Scarlets aim to ride wave of momentum at state

The Arlee Scarlets carried over the momentum they established in the Class-C Western Montana Districts in regional competition and the momentum the Scarlets built was enough to punch their ticket to the Montana State Class-C Tournament.

The Scarlets are scheduled to play Harlowton at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Belgrade Special Events Center.

Against White Sulphur Springs, Arlee Coach Bill Stockton said he felt like his team was well prepared as they cruised to a 54-32 victory.

According to Stockton, the focal point was containing the Lady Hornets’ leading scorer Mesa Williams. For Stockton, the magic number was “15 points” and the Scarlets were able to hold her to 11 points.

“As far as divisional were concerned, I felt really prepared for that first game and the girls really executed well,” Stockton said. “I knew if we could hold Mesa to 15 that we would win that game.”

By halftime, Arlee had developed a commanding 31-15 advantage. In the third and fourth quarters, the Scarlets maintained their consistency scoring 22 points in the second half.

The Scarlets had three players that scored in double digits including Alyssia Vanderburg, who finished with 20 points, and Carly Hergett and Bryndle Goyins had 11 each. Other contributors included Noelle West, Abby Yocum and Nellie Desjarlais each finished with four.

The Scarlets lost their first contest against Seeley-Swan 42-20 on Jan. 5. Despite losing to them earlier in the season, Stockton said he was “confident” headed into the second game.

This time, Arlee avenged its loss to Seeley with a 40-32 victory. The Scarlets were up 23-18 at the half and despite struggling with finding their offensive rhythm in the third quarter by scoring only five points, they allowed Seeley to score only two in the third period in which seven points were scored between the two teams.

Vanderburg again scored in double digits totaling 16, Noelle West finished with eight, Desjarlais had five, Yocum and Goyins finished with four, and Hergett finished with three.

Against Twin Bridges, Stockton said it would be determined by who made the least mistakes in the Divisional Championship game.

The Scarlets, who were playing against an unbeaten Twin Bridges team, came up three points short in a 43-39 loss in the Championship Game at the Western Divisionals.

“That game came down to who made the least amount of mistakes,” Stockton said. “Twin had an outstanding 6-3 post player, she was a super athlete and a great shot blocker. They had really good guards and they were defenders and facilitators. They committed a few more turnovers than they are used to having. It was one of those games that came down to the end and we just couldn’t quite get it.”

Vanderberg again scored in double digits leading the Scarlets with 11, Desjarlais had ten, Hergett had seven, and Goyins finished with six. Other contributors included West, who finished with three and Yocum finished with two.

Arlee had trouble containing two Lady Falcons: Kailee Oliverson, who finished with 21, and RaeAnne Bendon finished with 17 in the victory.

Stockton and his Scarlets don’t have a lot of time to prepare for Harlowton, and because of the team’s small window to prepare for state, he said he is going to take a more “relaxed” approach in his team’s preparation.

“At this time of the year, we are looking just to stay healthy,” Stockon said. “We are stretching a lot more and shooting just to spend a little more time on some of our sets and our game plans. It’s a little slower paced practice but it’s a little more focused. At this stage of the game, if we weren’t in shape we wouldn’t be playing at this level. We are just mentally trying to take care of each opponent.”

The Scarlets will play Harlowton, the No. 1 seeded team from the South, and Stockton admits he isn’t familiar with them.

“They are from the south and I haven’t seen them play this year in person,” Stockton admitted. “We got a chance last year to watch them play and they had the same head coach. They are very guard-heavy, they shoot the ball very well, and they are not as big as us.”

Arlee has the advantage with its length inside and Stockton anticipates it will give the No. 1 seeded team from the south trouble.

“Defensively, we just have to make sure to keep ourselves out of foul trouble,” Stockton said. “As far as size goes, it really makes it hard for shooters to get good shots over those long arms. It’s harder to shoot over us and grab defensive rebounds. Our guards just have to handle their pressure and make sure we can get the ball into the post where we can use our size to our advantage. We just have to work to get the basketball inside.”

Last season was the first time Arlee qualified for state since 1982 and the Scarlets will now play in their second-consecutive state tournament.

“We talked a little about peaking last week,” Stockton admitted. “We’ve improved a bunch since the beginning of the year and we still haven’t put a whole game together for 32 minutes. We’ve had some tough teams. We are at the end point and we are getting where we need to be.”