Mavericks Send Outlaws Running

By the numbers: three wins at state, zero losses this season, 54 wins in a row, a 31-point state championship victory and an 83-point win spread over three games at State. The Mavericks brought one MHSA coach of the year, two future collegiate players plus 10 more talented players, and one unified vision of a second state trophy. That vision became a reality with a 62-31 Saturday night victory over the Roy Winifred Outlaws.

North Country cruised through the final tournament with three dominant wins. The Mavericks rolled over Roberts 72-45 in their opening game Thursday and defeated Twin Bridges 58-33 the following day to earn their second consecutive trip to the State chipper where they emerged victorious again.

The Mavericks posted the most dominant performance in any class – boys and girls – on their championship run. North Country won their title game by a 31-point spread, the next closest being Beaverhead's 25-point win the Class A Boys championship game. The two-time champions also won their three games at State by an 83-point margin, outpacing all other championship teams this season. Baker, in the Class B girls tournament, won their games by a 60-point margin.

North Country opened their play, and the girls tournament, Thursday at noon when they hit the court against the Roberts Rockets. Paige Wasson put the Mavs on the scoreboard first after a couple of possessions. Roberts would tie the game but Kendall Scheffelmear put the Mavs up again and they would lead for the remainder of the quarter, also getting scoring from Teagan Erickson and BaiLee McColly for an 18-14 lead after 8 minutes. North Country had more players in the scorebook in the first quarter than Roberts did in the game.

The Rockets turned up the offense a notch in the second quarter, outpacing North Country 14-12 and taking the lead three times in the quarter. Points from Wasson, Erickson and Shelbi LaBrie put the Mavericks up by 5 points late in the quarter before Roberts pulled within 2 before halftime, 30-28.

North Country took control both offensively and defensively in the third, going on a 25-5 run in the 8 minutes after halftime. Erickson, LaBrie and Wasson scored 9 points before Roberts answered. The Mavericks continued to light up the net, forcing Roberts into a timeout trailing 46-30. North Country put up another 9 before the buzzer sounded while holding Roberts to 3 points, for a 55-33 North Country lead heading into the final quarter.

Roberts managed to score 12 in the last 8 minutes, but a hot North Country team dumped in another 17 for the win. The Mavericks led by 34 points – 70-36 – in the fourth, their largest lead of the game, as Coach Amber Erickson sent in her bench to face full court pressure from the Rockets. Roberts scored 9 in the last 2:38, while Emerson Downing hit a field goal for North Country in the 72-45 win.

North Country shot 62% from the field, going 3-of-8 from three-point land, and hit all seven of their free throws. Roberts shot just 32.7% from the field, going 5-for-17 beyond the arc, with a 6-for-10 showing at the charity stripe. The Mavericks had 24 points off turnovers and got 14 points off their bench while outrebounding the Rockets 32 to 20.

Wasson led all scorers with 25. Taylee Chirrick hit 23 for Roberts. Erickson scored 19 and McColly added 12, followed by LaBrie with 10 and Scheffelmear with 4 points. Erickson and Scheffelmear led the Mavs in assists, both with four while LaBrie and Wasson added three each. McColly had one helper.

Erickson led in rebounds with nine, followed by Scheffelmear with five and LaBrie with four. McColly and Wasson pulled down three each followed by CharLee McColly with two, and Gracie Wasson, Berkley Hillman and Josie Brown with one a piece. Wasson snagged five steals followed by Erickson with two. B. McColly, Scheffelmear, Hillman, C. McColly, Brown and Downing had one takeaway each. Wasson knocked down two Roberts shots while Erickson and C. McColly had one block each.

The win advanced to the Mavericks to the now-familiar semifinals Friday night where they faced a rematch from last year's state championship game against the Twin Bridges Falcons. North Country proved they had not lost a step from last year's 59-26 win or their earlier season win over the Falcons, which was Twin Bridges' only loss coming into the tournament.

North Country won the tip and wasted no time going up 2-0 on a short shot from Erickson. Twin Bridges' Allie Dale hit a trey to give the Falcons a 1-point edge for a brief time, the closest the Falcons would come to winning against the Mavericks. LaBrie found Wasson inside to give North Country the lead again, from which they never looked back. Wasson, Scheffelmear and Brown continued for another 10 points while Twin Bridges' Kyle Pancost hit a free throw for a 14-4 North Country advantage after one.

Brown waited for the shot clock to nearly expire early in the second quarter when she hit her second three-pointer of the game and start another dominant offensive quarter for the Mavericks. North Country hit the offensive boards, giving them a number of second chance shots as B. McColly, Wasson, Brown and LaBrie led the way in an 18-8 second quarter scoring run for a 32-12 lead at the half. North Country's hiccup came midway through the quarter when an offensive foul sent Erickson to the bench with three personal fouls.

Twin Bridges found a bit more offense in the third, keeping even with North Country, as both teams put up 13 points. North Country had points from Wasson, Scheffelmear, LaBrie and B. McColly, with a couple more shots coming as the Mavs used up the shot clock. Erickson picked up her fourth foul midway through the quarter, sending her back to the bench for an extended period.

