Mavericks Claim Third at State Class C

The North Country girls basketball team put on a show at the State tournament in Great Falls this weekend – outscoring their opponents by 97 points over four games – 252-155 – as they rolled over three teams on their way to claim third place.

The Mavericks defeated Twin Bridges 59-28 in the opening day of the girls state tournament. North Country advanced to the Friday night game where they fell to the eventual second-place Box Elder Bears by a score of 58-53.

On the back side of the bracket, North Country made quick work of Carter County with a 72-39 victory. In contention for third in the state, the Mavericks found themselves in a rematch against Twin Bridges. The second game went no better for the Falcons as the Mavericks cruised to a 68-30 win and the hardware.

In their first matchup against Twin Bridges, North Country took the lead on their first bucket and carried it through 32 minutes. The Mavericks led 13-4 after one quarter. They set fire to the net with 24 points in the next eight minutes for a 33-13 lead at the half.

North Country outscored Twin Bridges 8-5 in the third and 14-11 in the fourth as they grounded the Falcons 59-28.

Teagan Erickson scored 19 for North Country, hitting 5-for-7 from the field and draining 9-of-10 free throws. She grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double and added four blocked shots and a steal while holding her fouls to one.

Paige Wasson added 13 points with a three pointer and hitting 2-of-2 at the line. She pulled down six boards, had four steals, three blocked shots and two assists, also while keeping her fouls to one.

Jaycee Erickson also hit a shot from downtown and went 2-for-2 on free throws on her way to 11 points for the Mavericks. She added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Mattea McColly hit 4-of-4 from the field and a free throw for 9 points while pulling down five boards. Kora LaBrie added a three-pointer while Sammie Wisher and Shelbi LaBrie both scored 2 points. Kendall Scheffelmear had five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.

As a team the Mavericks shot 42.0 percent from the floor and 93.3 percent from the free throw line, scoring 14 at the line while holding the Falcons to 2 bonus points.

The win moved the Mavericks to the semifinals where they faced the Box Elder Bears.

The tight game saw the Mavericks trailing by only a point after one quarter – 13-12 – before the Bears pulled away in the second to lead by 3 at the half. North Country was outscored by a point in the third – 10-9 – and in the fourth – 18-17 – to lose by a 5-point margin.

J. Erickson led her team with 16 points – going 10-for-13 on free throws – and pulling down five rebounds with three assists and three steals. T. Erickson registered another double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. She also had two blocked shots.

Wasson added 12 points with two three-pointers and grabbed six rebounds with one assist. Kora LaBrie also hit a trey on her way to 7 points with three rebounds and two assists. Zandora Longtree hit a shot from downtown and Scheffelmear hit a free throw.

The Mavericks hit 37.2 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line in a game head coach Amber Erickson acknowledged her team "did not deserve to win."

Despite the disappointment over being knocked out of title contention, the Mavericks recovered to turn in two huge wins Saturday.

North Country turned their disappointment into dominance the next day as they won both games by more than 30 points each.

The Mavericks again hit the first shot in their game against Carter County as they rolled on to win. They led by 20 after one, 27-7 and by 29 at the half, 48-19. They outscored the Bulldogs 12-8 in the third before winning 72-39.

J. Erickson led the offensive onslaught with 20 points and Wasson followed her with 17. Scheffelmear and T. Erickson each added 8 while K. LaBrie hit for 7 points. S. LaBrie added 5 and Cienna Strommen hit a three-pointer for the Mavs. Longtree and Josie Brown both added a field goal.

J. Erickson also led in assists with four and steals with six. K. LaBrie and T. Erickson both added three assists while Sammie Wisher, S. LaBrie, McColly and Longtree each had one. McColly and Wasson both had two steals while S. LaBrie, K. LaBrie and Scheffelmear had one takeaway each.

As a team, the Mavericks hit 52.6 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the line.

The win advanced the team to the consolation game where they once again faced the Twin Bridges Falcons.

The game was not for the birds, despite them scoring the first basket. North Country answered with a three-pointer and increased their lead to 17-6 after one. The Mavs outscored the Falcons in each subsequent quarter – 16-7, 17-10 and 18-7 – as they earned a 68-30 third-place victory.

J. Erickson and Wasson combined for 42 points, split evenly between the two. Wasson hit 8-for-12 from the field including two three-pointers and went 3-for-3 at the line. J. Erickson went 6-for-12 from the field with three treys and 6-for-6 on bonus shots. Wasson had seven rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and three steals. J. Erickson added four rebounds, one assist and two steals.

K. LaBrie scored 8 points with two downtown shots with two rebounds, two assists and two steals. T. Erickson snagged 13 boards with 6 points on 3-for-3 shooting with five assists and two blocked shots. Scheffelmear scored 4 points with two rebounds and two assists. McColly added a field goal and an assist in the win.

North Country shot 54.3 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the free throw line.

Hinsdale's Longtree said, "It's all been ups and downs. After our loss against Box Elder we just knew we had to come to the morning game and get it done. And we had to rest up for this game [against Twin Bridges] and bring our A-game for it."

She spoke to North Country fans, "I've loved all the support all through my high school career, having so many people from different towns support us has been amazing."

McColly said she was feeling "Great, just great. Joyful." She also thanked all the fans for their support, noting how the boys from the three schools were always there despite "games like this never being close."

Head Coach Amber Erickson soaked in the victory. "I feel great. I feel like my kids handled a disappoint with elegance and grace and they came out and decided they weren't going to settle ... It's just awesome to watch this. This is what it's all about. Watching all the hard work pay off and the families celebrating and everybody's just happy."