Class C Girls State Tournament

GAME ONE: Deja Vu

It was deja vu all over again for the Lady Raiders of Hinsdale in their first game of the 2013 Class C Girls' State Basketball Tournament held at the Belgrade Event Center last weekend.

You'll recall that in the 2008 tourney, there was a Molina (Sacarra) on the roster for Hinsdale. There was a Molina (Whitney) on this year's roster. You'll recall that in 2008, the Lady Raiders came up against a couple of tall girls in Rachel Semansky and Echo Thurston from Highwood. This year, the Lady Raiders were pretty much evenly matched up tall-wise with the Twin Bridges Lady Falcons.

After eight minutes of play, the Lady Falcons held a slight 10-6 edge, but that edge dulled somewhat in the next period when Hinsdale chipped away at the lead with back-to-back twobies from Bethany Lacock and a very nice ORPB by senior Bailey Remmich. Chadaya Christensen floated an eight-footer over a TB defender and Whitney Molina popped a 14-footer to give the Lady Raiders the halftime lead, 23-20.

Twin Bridges scored first in the third period but the other Hinsdale senior, Hannah Jones, passed to Lacock in the key for another of Bethany's PB's, keeping the Lady Raiders within reach.

But that was the point in the game when Twin Bridge's head coach Rob Lott put the pressure on Molina. He realized that to handcuff Whitney was his only path to the victory. So he sent a double and sometimes a triple-team attack on Molina, who tried desperately to fight her way out, but it's very difficult to do much when you have two or three defenders hanging on your arms.

The Lady Raiders went into the fourth quarter just five beans down, but with the pressure that Twin Bridges was putting on and a tad bit of the “cold hand' shooting from the ladies from Hinsdale, the Lady Falcons amassed a 17-8 fourth period and seeled – get it? Seeled? Falcons? Hood? – the fate of the Lady Raiders.

Leading scorer for the Lady Raiders was Bethany Lacock with 10 points, plus six rebounds, a blocked shot and a couple of steals. Christensen added a very nice nine points, plus six rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Remmich scored five points, including a downtown threebie. Molina scored five points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal. Courtney came into the game several times and accounted for four of the Raiders' rebounds. Payton Chopper and Delaney Beil also got playing time. We'll see them in force next year.

Final score, Hinsdale Lady Raiders 37, Twin Bridges 51.

Just a footnote to any TB fans or students who might be listening: A tad bit more sportsmanship from the sidelines would be in order. In my opinion – and the opinion of several of the sportscasters and writers court-side I might add – your actions were more suited to a college or NBA game, NOT class C girls' (or boys') basketball in Montana.

GAME TWO: Rebound

The 23-3 Lady Raiders of Hinsdale faced off against the 19-5 Lady Braves of St Labre, for their second game of the 2013 state tourney. Both teams were on the loser-out side of the brackets and needed a win to stay and fight another day.

Of all the teams in the tournament, the Lady Raiders matched up worst against St Labre, who put three 5-foot-10 girls on the court – and in my opinion, had the best shooters at this year's state tourney in the LaFrance girls, JoRee and Taylor, and Shiloh McCormick, all very capable of putting up 30 points each,

St Labre put up the first two points of the contest and Hinsdale's Whitney Molina followed with a steal at the far end of the court, going coast-to-coast, putting up the lay in. Hannah Jones received a special delivery pass from Bailey Remmich and put the ball through that little hoop thingie for a bucket in the paint.

With the score Hinsdale 8, St L 7, the Lady Braves went on the warpath amassing a 16-8 lead before Lady Raider Jones put up a three that made the first quarter score St Labre 16, Hinsdale 11.

St Labre went on another tear in the second period and the basket was "saran wrapped" for the Lady Raiders. Bethany Lacock tallied a PB at the beginning of the second act and one at the end. Remmich hit a three and Molina hit a technical-foul charity point, making the halftime score, St Labre 30 and the Hinsdale Lady Raiders 19. Yikes.

The 110 (+- a couple) loyal, cheering Hinsdale Raider fans were squirming in their seats but still yelling encouragements to their girls as the wheezle blew to begin the third stanza, which saw the Hinsdale ladies close the gap to six points after 24 minutes.

But disaster struck the Lady Raiders when Chadaya Christensen picked up her fourth foul and had to hit the bench for awhile. Courtney Capdeville got the call from Lady Raider Head Coach Ralph Ellsworth to, “Take one for the Gipper.” And she did, tallying a sweet 12-foot baseline floater.

Christensen went back in but fouled out of the game at the 1:14 mark of the third quarter. The score after 24 minutes stood, St Labre 37, Hinsdale 31.

