BOZEMAN — Just five years ago, Gallatin High School opened its doors in Bozeman.
Fast forward to this season, and its girls basketball program brought home its first-ever state title, defeating Billings West in overtime 66-63 on March 15 in Worthington Arena.
"We are not in the infancy of our program anymore," Raptors junior forward Avé Odegard said of what this title meant to Gallatin. "We’re developed. We’re a force to be reckoned with, and I think this is just a launching platform for next season. I fully expect to go back-to-back. I’m so proud of this team."
The team ended the season with a 19-1 record and proved throughout that it had some of the top talent in the state.
But, it's not just about stat lines and flashy moves. It's about how those players came together to achieve the ultimate goal.
"We have great players, but that isn’t everything, and when great players can come together and play together and rely on each other, that’s when you really see it come together in the end in the state championship," Gallatin coach Taylor Cummings said.
Although the team only had one loss all season, the Raptors battled through adversity and meeting their standard every day, which prepared them for the overtime showdown to come out on top against West.
"We knew that we had to battle through and push through together if we wanted to win this game, and I feel like we had a lot of close games this season, but we just never gave up throughout the season," Gallatin junior guard Jada Davis said.
"We had a certain level of intensity that we brought to everything we did this year," Cummings said. "Obviously from the conversation, it was always in the back of my mind, we knew even with that loss to West mid-season that we were going to have to bring it, and we did. I think every day after that (loss), we just kept getting better and better."
To win a state title in any arena is special, but to do it in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, just four miles up the street from its high school, is something that this team will cherish for a long time.
"It was so special, being able to have my family be there, and then just kind of having the town of Bozeman be there to have the crowd of like everyone supporting us," Davis said.
"It was just so unique, and it was such a special experience, and I just felt really, our community at Gallatin here is so special," Odegard explained. "Our administrators, our teachers, our coaches, our student body, and it just felt really great to be able to do it for them, to do it for each other. Because I think Gallatin has something really special and unique that not a lot of schools have."
