Underdogs? Lady Cats Always Believed In Themselves and They're Not Done Yet

 

March 9, 2022

The Wildcats have had plenty of great leadership on the court this season and the team has received fantastic contributions from everyone on the roster as well. Heading into the State Tournament this week in Bozeman the Lady Cats will look to senior Taya Trottier, to lead the way. Trottier is an All-State player and a MSU Northern Skylight recruit.

The Harlem Lady Cats are making their third trip to the Class B State Girls Basketball Tournament this week. The first two trips (2018-19 and 2019-20) were expected, they entered the Northern B Divisional as tournament favorites and moving on to state caught no one by surprise. This years team, well no one expected to see the Harlem Lady Cats in the state tournament field and not say, the Fairfield Eagles. No one that is except for the Harlem Lady Cats.

The Lady Cats entered the Northern B Divisional with a 7-12 overall record and had lost nine of their previous eleven outings. They beat the winless Poplar Indians at the District 2B Tournament to advance to the divisional tournament as the No. 4 2B team and began play with quarterfinal contest against perennial state contender Fairfield.

The script all the sports writers and basketball gurus had was for the Lady Cats to lose and then exit the tournament the following morning after dropping the loser out contest. Lady Cat Head Coach Brandon Trottier and his team clearly had a different vision and they executed it.


The Lady Cats, like a lot of teams this time of year, had been battling injuries, but they had two weeks to prepare for the Northern B and in the process got healed up and had a full roster to available to begin the divisional tournament.

What the Lady Cats did over the next three days, defeating the Fairfield Eagles (No. 1 1B) to begin the tournament. Then toppling a Wolf Point (No. 2 2B) team that had defeated them by 28 points late in the regular season on Friday night to punch their ticket to state and playing Malta (No. 1 1B) tough in the championship Saturday night was impressive.


The Lady Cats have all the momentum heading into the state tournament. They have the full support of the staff and student body at Harlem High School, the junior high and elementary. The community of Harlem, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and Blaine County as a whole are also one hundred percent behind them.

When the Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament gets underway in Bozeman Thursday morning, no one will be overlooking the Harlem Lady Cats and many new fans will be rooting for them to continue their amazing journey with three more wins.

The Lady Cats are a very tight knit group of girls. Some may think that a team that has faced the obstacles that they have, suffered the setbacks and losses that they have would be disjointed, but these girls are, as they put it, family. Following the Lady Cats securing a spot in the state tournament I reached out to the team and Coach Trottier to get their take on what they have accomplished and how they feel about their season and their chances this week at state, here are some of their thoughts.


Head Coach Brandon Trottier - Our team defense really stepped up all weekend and as I expected the District 2B Conference was stronger this year. We will be sending Harlem, Malta and Glasgow to the state tournament. Heading back to State was always my expectation for this year's team when I took over as head coach. It was just getting the girls to believe in themselves to make a deep run into the post season. I've worked under two great coaches, Marlin Lawrence 2018-2020 and Laramie Schwenke 2021. I've learned a lot under them as their assistant. This season I have two great assistant coaches under me and they deserve credit as just as me. My Assistant Coaches are former head coach of the Lady Cats Marlin Lawrence and Derek Azure. They have helped out tremendously this season. I know head coaches get all the credit during the season but without those guys I don't think this would be possible. This season I will always remember just because this is my first year as the girls head coach and for what they have accomplished. I know the record didn't really show how good we were. We weren't a ranked team all season. I think I mentioned earlier before our season started, I just hope we're playing great basketball during the post season. And we are right now, the best I have seen all season. I've seen spurts of it during the regular season but they are playing on another level and I'm loving it for the girls right now because they're having fun and smiling while playing great basketball and that's what it's all about. Lastly I get to coach my daughter Taya in her last season as a Lady Cat. It's hard to explain how that feels. She's a great kid, fun to be around and easy to coach. She is a true leader on and off the court, and she has great supporting teammates around her going into the state tournament. I'm beyond excited for how well they do, no matter how the outcome may be this coming weekend I will always be proud of what they have accomplished together as a team this season.

Senior Vanise Little - It all feels surreal just because we had so many ups and downs and it feels good to prove so many people wrong who doubted us. We just need to keep working together and come as one, especially at the state level. I just have to leave everything on the court and to remember what we're working towards as a team. My team has to be my motivation, we're all playing for each other really and especially my coaches, they believed in us throughout the entire season. Team means everything to me, even off the court, I'm close with a lot of the girls, they're like my best friends, people who I can count on the most. Looking back years from now, I'm never gonna forget them. Being able to make it to the state tournament, especially my senior year means more than words can explain and making it with a team that feels like family makes it 10 times more special. I truly believe we can take the title.

