TWIN TORNADO

TURNER - Growing up in Turner, playing basketball isn't really a choice. It's more just something you do, and when it comes to the Conlan twins, Rylee and Raegan, it was no different.

The two girls, who are now seniors in high school, both said they have been playing, basically since they could dribble a basketball.

"It was bad at first," Raegan Conlan said. "We were really, really bad."

Over time, though, the Conlan twins got better, much better and by the time they were in eighth grade, they were playing varsity basketball for the Turner Tornadoes and they got to do it alongside their older sister, Kristina Conlan.

"She honestly made us mature," Rylee Conlan said. "We were still so little at the time, so she helped us through that and helped us calm down and learn how to get through tough games like some of the ones we have faced."

Back then, the Tornadoes weren't having the success they are now. They struggled in the District 9C and getting to the Northern C Divisional tournament seemed like a dream that was detached from reality. But the Conlans believed, and so did their teammates and last season, Turner took third at the 9C tournament, which gave them the chance to play in Great Falls at the Northern C Divisional, where they not only participated but won two games before being eliminated.

"It was so exciting," Raegan Conlan said. "I was so proud of all us, all our teammates."

Her sister Rylee, agreed it was one of the highlights of her basketball career.

"I think that is one of the things I will remember for the rest of my life," she said. "Turner hasn't made is that far ever, so I was just proud that we made it."

Getting there was a big deal but the fact that the Tornadoes won two games turned some heads, it also created some much higher expectations for the 2018-19 season with most of the team's core players back.

"I know that when people saw us going to divisionals, they said are going to go two and out," Raegan Conlan said. "I am proud of that. I am proud that teams have to look out for us because we are competition."

"It is a little more stressful," Rylee Conlan said. "Because we want to do just as well and get as far or maybe even farther. It is stressful but it's also fun, too."

Regardless of what happens this season, this will be the last chance for the Conlan twins to play alongside each other and that's why with just a couple months of basketball left, they want to make as many memories as they possibly can.

"I think it has been the best experience of my life," Raegan Conlan said. "When I am having a bad night, she always picks up and if she is having a bad night, I pick her up. We pick each other up, and I think it has been one of the best experiences of my life."

And while the two twins don't agree on everything, they did agree on how great it's been getting the chance to play basketball with each other for the past five years.

"It has been really good," Rylee Conlan said. "There are not a lot of times that you get to play with your sister."

While Rylee and Raegan said they tend to get along pretty well, they did admit to competing with each other constantly.

"We competed with each other over everything," Raegan Conlan said. "Whether it's on the basketball court or in the classroom or whatever.

"Besides the fact that we compete in everything," Rylee Conlan said. "We are actually pretty close. A lot of sisters fight, but we actually get along pretty well."

Being part of the rise of Turner girls basketball over the past few years has meant something to both players and so does the awesome support provided by the community. That and getting to share the experience with each other, has made it even more meaningful.

"The crowds in Turner are incredible," Rylee Conlan said. "It seems like we always have fans that travel with us wherever we go and the people are really enthusiastic and that always gives us a boost. It's one of the best things about playing basketball in Turner."

While the Conlan twins have shared a lot over the last 18 years, the moments they have shared on the court have been among the best and that's why in the coming months, with changes coming, both girls are just trying to stay in the moment and enjoy it while they can.

"We might be together, but we might end up apart next year," Raegan Conlan said. "I am sure that we will still be close and that we will probably Facetime every night or something, but it won't be the same as us getting to share all of the experiences, so we just want to enjoy this year while we can."