Harlem Hoops: Lady Cats Slip by Box Elder 39-36, Wildcats Outlast Glasgow 51-50

 

January 18, 2023

Lady Cat sophomore Aaraya Mount scores a bucket in first half action Thursday night against the Box Elder Bears.

The Harlem Wildcats and Lady Cats have both had a tough go this season. Neither team had found the win column entering the week, but both teams have been working tirelessly to get better in practice and perform better in games. Both teams are very young and inexperienced and both have improved each time they stepped on the court this season.

This past week both teams saw some return on their hard work. Thursday the Lady Cats persevered and pulled out a hard fought 39-36 win over the Box Elder Bears. Friday they fell to the Glasgow Scotties 49-40 but still played a solid game.

The Wildcats stayed with the Bears early on but depth was on Box Elders side as the Bears won 87-45. The big moment for the Wildcats came Saturday afternoon against the Glasgow Scotties. After trailing the entire game until a free throw in the waning seconds gave the Wildcats a 51-50 win, their first of the season.


Head Coach, Ben Carrywater was at a loss for words following the win, "I am not sure where to start. But after a tough loss to Box Elder the night before I could tell my team was losing motivation." Carrywater turned to an old mentor for guidance, "I gave my college basketball coach Ted Juneau a call and let him know what was going on and I asked him if he could talk to my team. I called him before our game and he talked to them about playing with effort in every aspect of the game from passing, dribbling and defense."

The coach's comments to the team extended to all facets of the game said Carrywater, "He said everything you do on the court, that effort is needed. You play for Harlem, you don't play for yourself out there. You guys are a team. He finished his talk with encouraging one another out there. Your teammate does something good on the floor, you let him know about it. If he messes up you tell him not to worry about it, it's okay. And from there our boys seemed really locked in."


Heading into the game Carrywater had some words of his own for the team, "Before the game I told Marley Stewart and Moses Lawrence if we are going to win this game We need you guys to come up big on the boards and they did, they rebounded great against a very solid rebound team and did so Saturday."

Carrywater was pleased with his team's effort all game long, "Our team played a full game of effort. First half Glasgow was working us on the inside. We made adjustments to our defense and we took that away from them. With a 1:20 left in the 4th quarter we were down by four and it was Glasgow's ball. I called a time out I told my players it's going to come down to who wants it more. Marley Stewart got a steal and was fouled on a layup he knocks them down and now we're within two. Freshman Matt Billmayer gets a steal is fouled and hits both his free throws to tie the game."


The energy was electric and Carrywater turned to his defense to get a stop, "Glasgow struggled to bring the ball up, our man to man defense was too much for them and senior Terrance Messerly got a steal and was fouled on his lay up. We were down the whole game until .6 seconds left in the game."

With a chance to win at the end of the game Carrywater came to the aid of his team, "When Terrance went to the free throw line, he missed the first free throw. I had to call a time out because I could tell he was very nervous. That whole time out, his teammates were telling Terrance you got this we believe in you. He makes his second free throw. Glasgow inbounds and throws it out of bounds, we get the ball back, inbound it, and we get our first win."

You win games with defense, "They just played relentless defense all game, they played team basketball and they had fun playing and I am so proud of them, I told them after the game let's not be satisfied with just one win lets stay hungry and keep working hard.

The Lady Cats have steadily shown improvement all season long and Friday night, they got the payoff they wanted. The Bears held a 9-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter and took a 19-18 lead into halftime over the Lady Cats.

Harlem took the lead in the third with sophomore Aaraya Mount and junior Emma Billmayer each connecting from distance and scoring five points to lead 27-25 heading into the fourth quarter. The youngf Lady Cat team gained a ton of experience down the stretch holding on for a 39-36 win. Billmayer led the effort with 16 points while Mount added 14,

Head Coach, Brandon Trottier couldn't be happier for his team, "It was a big win for the girls. I told them that it wasn't pretty by any means but they gutted it out and held on for the win and I was very proud of them." Trottier added, "You learn a lot about your team in closer games. I also told them I'm learning as well as their coach. This is just my second year as a head coach."

The effort has been ongoing, "These young ladies come to practice every night and put in work. They are getting better, competing together as one every practice and game. I appreciate all their hard work that's for sure."

Trottier has seen signs of good things coming, "I see it in spurts in practice and earlier games, and I keep reminding them that they know how to play basketball... we just need to do it for four quarters."

Moving forward the girls have a bit more bounce in their step, "They seem more confident in themselves even though we are suffering to a loss against Glasgow on Friday night, we just didn't compete in the first half against them. They made it a game in the second half. So we will see if it carries over to Monday's make up game against Cut Bank," concluded Trottier.

Junior Emma Billmayer gets past the Bear defender for a bucket. Billmayer scored 16 and Mount 14 in leading the Lady Cats to a 39-36 win over the Bears.

Results from the Wildcats and Lady Cat games against the Cut Bank Wolves will appear in next weeks Blaine County Journal.

 
 

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