by Danny Waldo
Now that the Fall Sports season is over, it’s time for the boys and girls of winter to take center stage, and that means it’s time for high school hoops.
Both the Bozeman Hawk boys’ and girls’ basketball programs recently completed tryouts in preparation for the 2018-19 season and are ready to try and improve upon their showings from last season.
For Lady Hawk head coach Erika Gustavsen that means earning a Top 2 finish after her squad surprised many by battling back and taking home the third-place trophy in the 2018 Class AA state tournament held in Billings. But she’ll have to do it with a relatively young and inexperienced group following the graduation of three seniors, including leading scorer Alex Carey, as well as the transfer of 6’1 post Angelle Diamond.
Seniors Ayla Embry and Ava Westphal, both starters a season ago, are back to anchor the Hawks, but the rest of the lineup is short on experience.
Bozeman, like th
e rest of the state, will be chasing two-time defending state champion Helena High, led by senior Jamie Pickens, a 6’2 University of Montana commit, and they’ll find out early how they stack up, as the Lady Hawks travel to Helena to take on the Bengals to open their season on December 7th.
For Bozeman Hawk head coach Wes Holmquist the picture is similar. The Hawks graduated a big senior class that included 6’9 post Mack Anderson and 6’1 point guard Robbie Simpson. Anderson is now playing for the Montana Grizzlies, while Simpson is suiting up for Eastern Oregon. Tyler Dobie, Latrell McCutcheon, Jack Carr and Payton Price all graduated as well, leaving Holmquist to start anew in his quest to return to a fourth consecutive state title game.
Bozeman has come up short in the past three state title games, including last season’s setback to Great Falls CMR, and it could be tough sledding making it back with a largely inexperienced group. But the cupboard is not completely empty as a pair of starters return in 6’6 Ryan Simpson and 6’4 Ryan Lonergan, as well as part-time varsity player Carter Ash.
Simpson struggled with injuries last season, but is healthy and ready to go and should cause matchup problems on the perimeter with his size and athleticism. Lonergan was a force inside for Bozeman a year ago, providing the muscle to complement Anderson’s length, and he should be tough to deal with again in his final go around.
There is no clear-cut favorite on the boys’ side, so it will be a dogfight to make it out of divisionals and return to state. Bozeman opens up at home versus the Helena High Bengals on December 7th with tip-off set for 7pm.
For complete schedules of Bozeman Hawk boys’ and girls’ basketball, log on to the district website at www.bsd7.org.
