Harlem thumps Colstrip 68-47 to win first ever Sate Tournament game in Butte
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Harlem senior L'Tia Lawrence capped a stellar career with a 29 point effort in the teams final contest of the season, a 68-47 win over the Colstrip Fillies. Lawrence and her teammates had their season cut short at the Class B State Girls Basketball Tournament in Butte after the confirmation of Montana's first positive COVID-19 test later in the day.
The Harlem Lady Cats didn't get the finish they had hoped for at the Class B State Girls Basketball Tournament in Butte this past weekend, but they did make history along the way.
The tournament was canceled following completion of the semifinal contest Friday night cutting the season short and not allowing the Lady Cats the opportunity to play in the consolation final and potentially bring home some hardware from the tournament. The COVID-19 pandemic and Montana getting conformation of the first cases in the state led to Montana High School Association Executive Director Mark Beckham, to call of the remainder of the state tournaments being played across the state.
The Lady Cats began the tournament Thursday in what many considered the 'defacto state championship' due to the fact it featured what many considered to be the two best teams in the field. In a back and fourth contest that had Harlem leading heading into the fourth quarter of action, the Lady Cats came up just short in a hard fought 56-51 loss to the Missoula Loyola Breakers.
That loss sent the Lady Cats into loser out action Friday morning against the Colstrip Fillies. In what many expected to be the start of a Harlem march to a third place finish the Lady Cats opened up a 21-6 first quarter lead and never looked back in securing the schools first ever win at the Class B State Girls Basketball Tournament, 68-47.
In the teams quarterfinal contest Thursday against Missoula Loyola, Harlem took a 13-10 advantage into the second quarter of action and maintained a two point cushion, 23-21 at intermission. The teams traded baskets in the third quarter with each scoring 17 points in the stanza, making the score 40-38 in favor of Harlem with eight minutes to play.
The Breakers would seize the momentum down the stretch outscoring the Lady Cats 18-11 to earn a 56-51 first round win. Senior L'Tia Lawrence led the offensive attack for the Lady Cats with 20 points in the contest. Sophomore Taya Trottier added 18 in the loss, while senior Taeshon Schaeffer contributed seven.
Friday morning the Lady Cats had their running shoes on from the opening tip and took their fast paced attack right to the Fillies defense. The Lady Cats stormed out to a 21-6 lead after eight minutes of action and pushed that advantage to 36-18 by halftime.
Harlem cruised through the second half winning the third quarter 17-8 en-route to a 68-47 win. Lawrence was again dominate, scoring 29 points in the win. Trottier added 19 for the Lady Cats and senior Kailee Henry added 10 more to the team total.
Harlem sophomore Taya Trottier knocks down two of her 19 points Friday morning.
While making history is always nice, the fact that their opportunity to continue playing was cut short it is a tough pill to swallow, especially for the teams seniors. L'Tia Lawrence capped a stellar four year career for the Lady Cats with a 29 point effort against the Fillies Friday morning. Lawrence has been the cornerstone of Harlem's rise to prominence in the Northern B over the years and she will now look to continue her athletic career by playing basketball at Montana State University-Northern for Head Coach Chris Mouat and the Skylights.
Senior Kailee Henry played a huge roll in the teams success this season as did Kristyn Kittson, Taeshon Scheaffer and Aria Owens. This group of seniors provided superb leadership throughout the season, understanding their roll in helping the team reach its highest potential and passing that skill onto the younger players on the team. Their contribution to the winning ways of the Harlem Lady Cat basketball program will help the team continue as a contender in the Northern B for years to come.
