Poised for glory: Arlee girls remain undefeated
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Arlee Scarlet Skyla Perry passes the ball to Whitney Malatare during a game earlier this season. The Scarlets lead District 14-C with an undefeated record.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Violet Pablo looks for help under pressure from a Seeley-Swan defender earlier this season.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Junior Whitney Malatare heads down the court.
Melea Burke
Senior Mahalia Hendren, a team leader for this year’s Arlee Scarlets, drives to the basket around a Seeley-Swan defender earlier this season.
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ARLEE — Head girls basketball coach Richard Bachmeier once led the Arlee Scarlets to eight consecutive Montana state tournaments. His team won the big trophy in 1979 and came in second the following year.
Now, more than 30 years later, Bachmeier says he’s got the right combination of girls to do it again.
“You always shoot for gold,” Bachmeier said. “I think ... the talent is there; it’s just a question of whether or not they want to put in the effort.”
This year’s Scarlets remain undefeated in district play.
Bachmeier singled out Whitney Malatare, Mahalia Hendren and Alexis Shick as team leaders and great all-around ball players. All three athletes said the biggest difference between last year’s team and this year’s is chemistry.
“We’re playing more like a team,” Hendren said. “We finally came together and molded. We’re also more of an upperclassmen team with more experience, and it’s helped us a lot.”
Hendren said she’s proud of the team’s record, as it represents the culmination of their hard work through the years.
“I think we’ve worked hard for it and we deserve it. Personally, I’m super happy that we’re undefeated, and I hope we stay that way,” she said.
Arlee and Charlo feature some of the best local rivalry games in every sport. The two towns are close to each other and most parents, coaches, athletes and fans are friends, neighbors or work colleagues.
The teams met Jan. 11 on the Scarlet’s home court in front of a sizable crowd — something Malatare said had been lacking in previous years.
“It’s nice to feel that there’s people there who watch you. Last year, there was nobody there. This year, we have a lot of people (come to the games,)” she said.
The Scarlets came out on top with a score of 52-48 and broke a long loosing streak in the Charlo-Arlee rivalry series.
“(Charlo) has always been our rival, and we’ve never beaten them,” Malatare said. “So this year we finally came together and beat them. It was great — it was awesome.
“We’re playing as a team. Last year we kind of wanted to play as individuals, but this year everything is different. We’re all best friends; we hang out as a team; we play as a team; and we communicate. There’s no ‘I’ in it anymore, and that’s really cool.”
Charlo and Arlee both have 13-3 records on the season, although Arlee is ahead in the conference.
Bachmeier said the girls have been playing together since they were all freshmen and sophomores, and the program has been building over the past several years. He said his secret to success in coaching has to do with consistency in the program, hard work, and raising expectations.
“Four years ago, we set a goal that eventually we want to get to state. Is that still a goal that we’re working toward? Yes. The talent is there and I think they could do it,” Bachmeier said. “I would say we have a shot (at state) but we’re going to have to play good ball all the way through. I haven’t really looked that far ahead. We have to get to the district and divisional tournament before we get to that. We’ll worry about state if and when we get there.”
“We just want to go as far as we possibly can,” Shick said. “If that’s state, good ... I think it’s going to be tough; it won’t be easy, but we for sure want to get out of district and make some headway in divisionals.”
