The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Harlem Lady Cats entered the Northern B Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament as the District 2B No. 4 Seed. The Lady Cats left Cut Bank with a ticket to the Montana Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament in Bozeman this week as the Northern B No. 2 Seed.

The Lady Cats turned in a performance for the ages, shocking the basketball world with a pair of huge upsets to punch their ticket to the state tournament. In the Lady Cats quarterfinal contest they took on the District 1B top seed Fairfield Eagles. The Eagles have long dominated the girls basketball scene, but on this night it was the Lady Cats that shined the brightest. Harlem toppled the Eagles in an impressive 50-44 win.

Friday night the Lady Cats took on a very familiar opponent in the Wolf Point Wolves. Harlem had lost both regular season meetings against the Wolves, the last being a 28 point defeat. In the Northern B semifinal Friday night it was the Lady Cats that took an early first quarter lead and never looked back. Harlem advanced to the championship contest Saturday night with a convincing 54-45 win over Wolf Point.

In the first two games of the Northern B Divisional, the Lady Cats trailed for just 3:38 in earning two incredible upset wins. Saturday night the girls faced another team they were very familiar with in the Malta M-ettes. Like the Wolves, Malta had earned a pair of lopsided wins over the Lady Cats. Harlem didn't pull off the upset Saturday night, falling to the M-ettes 53-40, but they did make things interesting all game long. While they didn't get the win, they did send a message that they could compete with the M-ettes and heading into the state tournament, not many would disagree.

Quarterfinal - Harlem 50 Fairfield 44

The (7-12) Harlem Lady Cats were certainly ready to play in Thursday's Northern B tournament opener when they took the court to take on the District 1B No. 1 Fairfield Eagles. The Lady Cats entered the contest as heavy underdogs in the eyes of sports writers and basketball enthusiast across the state, but in the Lady Cat locker room they believed they could compete and they were ready to prove it to anyone who doubted them.

The Lady Cats have a true leader on and off the court. Senior Taya Trottier is an All-State performer and Northern Skylight recruit and showed why throughout the tournament. Trottier got things rolling with a slick steal and an easy layup for a 2-0 lead just :38 into the contest. Moments later Trottier grabbed a defensive board and headed down the court, knifing her way through all five Eagle defenders to get to the basket untouched for another layup and a 4-0 lead.

Fairfield got their first bucket two possessions later but again Trottier attacked the basket getting a short jumper to fall for a 6-2 lead. The Lady Cats were very active on defense and moved the ball around on offense very well all night long. Sophomore Tova Anderson made a great entry pass into senior Chloe Messerly on the low block for a bucket and 8-2 Lady Cat lead. The strong start by the Lady Cats led to a quick Fairfield timeout.

Fairfield started to get some things to work on offense but the Lady Cats always had an answer. Anderson found Trottier in the right corner for a quick catch and shoot three and an 11-4 lead. Senior Vanise Little got open in the right corner where Trottier found her for another three ball to keep the offense rolling. Trottier closed out the first quarter cutting through the key to secure an offensive rebound and scored with two seconds left in the opening quarter to give Harlem a 16-11 lead.

The lead may have been just five points heading into the second quarter but the Lady Cats seemed to be in complete control of the contest. Sophomore Emma Billmayer pushed the lead to 18-11 with a little floater in the key. On the ensuing possession Trottier made a nice bounce pass through the paint to junior Ma'Lea Moore to extend the lead to nine.

After the Eagles trimmed the Lady Cat advantage to 23-18, Billmayer connected on a mid range jumper and Trottier connected twice more from the charity stripe to push the lead back to nine, 27-18. Messerly was a force on the defensive end all game long and made sure it stayed that way with her third block of the half as time ran out.

The Eagles began the third quarter with a nice run but Billmayer ended it with a straight away three to give the Lady Cats a 32-25 lead at the 4:36 mark of the third. Messerly swatted another Eagle attempt leading left elbow three point bomb from Trottier late in the quarter. Trottier closed out the third with another free throw to give the Lady Cats a 37-30 lead heading into the fourth.

Fairfield challenged the Lady Cats down the stretch, but Harlem always had an answer. Billmayer made a great pass to a cutting Trottier with 1:15 remaining to put Harlem up 44-38. Trottier added a pair of free throws moments later and Messerly came up with a huge steal late and dropped in a free throw to put the finishing touches on a 50-44 win over the Eagles. Trottier turned an incredible effort, leading all scorers with 26 points while also recording six steals and grabbing five rebounds. Billmayer finished with 11 points and three assists in the win.

