Hawks Nab Top Seeds to State
By Danny Waldo
Both Bozeman Hawk basketball squads secured the top seed in the Eastern AA and subsequent automatic berth to the state tournament in Great Falls March 9-11 following grind-it-out regular season-ending victories over Billings West recently.
Coming into the season, both squads had plenty of question marks thanks to graduations and defections of key players off of last season’s teams, but an eager group of role players have stepped up in both cases, pushing Bozeman to the head of the pack as both the boys and girls aim for a return to the state title game.
On the girls side, head coach Erika Gustavsen and company endured the loss of Emerald Toth (Boise State) and Caitlyn Lonergan (Montana State), two of the top post players in the state last season, in addition to losing guards Bailey O’Leary (Personal) and Kyle Olson (Transfer), both key components in helping Bozeman win the 2016 state title. The season got off to an ominous start with a double-digit loss to Missoula Sentinel, followed by inconsistent play in losses to Helena High and Helena Capital, but once conference play began, the Lady Hawks found their stride, reeling off eight consecutive victories to race out to first place in the Eastern AA. A couple of late season slip ups to Billings Senior and Great Falls-CMR put Bozeman in a dogfight with the Rustlers for the top seed, but after topping Billings West to close out the regular season, Bozeman was able to secure the No. 1 seed, and now must await the conclusion of State AA playoff games to determine their opening round opponent.
Gustavsen’s crew has developed a ‘by-committee’ persona with a number of players contributing throughout the season. Senior Riana Rogers has been the Hawks leading scorer all season, but fellow senior Amber Tarabochia has provided consistent offense while leading the team in rebounds and regularly being matched up with the opposing team’s top scoring threat on defense, and junior Alex Carey has come on late, shooting the ball extremely well, including dropping in 21 points in the season-ending victory over West.
Bozeman will need all the help they can get from fellow contributors Ayla Embry and Elaine Chandler as well, as the Hawks, and everyone else, will be chasing favorites Missoula Sentinel and Helena High, in the battle for the 2017 state title.
On the boy’s side, the picture was maybe a little clearer for head coach Wes Holmquist. Gone were prolific scorer Aaron Weidenaar and playmaker Bennett Hostetler, as well inside presence Trace Bradshaw, but key contributors Callahan O’Reilly, Lance McCutcheon and Drew Huse all returned, as did a host of upper classmen with the talent to fill holes.
The transition has been smoother than even Holmquist expected. “What I love about this team — and it’s better than any team I’ve been around as a player or coach — we don’t lose our cool,” Holmquist said. “We stay very even-keeled and they just don’t quit.”
That cool composure has allowed Bozeman to secure the top seed in the ultra competitive Eastern AA, ahead of reigning two-time defending state champion Billings Skyview, whom the Hawks split their meetings with in the regular season.
The journey this season hasn’t always been easy, with Bozeman losing its last home game on senior night to a CMR squad that has dwelled in the bottom half of the standings all season, before surviving a slugfest at Butte and winning at the buzzer in Billings to close out the regular season. The Hawks managed to defeat Billings West on a buzzer-beating layup by senior reserve, Kyler Ash. “I think you learn so much as a player and coach in close games,” Holmquist said. “We know what we’re capable of doing. We’ve been in these situations. We didn’t want it to happen the way it ended up and play the way we did today, but we just kept battling. When we can pull those out it’s a big confidence boost.”
Now, like their counterparts, the Lady Hawks, Bozeman must wait until the completion of State AA playoff games to learn their opening round opponent when state kicks off in Great Falls on March 9th.
All games at the 2017 State AA basketball tournament March 9-11 can be streamed live by logging onto www.mhsa.org.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics.
