HAMEL AT THE HELM

The Polson Lady Pirates were a frenzied, dominant force that was all over the court this season en route to an appearance in the Montana Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament.

In the middle of it all? Polson senior guard Mariah Hamel. Called the general of the team by coach Randy Kelley, it’s easy to see why the Lady Pirates were so successful this season with Hamel at the helm. While post Riley Kenney scorched teams with her ability to score and rebound, Hamel was the motor that ran the offense for Polson, doing an excellent job controlling the ball and dishing it to the right person.

The Polson Lady Pirates were a frenzied, dominant force that was all over the court this season en route to an appearance in the Montana Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament.

In the middle of it all? Polson senior guard Mariah Hamel. Called the general of the team by coach Randy Kelley, it’s easy to see why the Lady Pirates were so successful this season with Hamel at the helm. While post Riley Kenney scorched teams with her ability to score and rebound, Hamel was the motor that ran the offense for Polson, doing an excellent job controlling the ball and dishing it to the right person.

“I really like to be the person in charge and getting the whole team involved,” Hamel said in an interview before the state tournament. “It’s not necessarily my job to score, but to put others in the position to score and I’m happy with doing just that.”

The 5’7” guard was second in the Northwestern A Conference with 50 assists during the regular season. She averaged 2.78 assists per game and showed that she was dangerous from the three-point line. Hamel ranked third in the conference for three-point shooting, hitting over 30 percent of her shots from downtown. While these stats are impressive to any Lady Pirate fan, it’s obvious that Hamel is more concerned about the success of her team than individual accolades.

“I’m a very competitive person and I like the fact that Polson has a very successful athletic program,” Hamel said. “We have gone to state two out of the three years that I have started for the varsity team.”

Hamel refined her game in the off-season, even working out with the SKC Lady Bison basketball team. That experience gave her a valuable look at college-level basketball and it showed on the court.

“During the off-season, I have gone in to work out with the Lady Bison to stay in basketball shape and I feel that being there has improved my game,” Hamel said.

After a hiccup last year when the Lady Pirates were bounced from the Northwestern A Divisional Tournament, Polson came back with a chip on their shoulder and posted a 16-7 overall record for the 2011-12 season. It was the best a Polson girls basketball team had done in at least half a decade.

The Lady Pirates’ roster had plenty of weapons for Hamel to use. Along with Kenney, Hamel could pass to strong post Heidi Rausch, sharpshooter Jordan Quinn, the seemingly un-exhaustible Banner sisters and the agile Anna DiGiallonardo.

They all brought a hard-nosed attitude to the game that opponents struggled to match.

“There are a couple girls, Riley Kenney and Jordan Quinn, who I have played with since the eighth grade,” Hamel said. “I feel that this team has really bonded from the team dinners to the long bus rides. I will surely miss them because we have become more than just a team, we’re second family to each other.”

Hamel was one of four seniors on the Lady Pirates’ roster. Last weekend in Butte was the last time that she suited up in a Polson basketball uniform. She scored 17 points and dished out nine assists for her team during the tournament.

“As seniors, we know that this is the last time wearing our Lady Pirate jerseys,” Hamel said. “I guess it has crossed my mind that this is it, and being here at the state tournament we know we can achieve something that no other Lady Pirate basketball team has done. Whatever happens, I just want to leave it all on the court with no regret.”

Defense is the biggest focus for the Lady Pirates, and Hamel too. When they were stopped at a local eatery in Butte after their win over Havre in the second game of the tournament, the team was more apt to talk about their defense rather than any offensive tendencies.

“‘Offense sells tickets, defense wins games’ is the quote that I always go by,” Hamel said. “Coach Kelley has always demanded aggressive defense and if they don’t score, they can’t win. Defense has always come down to mind over matter.”

While the Lady Pirates ended their season with a loss to Laurel in the last day of the state tournament, Polson had a season with very few, if any, negatives. It was a fine senior season for Hamel, who wrote the final chapter of her seven year basketball career against the best teams in the state of Montana.

“I started playing basketball in sixth grade,” Hamel said. “Before that I was a gymnast and remember always watching my older sister play in high school. I started off in three-on-three tournaments and found that basketball became something that I loved to do.”

It’s been something of a circle for Hamel. After watching her older sister play in the past, Hamel carved a spot of her own on the Polson roster and now her younger sister, Malia, is coming up the pipeline for the Lady Pirates as a JV and varsity reserve player this season.

“My little sister, Malia, has always been someone that has looked up to me,” Hamel said. “It was nice to have her suiting up and experiencing this last year with me. I love the way she plays and the way we bond on the court, but I just wish we got the chance to actually play together.”

Hamel said she appreciated all the support and encouragement she saw through the years from the Polson fans and her family. Along with that, Hamel said she draws inspiration from Native American basketball player Shoni Schimmel.

Schimmel, who grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, plays for the University of Louisville basketball team and was the subject of the TLC documentary, Off the Rez.

“I met her while playing in a junior high tournament in Oregon and she was exciting and inspiring to watch then as an eighth grader,” Hamel said.

Hamel’s own aspirations after high school are deeply rooted in academics and she’s looking at both in-state and out-of-state options.

“Basketball has always been the cherry on top, but my future plans are to get my education first and foremost at either the University of Montana or Washington State University in pharmacy,” Hamel said.

With Hamel’s graduation, Lady Pirate fans won’t see her bring the ball up the court anymore, but rest assured, her impact on the program won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

After all, she was in the middle of it all.