Semifinal - Harlem 54 Fairfield 45

The last time the Harlem and Wolf Point met it was an ugly 28 point setback for the Lady Cats. Tournament time gives every team a chance and each tournament begins with every team being 0-0. The Lady Cats wiped away any thoughts of what happened in the regular season and were completely focused on what was happening Friday night in the semifinal of the Northern B Divisional.

Unlike their quarterfinal contest where the Lady Cats scored first the semifinal began with five quick points from the Wolves. Freshman Aaraya Mount connected from the right elbow from distance to get the Lady Cats on the board at the 6:48 mark to make the score 5-3 in favor of the Wolves. Wolf Point answered with a three ball of their own to extend the lead back to five.

The Lady Cats then went to work, flipping the light switch back on for their offense. Messerly took a nice pass from Trottier and knocked down a turnaround jumper on the low block. Trottier followed with a straight away three from well beyond the top of the arc to even the score at 8-8. Two free throws from Trottier gave the Lady Cats their first lead with 3:36 remaining in the opening quarter and Harlem would never look back.

Trottier then extended the lead to four with a full court dribble drive and followed a huge block from Messerly with a pair from the charity stripe completing a 12-1 run by the Lady Cats that led to a Wolf Point timeout with Harlem suddenly up six, 15-9. The Wolves came out of the timeout and executed a well run set play to cut the Lady Cat lead to 15-12 as the teams began the second quarter.

Anderson swung the ball to Trottier at the top of the arc for another three. Mount later connected from distance and Anderson added a three-ball of her own in a fine display of long distance shooting that gave Harlem a 26-18 lead midway through the quarter. Mount hit Trottier for a corner three moments later that put Harlem up 31-20 and led to another Wolf Point timeout. The Wolves put together a mini run before the break to trim the Lady Cat lead to 31-25 at the break.

Both teams were stagnant offensively to begin the third quarter. Neither team could develop any flow and saw opportunity after opportunity go by the wayside. Messerly ended the dry spell, scoring on the low block with 4:26 left in the third to give Harlem a 33-25 lead. Messerly added another bucket down low and Trottier put Harlem up 40-32 but a three ball by the Wolves cut the lead to five, sending the teams to the fourth quarter with Harlem up five, 40-35.

Trottier got the first points of the fourth quarter with a little scoop move and Anderson followed a couple possessions later with a running hook coming through the key to give the Lady Cats a 44-37 lead with 7:14 remaining in the contest. Trottier converted a three point play for an eight point lead. Wolf Point then scored an easy bucket only to see Messerly convert down low for another score to maintain the Lady Cat advantage, 49-41.

The Wolves would never threaten the Lady Cat lead down the stretch. Messerly made a nice steal off the Wolves inbound pass for an easy bucket as the Lady Cats secured a 54-45 semifinal win over the Wolves. The win put Harlem in the Northern B Championship Saturday night against the Malta M-ettes and secured their spot at the State B Tournament.

Trottier scored 29 huge points for the Lady Cats to lead all scorers. Trottier also secured seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Billmayer cleaned the glass for nine rebounds and recorded four steals in leading the defensive effort for the Lady Cats. Messerly finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a couple of blocks.

Championship - Malta 53 Harlem 40

Saturday night the Lady Cats were looking to cap off an amazing weekend with a strong showing against the formidable Malta M-ettes in the championship contest. The M-ettes scored the first five points of the contest before Trottier connected on a pair of free throws. The Lady Cats seemed a bit out of sorts early on, but that didn't keep them from challenging Malta on both ends of the court.

Billmayer connected from way downtown from the right elbow and Little dropped in a baseline jumper to help the Lady Cats stay close. Trottier closed out the first with a pair of free throws after splitting the defense to get to the basket to cut the Malta lead to 12-9 entering the second quarter.

Senior Taya Trottier scores two of her game high 29 points in the Northern B semifinal win over the Wolves.

The M-ettes started to build a little separation with the Lady Cats heading into intermission. Harlem got a pair of long balls from Billmayer and another from Mount, but trailed 26-18 at the break. Malta extended their advantage to 42-26 at the end of three.

The Lady Cats continued to fight for every loose ball and played hard on defense but another upset wasn't in the cards. Malta claimed the Northern B Championship with a 53-40 win over the Lady Cats. Trottier led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds and five steals. Billmayer added 12 points and a couple of assists.

Montana Class B State Girls Basketball Tournament

The Lady Cats will now head to Bozeman to take part in the Montana Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament. Action will get underway Thursday at the Brick Breedan Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University. The Lady Cats will begin their tournament with a 5:00 p.m. quarterfinal contest Thursday afternoon against the West No. 2 Thompson Falls Blue Hawks.