BILLINGS — With a handful of Billings players presently signed to contend at the NCAA Division II amount or larger, the 2021-22 girls basketball time in the Magic Metropolis could turn out to be a unique a person.
It may well not be unparalleled, and it may be hyperbole to say it’s a golden age, but to say ladies basketball must achieve a competitiveness not noticed close to these pieces in a when is not considerably of a extend.
“It’s going to be a pleasurable year,” West coach Charlie Johnson stated. “I feel there’s going to be some great basketball here, undoubtedly.”
Johnson has had a lot of enjoyment seasons in his many years at West, in which he starts his ninth period as head coach. During Johnson’s tenure — and even a little bit before — the Golden Bears have dominated their AA intra-metropolis rivals, winning 37 of 44 matchups with Senior and Skyview since the 2011-12 time.
Throw in Billings Central, versus whom West is 8-2 in that span, and it’s an remarkable .833 successful share against Billings opponents in the last ten years.
Are Skyview and Senior catching up? We’ll see. The Bears enter the new year as the metropolis preferred after yet again, but the Falcons and Broncs are adhering to up a yr in which they completed 3rd and fourth in the Japanese AA, respectively.
And with all three groups returning most of their crucial players from a year in the past, it’s not a extend to feel a 1-2-3 Billings end in the meeting is a chance. Report-maintaining in higher faculty sports remaining what it is — which is, in a word, incomplete — it’s tricky to say if the Billings schools have at any time occupied the top rated three places in the league prior to.
Be that as it may well, even if West dominates its intra-metropolis foes once again, there are a good deal of causes for neutral enthusiasts to take in a video game. As practice starts for the AA teams on Friday (the other classifications began very last week), listed here are the 5 gamers mentioned previously mentioned:
• Skyview’s Brooke Berry has signed to play at the College of New Mexico, and teammate M.G. Noticed Bear will play at South Dakota Tech.
• Central’s Mya Hanson has signed to engage in at Butler University.
• Senior’s Allie Cummings will sign up for Place Loma Nazarene in San Diego.
• West’s Kaitlin Grossman is headed to MSU Billings.
There is a multitude of top quality gamers rounding out these groups, like West’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Sydney Pierce, who led AA in 3-level capturing previous time by earning 23 of 51 tries, or 45%. Previous time, as a freshman, Taylee Chirrick led the Bears in scoring (11.2 ppg) while coming off the bench. Or how about Skyview sophomore Breanna Williams, who could be a strolling double-double this year? Cummings’ younger sister, junior Lauren Cummings, has previously been in touch with NCAA Divison I universities.
Above at Central, the Rams have achieved the Course A title video game each of the past two seasons and have a opportunity to do so yet again even devoid of Solei Elletson, who has dedicated to engage in basketball (and signed for soccer) at North Idaho College irrespective of lacking her senior period simply because of an ACL harm.
We could go on, the position getting that there is a good deal of talent that probably did not get found last year since of COVID-19 restrictions that confined the number of spectators into gyms.
“West has obtained some definitely fantastic players, we’ve received some truly very good gamers, Senior’s bought some actually fantastic gamers and Central’s got some seriously good gamers,” Skyview coach Brent Montague reported.
“I just imagine for basketball lovers, in particular very last yr in which we had the spectator lists and your crowds had been obviously exceptionally nominal, with any luck , people will appear out and guidance all these teams and take pleasure in the talent level which is likely on suitable now with ladies basketball in Billings.”
Central starts its season Dec. 7 at Hardin, though the Billings AA colleges open the weekend of Dec. 10-11 in Missoula, and admirers are much more than welcome this year. If Billings groups enjoy to their opportunity and remain nutritious, they need to deliver sufficient amusement to continue to keep the supporters coming back.
