BILLINGS — The Rocky Mountain College women are out to a 16-2 start, and a big reason why is senior N’Dea Flye. Flye has made a monumental impact on both sides of the ball for the Battlin’ Bears, but just how did the former starter at New Mexico and Butler wind up in Billings?
“I guess my AAU coach got in contact with coach Keller. This is my last year, so I just got closer to home. No better way than to finish it right here. Great atmosphere, the coaches are great and my teammates are great," Flye said.
“I got a connection that helped me get her," Rocky head coach Wes Keller said. "It’s been good to see her grow both on and off the court. She not only leads us in several thing, but she’s a great teammate, as well. She does a great job as far as her leadership goes in practice.”
Keller probably can’t thank that connection enough. Flye has put together a strong candidacy for the Frontier Conference player of the year award, as she’s racked up 4 player of the week honors and is averaging 20 points and 10 boards so far this year. Her biggest impact, though, could be the attention she draws from the opposition.
“It’s nice just to have another person that plays so well with together everyone else. It kind of takes a load off of other people to not feel like they have so much on their plate. It makes everything a lot easier for our whole team," junior guard Kloie Thatcher said.
“It’s nice to have multiple kids out there that can score. Obviously, (Flye) can score and get her own, but what she’s been doing a good job of late, is getting other people easy ones. We talk about, ‘How many easy ones can you get somebody else?’" Keller said. "I think we have four or five kids out there at all times that can go get you 20 on any given night, so we’re fortunate that way.”
Flye has been red hot on the hardwood for the better part of a month. She’s awful comfortable inside the friendly confines of the Fortin Center, but the Oregon native has had to adjust to the bitter Billings weather.
“I’ve been to schools that have snow – Kansas, Indiana, all them other places – so it’s not a big difference. But this is a lot. This is a lot of snow. I’ll definitely tell you that. I’ve never been in negative degree weather. Never been in negative degree weather," said Flye.
This cold snap clearly hasn’t affected Flye’s play on the court. She’ll look to help the Bears start a new winning streak on Thursday at Montana Tech.
