Superior girls clip Charlo for 14C title

There are mountains, folks say, that just can’t be climbed.

Some are Mission Mountain-esque in scope, while others are mole hills.

Most basketball fans in this neck of the woods would put beating the Charlo High girls somewhere in that broad-sweeping categorization.

And while no one expected the mountain to be climbed, the players and coaches at Superior High dared to dream the seemingly impossible.

The result was a 34-32 win by the Bobcats over Charlo for the Montana Western 14C District championship Saturday evening in Ronan and a trip for coach Jeff Schultz and crew to this weekend’s Divisional playoff round in Frenchtown.

Schultz and assistant coach Jessica Nagy have produced a very well instructed team that features a smothering, disruptive style of defensive play and that defense carried the Lady Bobcats to the 14C title.

In so doing, Superior held in check one of the best players in the region, Charlo’s Mila Hawk, by deploying two other top notch players, Payton Milender and Isabella Pereira to hound and stifle Hawk as much as possible. Sophomore Lanie Crabb also took a turn at guarding Hawk in an all-out effort to thwart a key part of the Charlo attack.

With one or the other Bobcat harassing Hawk at every turn, the all-conference guard was not able to wreak the havoc she normally does on opposing teams.

Meanwhile Superior was able to hold its own on the backboards as the Lady Vikings, paced by the inside play of senior post Cassie Green and junior forward Milender. Green battled a host of Lady Vikings throughout the game, while scoring nine points, the same as sharpshooter Darby Haskins, whose three-point bombs help keep Charlo at bay in the second half.

The contest was tight from the start and stayed that way until the final buzzer as neither team could build a comfortable lead. Superior fought its way to a razor thin 9-8 by the end of the first quarter as powerhouse sophomore guard Crabb scored four points to go with a three-pointer from Pereira.

Hawk, a talented, quick floor general for the Lady Vikings also had four points in the opening period.

Charlo turned up their own intense defensive pressure in quarter number two to erase that slim lead and take a 16-12 lead at the half. The Lady Vikings outscored Superior 8-3 in the quarter, as the Cats could muster only a field goal and a free throw while working to solve the stingy Charlo defense.

Haskins came alive in the third quarter, dropping in a pair of rally killing treys and helping Superior square the score at 22 each by the end of the period. And Superior tightened the screws on its own defense, holding the potent Charlo offense to six points in the quarter.

Hawk then opened the final quarter of play with a two-pointer, and Charlo got a three-point field goal from Kassidi Cox to build one of the largest leads of the game by either team, a five-point advantage at 27-22 with six and a half minutes to play.

That’s when Haskins came through for the Lady Bobcats with another three-pointer, including one that cut the lead to 27-25 just when it seemed Charlo was ready to unleash one of its customary scoring barrages.

A layup by Crabb and a pair of free throws from Green knotted the score at 29 each with just under three minutes remaining in regulation in a game that began to have the look of potential overtime.

Milender put the Lady Bobcats on top 31-29 a short time later and added a free throw to up the lead to 32-29 when she was fouled while shooting. A three-pointer by Charlo with just under one minute to play tied the score once again at 32-all.

Then, with 40 seconds to play in regulation, Green hit a field goal inside that put Superior on top. Neither team could score in the remaining second as the clock struck zero and the Superior players, fans and coaches erupted in joyous celebration.

Haskins and Green tied for team and game high scoring honors with nine points each, while Crabb tossed in eight.

Hawk, a superb junior guard scored eight for the game, one behind team leader Cox who matched Haskins and Green with nine points.

Both teams now advance to this weekend’s Divisional playoffs in Frenchtown with a chance to advance to the state finals next month.