By Danny Waldo
Both the Bozeman Hawk boys and girls basketball programs came into the season with question marks at a number of spots following the graduation and defection of key players off of last season’s state championship (Girls) and runner-up (Boys) finishes from a year ago. But, by the time the 2017 state tournament kicked off in Great Falls earlier this month, expectations had been raised thanks to both squads securing the No. 1 seed in the east heading into the tournament.
However, thanks to inept offenses, both squads came up short in their bids to earn state titles, with the girls finishing fourth and the boys repeating as runner-up.
Girls
The girls got things started on the right foot, earning a hard-fought opening-round victory over a game Kalispell-Glacier squad, 51-47. A poor shooting performance in the semi-finals did the Lady Hawks in, losing to eventual state champion Helena High, 45-43, a game in which Bozeman trailed 22-8 after one quarter. The Hawks spent the remainder of the game chasing the Bengals, eventually taking the lead late, but unable to make the key basket in the waning moments and being relegated to loser-out play.
The Lady Hawks got off to a slow start once again in Saturday morning action to Billings West, but they were able to turn up the defense in the middle quarters, holding the Bears to a total of 8 points in the 2nd and 3rd periods before holding down the stretch to reach the consolation final.
In the consolation final versus Billings Senior, Bozeman fell behind early yet again, battled back to take a 1-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and faded late following a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers by Senior to finish fourth. “At the beginning of the season I didn’t know what to expect,” the coach admitted. “I keep saying that I’m so proud of this team.”
Bozeman will have even more questions to answer next season following the graduation of six seniors, including leading scorer Riana Rogers and all-around player Amber Tarabochia, both of whom will continue their careers at the collegiate level, but key contributors Alex Carey and Ayla Embry will be back to anchor an inexperienced squad in 2018.
Boys
The Bozeman boys began state tournament play with a workman-like victory over Kalispell-Flathead, pulling away late, 73-60, to set up a semi-final date with hometown favorite Great Falls High.
Bozeman was the recipient of some good fortune in hanging on in the semi-final victory, surviving a point-blanked missed layup by the Bison with under 10 seconds to play that the Hawks converted into a game-winning basket with 4 seconds remaining. But not before Great Falls missed an on-target game-winning 3-point shot that bounded harmlessly off the rim as time expired.
In the finals, Bozeman ran into a team of destiny in the Kalispell-Glacier Wolfpack, a team seeking its first state title in school history. Glacier controlled the tempo and the score for the majority of the title bout, although the teams were tied at 24 at the half. However, an 11-0 run in the third quarter gave Glacier control once again.
Things got interesting in the final period thanks to some lack of composure on Glacier’s part. Standout post Jaxen Hashley was called for a charge and subsequent technical foul, meaning his evening was over. Following a pair of free throws by Bailey Harlin that cut the Wolfpack lead to 39-38, Bozeman was unable to get over the hump. Bozeman missed a possible game-winning 3-pointer with 6 seconds to go, and Glacier got a pair of game-sealing free throws to earn their first title, 46-42.
Bozeman will graduate 8 seniors, including their entire starting five, meaning head coach Wes Holmquist will have even more questions to answer coming into 2018. Part-time starter Mack Anderson will return to anchor an extremely inexperienced crew next season.