Senior Taya Trottier - To make it back to State definitely gives me motivation to try and make school history once more my senior year. My hope is to finish in the top three and finish what we set out to do two years ago before Covid hit in hopes of bringing home a state trophy. We have accomplished quite a bit just this weekend alone when people counted us out. Especially being the underdogs coming in as a fourth seed out of districts and to make it into the Divisional championship game, after taking down a No. 1 and a No. 2! I want to be more of a leader to my team and get them all on the same page. If we take it one game at a time and come together anything can happen and we can make it to where we wanted since the beginning of the season. I had faith in my team and believed we could make it even when people doubted us. I pushed myself and worked harder than ever this season to make sure we'd make it back one last time. My team means a lot to me on and off the court. They're all so supportive and encouraging. We definitely came together and developed more chemistry as the season went on especially when things weren't going our way. This opportunity means we get to show people that looked past us that we've came a long way since the beginning of the season and it doesn't matter what your record was during the season, it's how you play during the post season at tournaments. We are proof that ANYTHING can happen at tourney time. We also have the opportunity to prove to ourselves and the ones that have always supported us that we are not done playing yet, we are just getting started. My expectations are that we go in with intensity and confidence and play the game like we do we can beat any team.

Senor Chloe Messerly - It feels bittersweet, with so many people doubting us and then to us proving them wrong, it was just a great feeling overall. From my previous experience I think we just need to come together and have that good chemistry for this upcoming tournament. We need to be prepared for this competition, do what needs to be done, and finish off strong and all together. My motivation has to be my team and the community. My team has a big impact on my season including the coaches, and the support of my community is what pushes me more as well. This team means so much to me. We have these road blocks but we always find a way around them. On or off the court we always have good laughs and we're all good to each other. I think I'll look back and think about how much my team has made an impact on my life and forever be grateful for them. Making it to the state tournament my senior year is a big accomplishment, my team is what makes this opportunity more thriving. My expectations for the tournament is to finish strong and compete and make it to the championship and earn that title.

Sophomore Emma Billmayer - Not only does the momentum motivate me to push harder and give it my all, but my teammates and the community helped make us happy. I know we couldn't have gotten this far without the love and support from our community. This team, to me, mean more than just teammates, but a family. When I look back later in life I'm going to remember the bond we built and the challenges we overcame as not only a team but a family. This opportunity to me means more than anything I've ever dreamed of. As a little baller all you wish is to go to state, and we finally get to achieve that goal. My expectations for this tournament are for us to work our hardest and play the game we know how to play. We didn't make it that far to not give it our all.

Senior Chloe Messerly will also be counted on this weekend to lead the team.

Sophomore Tova Anderson - The momentum from our big wins this weekend is super motivational but feeling our team finally coming together and proving everyone who doubted us, wrong is what is really pushed us throughout divisionals and hopefully through the state tournament. As a team, on and off the court, we are like a family, through the ups and downs of the season we've consistently had each other's backs. It feels really good to finally be accomplishing our goals together. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be playing with these girls, making history one game at a time. This team has created life long friendships that we are all grateful for. When I look back I know playing with this team will be one of the highlights of my high school career. The opportunity to play at the State Tournament has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. It's finally coming true and I hope we can make our families and community proud next weekend. Since the first day of practice in November we had the goal of making a State appearance and better yet, winning a State title. We've been working hard toward that goal this season, despite all of our challenges. I believe in my team and I know we can make a deep run next weekend. One game at a time, hopefully bringing some hardware back to our trophy case.

Freshman Aaraya Mount - It's more my teammates and community that motivate me. My teammates are always super encouraging and so is the crowd at games. The cheering and my teammates motivation get me ready to play. This team means so much to me. I'm glad I got to play with these girls, they're all super encouraging, when I mess up. They don't get mad at me when I do. I'll always remember how kind these girls were and I'm glad these seniors get to end their season going to state. I'm glad I get to go state with them. I have mixed emotions about going to state because this will be my last time playing with these seniors, but we aren't done just yet we still have one more week to go. This opportunity means a lot to me. It isn't every year we go to state, so we will try our hardest and represent our community there and make everyone proud. My expectations are to make it to the championship game.

 
 

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