St L hit a free throw to start out the Lady Braves' fourth period. Hannah Jones took a nice pass from Molina for the PB and mere seconds later, after Bethany grabbed a St L rebound, Molina nailed a 25-foot monster from the east parking lot, after which Jones hit one her-own-self and all of a sudden or sooner, the score was tied at 39 each. The fans weren't quite as restless now. In fact, some were quite giddy indeed.

Remmich grabbed a defensive rebound and spotted Capdeville all by her lonesome under the Hinsdale basket, arms a-flailing , jumping up and down hollering, “Here I am. Hit me." Bailey reared back and fired off a baseball pass down court that Courtney fielded with ease and laid it up and in for the pernts. Hinsdale had just orchestrated a 19-point turnaround and took a seven-point lead with a mere 3-plus minutes left in the contest.

Molina was awarded a couple of free throws and hit the first, but the second rolled out. Never fear, fans, Hannah Jones was right there to the rescue and OR'd it for the PB.

Not much excitement for awhile. Remmich fouled out and Delaney Beil came in for her. The last five Hinsdale points came via the charity stripe and this game was in the books.

Shiloh McCormick was game-high scorer with 26 for St Labre.

Molina scored 19 for the Lady Raiders, which included 3-for-6 from three-point range and 8-for-18 from the line. She also tallied seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for a great game.

Lacock tallied 15 pernts and seven rebounds, while Jones was not far behind scoring 14 points, including a couple of threebies. She had five rebounds. Remmich scored a three and a deuce, along with five rebounds and four assists. Capdeville got in the tourney record book with four points. But better yet, she grabbed five rebounds. Christensen added a point, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Final Score was Hinsdale 58, St Labre 53.

Game 3: Double-Double

The game a'tween the Hinsdale Lady Raiders and the MonDak Lady Thunder was a near carbon copy of their divisional championship contest. That games' score was Hinsdale 58, MonDak 44. Their match at state ended Hinsdale 58 and MonDak 45, catapulting the Lady Raiders into the consolation game against the team that put them into the loser-out bracket.

Hinsdale jumped out to a 14-6 first-quarter lead and MonDak answered with a 14-4 second act, giving them a two-pernt lead after sixteen minutes.

But that was as good as it got for our friends from the north country because Lady Raiders' Whitney Molina and Bethany Lacock led the charge and Hinsdale sailed into the lead with a 27-12 fourth quarter.

Kayla Rust scored 12 points for MonDak and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Sabrina Carter scored 10 points, which included two three's.

For Hinsdale, to no one's surprise, Whitney scored a double-double with 17 pernts and 11 rebounds. She added three assists, one block and three steals for a stellar game and great tournament. Bethany wasn't far behind, hitting 16 pernts and taking down six rebounds. Bailey hit two three-pointers and four field goals for a nice 10 points. Chadaya tallied six points, five rebounds, three assists, a block and three steals. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Raiders was Hannah with seven and Courtney with two.

I'd like to say, “good on ya,'” to the girls from Westby and Grenora (and Alkabo). You tried hard, never gave up and gave the tournament goers some great basketball.

Game Four: Season Ender

The consolation game was a rematch of the first game Hinsdale played on Thursday, against the Twin Bridges Lady Falcons, which the Lady Raiders lost by 14 points.

In spite of Hinsdale's Whitney Molina's 21 points, 10-for-10 from the line, one three-pointer and seven rebounds, the Lady Raiders once again could not handle the Lady Falcons of Twin Bridges.

It wasn't from lack of trying or hustle or hard work. I felt the score could have just as easily been reversed with Hinsdale on top but for a few shots that missed by millimeters, free throws that went halfway down, and then were regurgitated like a bad enchilada, and a couple of unforced turnovers.

You have to realize also, that Twin Bridges' high-school enrollment is a time-and-a-half larger than Hinsdale's K-12.

I'm not trying to make excuses for the Hinsdale girls. They played hardball with the “big girls." They engineered a 19-point turnaround in one game against a pretty good team.

With virtually no subbing because of the depth of the bench, the starters simply ran out of gas down the stretch.

Hinsdale has one very able sophomore on the bench, a scrappy but unseasoned freshman and a potentially extra-good eighth-grader. We don't have a Great Falls pool to draw from like Belt has.

I am so very proud of the achievements this 2013 Hinsdale Lady Raiders team accomplished. They won districts, won divisionals against some very tough competition and took a fourth place in state against the very best Montana has to offer.

Along with Whitney's contributions, Chadaya Christensen added 10 points and four rebounds, Bethany Lacock anted up eight pernts and six rebbies, senior Bailey Remmich had four points and five rebounds, senior Hannah Jones added two points and five rebounds and Courtney Capdeville added a point and three rebounds to the final score, Twin Bridges 62, Hinsdale 46.

And with that, the curtain falls on yet another Montana State Class C Girls' Basketball Tournament.

That's it for now, folks. Thanks for listening.