Fairfield Girls No Longer Chasing 73

With barely more than a whispered celebration, the Fairfield Lady Eagles clinched their state-record 73rd-straight win.

As the buzzer sounded in the Lady Eagles’ 55-19 victory over Glasgow, there wasn’t much fanfare. The girls shook Glasgow’s hands and ran into the locker room like it was just another one of their 73-straight wins.

But it wasn’t just another win. This one broke a 30-year-old Montana state record, 72-straight wins held by Great Falls High from 1980-83. That record is for all sports across all classes in the state.

“I can remember 10, 12 years ago thinking, ‘man, those guys that go 26-0, that’s just incredible. I hope someday I get an opportunity to maybe run the table for a season,’” said Fairfield Head Coach Dustin Gordon.

Not only did Gordon receive that opportunity, he went two-straight seasons undefeated as Montana Class B champions and he’s well on his way to leading the Lady Eagles to three-straight.

“To be where we are now is just surreal. It’s hard to even comprehend,” said Gordon.

The magnitude of the win didn’t seem to hit the players yet either, who still have work to do to make it to the state tournament.

“Our overall goal is definitely to get to the state tournament and win a state championship,” said senior guard Sydne Steinbach.

Senior Jordyn Johnson even felt it was more a relief than anything.

“It’s really exciting, especially to get it off our back,” she said.

The focus from the outside has been on the streak for almost two years and Steinbach and Johnson have been a part of all 73 wins for Fairfield, feeling that pressure build over time.

Even though the win will cement this stretch of dominance ­in Montana prep sports history, the Lady Eagles are remaining focused on another state championship.

“They’re proud of [the record] but ultimately, they’re kind of focused on the team thing, this year’s team thing and this year’s banner,” said Gordon.

To get that banner, Fairfield will have to navigate five more games, two in divisionals and three more at state; the first will be against the winner of Choteau and Wolf Point.

For Glasgow, who fought hard the entire game and even had moments of flustering the Fairfield offense, the loss drops the Scottie girls to the consolation bracket, where they await the loser of Choteau and Wolf Point. The loss does not eliminate the Scottie girls from advancing to state, though they’ll now have to win three in a row to get there.

In the win, Fairfield was led by 6-foot-3 post extraordinaire Jill Barta, who had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks. Johnson and Steinbach each chipped in six.

Lexis Synan did the most damage in the paint for Glasgow with eight points and three boards. Freshman Abbi Kolstad showed a flash of what Glasgow can expect in the years to come with a step-back jumper to give Glasgow their first points of the game. Kolstad finished with four points and three boards.