Everything Was Great Vs. Mavs Until It Was Not

Nearly everything was going so right for the Scobey girls’ basketball team Saturday night when they were hosting — and leading — the undefeated North Country Mavericks.

It was a big game indeed as a win over the Saco, Whitewater and Hinsdale girls would give the Spartans a share of the lead in the District 3C standings with their visitors, and it would eventually come down to the tie-breaker system to determine the conference champion.

As the second half was just getting underway North Country’s Kaitlyn Mc-Colly picked up her third foul, which was a big deal with the whole second half to go, and Gracee Lekvold hit a field goal giving the Spartans a 27-22 advantage. Then McColly scored as did Kelcee Cummings on a 3-on-1 fast break, getting the Mavs within one. Kia Wasson's 3-point field goal from the left wing gave North Country a 29-27 lead and a debilitating 21-2 scoring run was well on its way and it was all she wrote for the Spartans in the 53-32 final.

The victory gives the Mavericks the conference championship and the top seed in next week’s District 3C Tournament while Scobey will go in as the second- seeded squad.

The Spartans broke away from an 8-all score when Whitley Maher and Lekvold canned 3-pointers to lead 14-10 through 8 minutes of action. Lekvold’s trey at the 4:51 mark of the second period grew the lead to 17-12 before McColly’s basket gave her team a short-lived 18-17 advantage. The two teams continued to swap leads before Maher drilled her fourth 3-pointer of the half from the top of the key just seconds before the halftime horn sounded and Scobey went ahead 25-22.

It’s hard to say what was said in the Mavs’ lockerroom during intermission but whatever it was that team came out of it highly motivated. It’s one of the reasons why the Mavericks are definitely in the conversation to contend for the State C championship next month if they can find a way to get out of the upcoming East C Divisional Tourna- ment in Sidney.

The week began...