HELENA — With just a few clicks and swipes of a pen, Havre's Sadie Filius is now Carroll College Women's basketball's first commit of the class of 2022.
Filius, who will be a senior at Havre in the fall, said the driving factors behind signing with Carroll were the academic opportunities and the team chemistry.
"I just fell in love with the team atmosphere and all the coaches and the academics just fit really good for me," said Filius. "I went and watched film with them in Havre and they were just so close and I really liked that atmosphere."
The Fighting Saints are coming off of a 21-3 season with an NAIA National Tournament Berth and will return four key contributors in Dani Wagner, Christine Denny, Emma Madsen, and Jaidyn Lyman for a final season. Though after next year, the Fighting Saints will be in need of a young guard who can grow within the program, which is exactly what Fighting Saints head coach Rachelle Sayers sees in Filius.
"Well, I would have signed her a year ago, but she wasn't quite ready for that. But no, this is a big get for us. One because it fills a need. We definitely need a point guard coming in and that [2022 class], said Sayers. "She's a winner. Her toughness, her competitiveness. The fact that she's been on two state championship teams already at Havre. Those are qualities that you can't teach."
Filius is coming off of a season where the Blue Ponies took down Billings Central in a double-overtime thriller to nab their third state title in four years, two of which Filius has been a part of. With her senior season still to look forward to, Filius said she's happy to have one less thing to think about.
"I felt like it was the right time and the right fit. Just wanted to have it out of the way for my senior year, so I can just play."
