 percent at the charity stripe. Yoakam led the Scotties with 19 points, hitting two from the perimeter and sinking 7-of-11 bonus shots. Aune connected for 10 with a trey and a 3-for-4 showing at the line. Chappell added 5 with a three while Nelson scored 4 points. Nyquist hit a bucket and Kyndall Schraner sank two free throws.

Glasgow out-rebounded Malta 41-34, led by Chappell with nine and Yoakam and Nelson with eight each. The Scotties had eight assists, 20 turnovers and 10 steals to the M-ettes' nine helpers, 17 giveaways and 16 steals. Yoakam and Aune each had two assists. Nyquist had three steals for Glasgow.

Both teams were called for 15 fouls. Nelson fouled out of the game and Yoakam drew four whistles. Nyquist had two fouls while Partridge, Baker, Chappell and Schraner had one a piece.

The loss dropped the Scotties to Saturday morning action against Fairfield. Glasgow trailed 9-4 after one and went down by double-digits in the second before cutting the Eagles' lead to 5 points by the half. The second half belonged to the Scotties who put up 10 in the third for a 27-24 lead heading into the fourth. Glasgow outscored Fairfield 20-8 in the final eight minutes.

The Scotties shot 37 percent from the field and 48 percent at the line with a balanced scoring sheet. Aune led the squad with 12 followed by Chappell with 10, Nyquist and Yoakam with 8 each, Nelson 7 and Schraner 2 points.

Glasgow had 34 boards to Fairfield's 32 rebounds. Chappell snagged five and Aune grabbed four. The Scotties had 12 assists, 18 turnovers and 17 assists to Fairfield's one assist, 13 turnovers and two steals. Aune had four helpers and Nelson added three while Aune also led in steals with five. Chappell had three takeaways.

Fairfield was called for 20 fouls while Glasgow held theirs to 15 calls. Schraner and Yoakam had four fouls. Aune, Nelson and Nyquist drew two whistles a piece and Partridge had one call against her.

Glasgow faced Poplar in the consolation game. The teams split their regular season meetings with Glasgow securing a win over the Indians at the District 2B tournament. The Scotties won their fourth and final match-up handily.

Glasgow led 23-11 at the end of one and 39-26 at the half. The Scotties outscored the Indians 19-14 in the third and held off a 17-point Poplar performance in the fourth for the victory.

The Scotties shot 41.7 percent from the field and 73.1 percent at the line. Aune and Nelson powered the team, both putting up a double-double. Aune scored 30 points with 10 rebounds while Nelson added 18 points and 10 boards. Chappell added 9 points and Baker scored 5 from the line. Schraner scored 4 and Nyquist 3, also all from the stripe. Yoakam added a bucket to the score sheet.

Glasgow grabbed 44 boards to Poplar's 41 and had 16 assists, 22 turnovers and 15 steals. The Indians had 13 assists, 24 turnovers and 12 steals. Aune and Nelson each had five assists for the Scotties. Nelson led in steals with five and Chappell added four to the books.

With Glasgow's win and Malta's subsequent win over Wolf Point the Scotties hit the hardwood again Monday night in what would prove to be their final game of the season.

Aune started the challenge game scoring action, draining a three from the right wing but Wolf Point was quick to answer with a three of their own. Both teams sank a free throw and a bucket to tie the game at 6 at the end of one. Aune hit a free throw and Nelson scored on a rebound from her own missed first shot for the Scotties.

Wolf Point came alive early in the second, but Glasgow fought back with strong offense, rebounding and a full court press. The Scotties held an 18-13 lead at the half with Yoakam, Chappell, Nelson and Aune all scoring for Glasgow.

After a bucket by Yoakam early in the third, the Wolves called a timeout to regroup. The short break allowed the Wolves to claw their way back into the game as they began to push their outside game. Wolf Point hit four three-pointers in the third to outscore Glasgow 17-10 for a 2-point lead heading into the fourth.

Several more threes by the Wolves put them ahead but Glasgow kept pace powered by eighth-grader Yoakam until late in the game when the Scotties were forced to foul. Glasgow gave up three bonus shots to the Wolves and a missed free throw led to a bucket for Wolf Point's 50-41 win.

Yoakam led Glasgow with 17 points hitting two treys and 7-of-10 free throws. Aune added 12 with a three and a 3-for-4 showing at the line. Nelson hit 4-of-5 bonus shots on her way to 10 points. Chappell and Nyquist sank a free throw each. The Scotties shot 69.6 percent from the line.

Both teams were called for 14 fouls. Glasgow had 10 after the break while Wolf Point had eight after halftime. Nelson drew four calls while Partridge, Chappell, Nyquist, Yoakam and Aune had two fouls a piece.

Glasgow loses seniors Aune, Nelson and Partridge but will be returning a number of younger, now-experienced varsity players next season. The Scotties' JV and C squads both turned in impressive wins this season and promises a strong Scottie future.

The youth and improvement shown by the team over this season bodes well for Glasgow's future, impressing the home team crowds and beyond. Pierre Bibbs, Phillips County News Publisher and sports reporter told the Courier after watching the challenge game online, "A great tournament for sure. I am pretty sure I haven't seen anyone improve that much in the postseason ... I definitely hope the Glasgow community is proud."