Erickson started the fourth quarter though, shooting over a double-team to increase North Country's lead to 47-25. Even with back-and-forth action, the Mavericks continued to pull away from the Falcons. With under two minutes to play and the victory all-but-certain, Coach Erickson again sent in her bench. Downing gave North Country their largest – and final – lead of the game at 58-33 when she hit a three-pointer.

North Country shot 46.5% from the field, going 8-for-14 from three-point land, and hit all 10 of their free throws while Twin Bridges shot 35% from the field, 2-of-12 on three-pointers, and hitting 3-of-6 free throws. The Mavericks outrebounded the Falcons 28-13, and had 15 points off turnovers to Twin Bridges' 16. North Country had 12 points from the bench while Twin Bridges had none. The Falcons had just three players score as North Country had seven players put up points.

North Country's Wasson and Twin Bridges' Dale led in scoring, both with 22 points. Josie Brown hit for 9, draining all 3-of-3 from downtown followed by LaBrie with 8, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. B. McColly and Scheffelmear both scored 6 with 4 of Scheffelmear's coming at the charity stripe. Erickson connected on two field goals for 4 and Downing hit her trey at the end of the game. LaBrie led in assists with six followed by Wasson with three. B. McColly, Scheffelmear, Hillman and Brown each had one helper.

Erickson pulled down eight boards followed by Wasson with seven and McColly with six, five of which were offensive in the first half. Scheffelmear grabbed three rebounds while LaBrie and Brown both had two. Wasson had three steals and B. McColly and Brown had two a piece. Scheffelmear had two blocked shots for North Country.

The Mavericks advanced to the chipper, marking their second appearance in two years, to face the Roy Winifred Outlaws. The Outlaws had defeated White Sulphur Springs 60-34 in their opening game and downed Melstone 45-26 in the semifinals.

The first quarter gave fans the impression the title game would be a tight affair, as North Country found themselves in the highly unusual position of trailing, 14-13, at the end of 8 minutes. Roy Winifred won the tip and went up 4-0 before Wasson put the Mavs on the board with a free throw. She brought the Mavs within one with a field goal, and Erickson gave the team the lead, hitting two free throws after being fouled on a LaBrie-steal breakaway.

North Country held the lead until a free throw from Dakota Crabtree tied the game at 11-11. Erickson put the Mavs back on top with two free throws, but Outlaws star Isabelle Heggem drained a trey with 9 seconds left in the quarter for an Outlaws lead.

Brown gave the Mavs the lead back right away in the second quarter, scoring on her own rebound, but a free throw from Heggem tied it and a shot from Hannah Ewen put the Outlaws back up 17-15. LaBrie drained a trey before Heggem tied it for the last time on a free throw. Wasson, LaBrie and Erickson led the Mavericks to a 27-21 lead at the half.

The Mavericks returned to the court and some back-and-forth scoreless action until Crabtree hit a field goal several possessions in. Shortly after, Wasson answered with a trey, followed by a three-pointer from LaBrie as the Mavs went on a 14-4 run in the third. A LaBrie steal and an Erickson put-back gave North Country a 41-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks' combined defensive and offensive prowess combined for a 21-6 routing in the final 8 minutes as North Country found points at the free throw line, off the transition and from downtown. Scheffelmear, Wasson, Brown, Erickson, and Hillman put up points before eighth-grader Gracie Wasson drained a three-pointer to give the Mavericks their largest lead of the game and the trophy-winning 62-31 win, while also proving the Mavericks will be a team to be reckoned with for years to come.

The Mavericks shot 42% from the field with an 8-for-18 showing downtown and a 12-for-14 performance at the free throw line. The Outlaws shot just 26.8% from the field with 4-of-21 three-pointers and 5-of-9 free throws. North Country outrebounded Roy Winifred 39-25 with 14 points off turnovers to the Outlaws' 2 points. North Country had 14 second-chance points while the Outlaws had 9 on the extra effort.

P. Wasson and Erickson led all scorers with 18 and 16 respectively. LaBrie scored 10 followed by Scheffelmear with 7, Brown 4, G. Wasson 3, and B. McColly and Hillman, both with 2 points. LaBrie had four assists in leading the Mavericks followed by Scheffelmear with three. Brown and Erickson both had two helpers while Wasson and B. McColly added one each.

Erickson notched a double-double with 20 rebounds. Scheffelmear grabbed four boards, LaBrie and Wasson three each, and B. McColly and Brown two a piece. Wasson had three steals while LaBrie, Scheffelmear and Erickson each had two takeaways. Erikson also knocked down three Roy Winifred shots.

North Country ended another historic season undefeated, their last loss coming in the 2021-2022 state tournament. The Mavericks posted a 26-0 record this season, with a 54-win run.

They will lose P. Wasson, Erickson, Scheffelmear and Brown, from the active roster, as well as Ava Hanley and Zora Holt to graduation this year but will return a young and experienced team next season under Coach Erickson's well-established program.