Amber Tarabochia is ready to lead the Hawks back to the state tournament. Photo courtesy of Dawn Tarabochia
Head coach Erika Gustavsen knew there were going to be growing pains, so Bozeman’s 1-2 start shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Through three games, thus far into the 2016-17 season, Bozeman has struggled with guard play and scoring, and the results would be what you would expect from a team that lacks a true post presence and is woefully inexperienced in the backcourt.
Bozeman opened the season by hosting Missoula Sentinel, one of the most talented and well-coached squads they are likely to face this season, and the result, while alarming in its one-sidedness, was a good litmus test to where Gustavsen’s squad ranks among the state’s best. In that contest, Bozeman struggled with turning the ball over and putting the ball in the basket, losing 61-34. The Hawks committed 20 turnovers on the night, many resulting in easy fast break points for the Spartans, and shot around 20 percent on the evening, but Bozeman battled toe-to-toe with the Spartans before fading away in the second half. “In the first half we really competed and challenged them and mixed it up,” Gustavsen said. “I was pleased with that, but that defense just didn’t carry over to the second half like I was hoping it would.”
Fading down the stretch is something that has been an issue through all three of Bozeman’s games thus far.
In Bozeman’s second contest of the year, versus Helena Capital, the Hawks led a good majority of the game, but couldn’t hang on down the stretch, falling 49-45 on the road to the Bruins. Bozeman raced out to an eight-point lead at the half in Helena, but managed to score just 16 points in the second half, allowing Helena Capital to climb back into the contest and squeak out the win. Once again, poor shooting doomed Bozeman as they hit on just 19-47 attempts. Free throws also played a large roll in the defeat as Capital went to the line 23 times, knocking in 17, while Bozeman was just 2-of-6. “We don’t have that dominant post presence inside, which is where a lot of those fouls are called,” Gustavsen said. “This year we’re trying to spread people out and create lanes for people, and yeah, we didn’t get to the line much.”
Bozeman finally broke into the win column in game three, edging Helena High 61-57 to improve to 1-2 on the season. But the victory over the Bengals was another nail-biter for the Hawks who led by 12 in the second half before letting Helena back into the contest. The good news for Bozeman was their shooting touch finally showed up, as Bozeman shot 57 percent from the floor, including 64 percent from the three-point line. Bozeman will need to shoot it that well with their lack of inside scoring.
The Lady Hawks return home December 16th for a rematch with Helena Capital, before hitting the road again on the 17th to take on Missoula Hellgate.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics.
