BILLINGS — The Billings Skyview Falcons are coming off a magical girls basketball season.
Unbeaten and state champions last March, what do they do for an encore? Get right back to work.
“Coming in everyday and working hard. Coming in with the fight mentality,” Skyview guard/forward Rae Smart told MTN Sports before a recent practice.
And the Falcons are developing that mentality.
They learned during a couple of early tournaments over the summer about life without Breanna Williams, one of Montana’s best-ever high school players now a freshman rostered at the University of Maryland. Those early summer bruises have Skyview's nine returning players battle tested.
“Our first tournament didn’t go as we planned it to, but after our next couple tournaments we got into a rhythm and figured it out," said senior guard/forward Taryn Salveson.
“As you and I talked, our start to the summer was a little rough. But we went out to the Gonzaga (camp), and I thought the girls really started to click offensively, defensively,” said head coach Randy Chase.
Then there’s Skyview’s emerging intangible.
“Yeah, we’ve got to have some grit," Chase continued with a smile. "We’ve got to be able to withstand some punches, be able to get back up as we go. You know, it’s that grit, that resilience.”
“He’s definitely mentioned grit to us," said Smart, also a senior. "Always going to fight … mentally tough, physically tough and even if we are undersized, just not letting that get the best of us.”
And the Falcons may already have the answer key, bringing it back from last year’s 24-0 season.
“We led the state in defense. We gave up 37 points a game and the girls kind of have a goal to beat that,” Chase said.
Which leads straight to the end goal.
“I know that the date March 13 has been brought up, which is the start of the state tournament. That’s the main goal … you’ve got to get there to do something,” Smart said.
Salveson agreed. with Skyview's home opener against Missoula Big Sky on the horizon next Friday.
“And then, just like everybody else’s goal ... win state again, go back-to-back,” she said.
