Free Throws Shootout sends girls to camp
ALBERTON – Basketball season may be over but members of the Alberton basketball teams still hit the court to shoot some hoops during the March Madness Free Throw Shootout.
The goal of the shootout was to send the participants to the Lady Griz Team camp in June. The camp takes place in Missoula and goes from June 15 to June 17.
Only members of the girl’s basketball team participated in this inaugural event. The girls will have the opportunity to work with the Lady Griz basketball team and coach as they learn more about the game. They will also get a taste of college life as they stay in the university dorms for three days.
Over the course of three rounds, the girls took turns throwing 45 free throws each. In every round, the participants took 15 shots.
For the last three weeks, Mia Tocci, Deveyn Dutt, Olivia Talen, Kierstan McConnell, Rebecca Pluth and Montanna Baughman papered the Alberton community to raise money for the trip. Residents rose to the occasion to help out. Some gave a flat donation, while others put the girl’s skill to the test by pledging money for each successful free throw.
“Rebecca, I know, someone pledged 25 cents per shot she makes,” Casey Dutt, the event’s organizer, said. “So, when we’re done with this, we’ll count up her shots and she’ll go back to that person.”
Dutt said some of the girls were more enthusiastic with their fundraising efforts. She said there were two or three who checked every nook and cranny for donations.
According to Dutt, the girls proposed the idea of going to camp at the end of the District Tournament. She felt it was a good idea and an opportunity for a teambuilding exercise.
“They want to go to camp, let’s put them to work, see what they can get,” Dutt said. “Get them out to talk to people and promote themselves.”
It took approximately a week for the fundraising plan to come together, then the girls hit the streets to start raising money for the camp. The girls worked for approximately three weeks to raise money. Dutt said some people gave a flat donation of up to $50.
At the end of the event, Tocci came out on top with 29 baskets. Deveyn came in second with 25, Baughman made 23, McConnell and Pluth tied with 20 as Talen made 18.
Only eighth graders through high school juniors were able to participate in the event. Some of the seniors came by to show moral support to their teammates.
Dutt felt the event was good for the girls and the community as a whole because it sent the girls out to start building better relationships with people. It was also a bonding moment for the girls as they worked together to canvas the area with requests for donations.
“It gets the girls out there and gets them involved with each other,” Dutt said.
She hopes this will become an annual fundraising event as a way to send players to camp. She would also like to see members of the boy’s team participate in the future.