Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Opening day at Glendive for the basketball Scotties brought mixed results. The boys wore down a young Class A Dawson County team, 58-37, in their first step to return to the state tournament. The girls, with a majority of their roster sophomores this season, took a 51-31 loss.
Boys coach Norm Braaten told The Courier he "saw positives" in Friday's win – a pressing defense, good passing and effective screens that gave the Red Devils a devil of a time. The Scotties outscored DC every quarter.
"They were ready to play after 13 (preseason) practices," Braaten said of his veteran squad. "They were ready to compete. That's just the way they are."
Senior point guard Jason Thibault led G-Town with 17 points, connecting on three field goals, two 3-pointers and 5 of 6 free throw attempts. Senior forward Chase Fossum, a selection on the Billings Gazette's five-man all-state preseason team, sunk five field goals for 10 points.
Rounding out the balanced Scottie scoring were senior Jake Kolstad with 9 points, seniors Jake Page and Keil Krumwiede with 8 each, junior Zach Miller with 4 and senior Gage Legare with 2.
Pacing Dawson County were Carson Oakland with 14 points and Joel Christopherson with 10.
Going into last night's game at Saco and this Friday's home opener against Roundup, coach Braaten said the Scotties need to stay focused, take better care of the basketball to eliminate turnovers, and get right defensively. He expected to play some JV players at Saco.
"Roundup is big but inexperienced," he said. "I think our pressure will get to them."
The Scottie girls, meanwhile, trailed 12-6 after one quarter and 27-18 at the half against the experienced Red Devils. They reduced the deficit in the third quarter to 34-27, but then Dawson pulled away for the 51-31 win.
“It was a closer game than the score indicated,” Scottie coach Jon Kolstad said. “We had a strong third quarter, but kind of ran out of gas.”
Scoring for the Scotties were Abbi Kolstad with 12 points, Leinie Hughes with 8, Amanda Wolff with 5, Jordan Kulczyk with 4 and Tyra Johnson with 2.
The Glasgow and Dawson County teams shall meet again this season – Jan. 30 at the Dawg House.
Page 2B: Scottie boys win, girls lose at Saco.
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