Morning Stars out to make more history

The Rocky Boy Morning Stars have already had a historic basketball season — one that has completely erased the memory of how last year ended in heartbreaking fashion.

But by no means is this Rocky Boy squad done. And while the Morning Stars (19-5) have already hoisted their first-ever District 1B championship trophy, and their historic first-ever Northern B divisional championship trophy, they aren’t satisfied. No, in their first appearance ever at the Class B state tournament, which starts Thursday in Missoula, Rocky Boy is after more.

“Last year we missed the state tournament by one game,” Rocky Boy head coach Cameron McCormick said. “That has been a motivator for the girls all year. I have reminded them of that a lot, probably more than they would like, but I think that has been a big factor for us. So we’re very excited.”

No doubt the Morning Stars are excited, and while they open their first state tournament in more than a decade with a tough Townsend squad Thursday afternoon, they are also a confident bunch. Winning the 1B was hard enough, but last weekend, upending Poplar, and the red-hot Wolf Point Wolves was something even tougher, and that alone should make the Morning Stars even more confident heading into the state tourney.

Confidence should also come in knowing that the Morning Stars are on a roll, and that, they have a veteran lineup loaded with talent. Five Rocky Boy players are averaging in double figures, led by Adrienne Gopher’s 17 points per night. Fellow senior Sean Henry pours in 13 points per outing, while senior forward Jaylynn Mitchell anchors in the inside, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Sasha Coffee has also blossomed this season, averaging 10 points and six rebounds per outing, while fellow sophomore Jaynah Gopher is averaging 10 and junior Rochelle Pease scores eight per night. As a team, Rocky Boy is averaging nearly 60 points per game, while the Morning Stars shoot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point-line.

But as dangerous as the Morning Stars are, and as big of a roll as they’ve been on, the State B tourney is loaded with talented teams, including Rocky Boy’s first-round opponent, the Townsend Bulldogs. Townsend 21-5, may be the third-place team from the loaded Southern B, but the Bulldogs have had a big year, and are talented across the board. Townsend was heavily favored to win the Southern B last weekend in Billings, but the Bulldogs had to win three in a row after losing in the opening round to reach state.

They did that however, and led by standouts Tavia Rooney, Lainee Hill, Abby Leachman, Sterling Owens and center McKenzie Woodward, the Bulldogs are a talented bunch, with a deep bench and will be a difficult first-round opponent for Rocky Boy.

“I think if we can get a couple good practices in and really just keep the hard work up, because in the end that has been what has paid off and that’s a credit to the girls,” McCormick said, “then it will all pay off down there.”

The State B girls tourney is always tough, though this year’s field must feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off its shoulders, as powerhouses Malta and Fairfield, which have combined to win the last 10 state championships, are absent this week. That gives everybody the sense that the state title is truly anybody’s to win, and that includes Rocky Boy.

The Morning Stars are on the same side of the bracket as Southern B runner-up Colstrip (22-3) and Western B runner-up Deer Lodge. Those two squads will square off in the final first-round game at 5 p.m. Thursday. Despite falling at the Southern B, Colstrip is one of the big favorites this weekend. The tournament opens with Western B champion Bigfork (20-1), another top team, taking on dark horse St. Labre (11-12), the fourth-place team from the Southern B. That game tips at 9 a.m. followed by Southern B champion Three Forks (25-0) battling Northern B runner-Up Poplar (22-2). That game is a battle of two teams that were ranked at the top of the state all season. Three Forks brings an unbeaten record into the state tourney, while Poplar, despite just two losses this season, had to fight its way into state via a challenge game.

And while Rocky Boy knows it has a tough road ahead of it, the Morning Stars couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity. It’s an opportunity the Morning Stars have waited and worked for since joining the Class B ranks a decade ago. It’s one that took time, was never easy and was an uphill climb. But now, the Morning Stars are here and they’re ready to make a splash on the Class B scene.

“At the start of the season, we got dominated by Havre and that has kind of been a turning point for us,” McCormick said. “I told the team, we could use that as an up or down moment, and we have been coming on strong since then and hopefully we can finish strong in Missoula.”

Rocky Boy opens the Class B state tournament against the Townsend Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula. For more on Rocky Boy, see Thursday’s Havre Daily News sports section.