The North Country Mavericks were the 2023 State C Girls Basketball Champions and the team is off to a 4-0 start in their 2023-24 campaign.
The team added their latest wins this past weekend at the Lewistown Showcase where they defeated Twin Bridges 53-41 in a rematch of the state championship last Dec. 7, and Winifred/Roy 51-32 on Dec. 8.
The team lost some experience with the graduation of Kora LaBrie, Mattea McColly, Cienna Strommen and Sammie Wisher. They welcome back plenty of familiar faces including All-State seniors Teagan Erickson, who signed to play college basketball at Montana State University, and Paige Wasson, who has led the team in scoring this season.
"This season, our motto is to Enjoy the Journey!" Mavericks Head Coach Amber Erickson said. "Although we lost some big pieces from our State Championship team last year, we bring back a lot of talent in our upperclassmen and solid underclassmen as well. We are focused and locked in on making another solid run at another State Championship but want to make sure we enjoy every part of that journey along the way."
Coach Erickson was asked to talk about her seniors this season and the growth that they have shown so far.
The following are statements made about each athlete by Coach Erickson.
Paige Wasson - is a year older and stronger. She has continued to fine tune her game both on the offensive and defensive end. Her ability to score from anywhere on the floor both as a guard and inside is tough for anyone to stop.
Teagan Erickson - has also matured and gotten much stronger. She has a high basketball IQ and the ability to play both inside and out on the perimeter for our team. She sees the floor really well. Her rebounding and defensive presence are big assets to our team.
Kendall Scheffelmear - is going to be huge for us once again this season. She has a natural knack for the ball, is a solid post player, defender and rebounder. I am excited to see how well she does in her starting role and with a lot more minutes of play.
Josie Brown - is very quick and fast. She is a tough kid who isn't afraid of contact. We are working her into a role of being a lockdown defender for us this season.
We have two other seniors Ava Hanley who was coming off knee surgery last season and is moving great this year and Zora Holt who has been with our program for 3 years now and has improved a lot for only playing basketball for 3 years.
Coach Erickson was then asked about a few of her underclassmen.
Shelbi LaBrie - spent some time working with Bobbi Knudsen in the off season and she has improved a lot offensively. She is comfortable with our offenses, defenses and set plays which allows her to think less and just play. You will have a hard time finding a kid that is willing to compete with anyone and everyone like Shelbi is.
BaiLee McColly - has grown into her tall athletic frame this year and is more confident and fundamentally sound this season already.
CharLee McColly - is very strong and not afraid of physicality. She has already come in off the bench and given us some great minutes this season. I look for both BaiLee and CharLee to continue to improve throughout the season with more varsity experience.
We have several other guards rounding out our varsity that will be competing for varsity minutes as the season progresses.
In the Lady Mavericks' 53-41 win over Twin Bridges, Wasson led the team with 22 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Erickson had 15 points, four assists and three rebounds. LaBrie had five points, five rebounds, and two assists. B. McColly had five points and three rebounds. Scheffelmear had four points, three rebounds, and two assists. C. McColly had two points.
The Mavs fell behind early, and were down 2-11 late in the first quarter. Twin Bridges outscored North Country 13-6 in the first period. The Mavericks defense tightened up, and North Country outscored Twin Bridges in each of the remaining periods; 16-6 in the second, 13-7 in the third, and 18-14 in the fourth.
In the Mavs' win over Winifred Roy, the score was 51-32. Wasson led the team with 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
LaBrie had 15 points and two steals. Erickson had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. B. McColly had seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Lady Mavericks outscored Winifred-Roy in every quarter of the game, 15-9 in the first, 9-7 in the second, 12-9 in the third, and 15-7 in the fourth.
