Championship night at the state tournament is one of the great events in high school sports, especially when you’re playing in front of a hometown crowd. Years ago, a handful of little girls began playing basketball with this goal in mind. They played in the summer, in the fall, on Saturdays and Sundays, honing their skills and building a team. When they were sophomores, the Lady Broncs thought they had a chance at state. But they lost a challenge game in overtime and didn’t make the trip to the state tournament. Last year, when they were juniors, they made it to the title game but lost to Havre and finished second. There has been one goal in every Lady Bronc player’s mind this year, to make it to state and to win the championship. These eight seniors, along with the rest of the team saw that dream come true on Saturday night in Hamilton when the Lady Broncs defeated Butte Central, 58-46, to win the state title.
“They believed in each other, had a mission, a goal from day one,” said coach Mark Albert of his team. “I’m really proud of them.”
After finishing second last year, the team looked to be the powerhouse in the Southwest A and in the state. However the team struggled in the first half of the season and midway through the season and had a record of 7 wins and six losses. But then things got serious. Coach Albert told his team they had to win the next 11 games to take the title. They became a team of destiny according to Jaylee Albert.
But that’s not to say there weren’t bumps in the road. Two weeks ago at the Southwest A tournament, one of the starters, Ellie Hurlbert, went down with an injured knee, her season done. Hurlbert, at 5’10”, played under the basket and was key in the Lady Bronc’s defense, and she was one of the tallest on the team. She was replaced by McKayl Rothie, a diminutive 5’2” player.
Rothie said that during 8th grade, “this was kind of one of my jobs. This year I stepped in when Ellie got down. I have to say my opening game I was a little bit nervous but I got into it. It just became that’s what we do. We’re all guards and when one falls, we all have to step in and make the difference.”
Rothie not only played in the paint against much taller opponents, she pulled down three key rebounds in the championship game. Coach Albert was a little worried in that game when Butte Central recognized the size difference and began taking advantage of that. “Meg (Murphy, coach of the Maroons) is a phenomenal coach and looks at mismatches.”
But Hamilton’s scrappiness and strong shooting at the free throw line kept the lead from changing. Butte Central pulled within five points at the half. Hamilton had jumped out to an eight-point lead early in the first quarter with a balanced scoring attack. The onslaught continued in the fourth quarter with Hamilton dropping in 25 points and Butte Central 20.
Albert said they had to close up the middle to stop Butte Central’s inside play and that opened up the outside where freshman phenom Kloie Thatcher and Emalie St. John found their range. He said the Lady Broncs’ lead held up because they made their free throws. Hamilton sank 22 of 28 shots from the charity line.
“We started peaking at the right time,” said Brianna Huggans. “We’ve worked so hard and it feels so unbelievably great. I think a lot of it is maturity. Last year we went through it and we lost it. We just stayed focused. We knew what we wanted and nothing was going to stop us.”
Hamilton 58, Butte Central 46
Hamilton 58, Butte Central 46
Hamilton – Taylor Goligoski 21, Kali Hayes 19, Jaylee Albert 13, Shaylan Mohn 2, Jordan Bauder 2, Brianna Huggans 1.
Butte Central – Kloie Thatcher 17, Mollie Peoples 9, Emily St. John 9, Sierra Pica 8, Kate Ossello 3.
Hamilton opened against Frenchtown on Thursday. Although the Hamilton colors have evolved to more of a burgundy red, the team wore the cardinal red of old for their warm up tee shirts. The shirts had the slogan, “Party like it’s 1984”. That was the year the Hamilton Lady Broncs won their first, and only, state championship. It too was held in Hamilton. Nikki Shonkweiler, who still lives in Hamilton, was the assistant coach of that team. She said that although the two teams were not similar physically, this year’s team has the same drive as that first championship team did.
“They had a dream when they were young kids and they spent a lot of time in the gym to get to that moment,” said Shonkweiler.
That drive was evident in the first game. Goligoski stepped up and quickly sank a bucket to set the two. Although Haley Cyr answered with one of her own, the Hamilton team was set to go. Kali Hayes hit a trey, Goligoski hit another and then another in rapid fire and the Lady Broncs were off. Frenchtown struggled with their shooting. They tried to stop Goligoski, who finished with 17 points, with double teams and face guarding her, but she was able to work her way open and either make the shot or pass off to another teammate.
“I just wasn’t getting some of the calls I normally get,” said Goligoski who only went to the free throw line seven times in the game. Even so, Hamilton went on to win, 60-42.
Hamilton 60, Frenchtown 42
Hamilton – McKayl Rothie 6, Taylor Goligoski 17, Jaylee Albert 14, Kali Hayes 12, Carlie Jessop 3, Brianna Huggans 4 Caitlin Gillespie 2, Jordan Bauder 2.
Frenchtown – Cyr 10, Krista Hebnes 1, Allie Moe 2, Brooke Yarnall 7, Lacey Hochhalter 10, Megan Delaney 2, Alivia Williams 10.
Hamilton met up with Havre in the semi finals. The two met last year in the state title championship. Hamilton has the same set of players, sans Sami Kratofil who graduated last year. Havre, however, had lost quite a few players. The experience showed early on when Hamilton came out and hit three treys before the Blue Ponies even got on the board. The game went back and forth in the second quarter when Hamilton eased up on defense and Hamilton had only a two-point lead at the half. Hamilton edged ahead again in the third and maintained a lead. However with two and a half minutes left in the game, Havre’s Morgan Mazurkiewicz hit a short jumper to put her team only three points down. Goligoski grabbed a key rebound to keep the Blue Ponies from scoring. Havre was forced to foul and that proved to be the difference in the 49-41 victory. Hamilton sank 13 of 17 shots from the line.
Hamilton 49, Havre 41
Hamilton –Taylor Goligoski 16, Jaylee Albert 11, Kloie Nye 3, Kali Hayes 11, Brianna Huggans 8.
Havre – Ceyara Plante 2, Dani Wagner 10, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 17, Naomi Terry 9, Lindsey Kudrna 3.