FRENCHTOWN — The Quinn siblings stand out in a room.
Eli at 6-foot-7 and Mason at 6-2 are standouts on the Frenchtown Broncs boys and girls basketball teams who have leaned on each other over the years to develop in the game, and are now reaping the rewards.
Even if the 1-on-1 games over the years have been a little one-sided.
"These past couple years, he's just totally shot up (in height) just like how boys do," Mason said. "And it's harder and harder to score every time. He's like, impossible to score on. He's so long and everything so yeah, really hard to score against but definitely makes me better."
"It was really fun. She's always confident," Eli added with a big grin. "Always thinking she's going to come in to get the win. She makes good moves, confident moves, but hasn't yet gotten me. Sometimes I get her hopes up a little bit. But no, I'm still holding on to a winning record."
But for both, they've taken those experiences in the driveway and carried them to the high school court.
"Yeah, it's definitely helped a lot," Mason said. "It's helped with physicality and everything, for sure. Just like going against him, it's really helped me just grow as an athlete. He's definitely helped me grow as a basketball player for sure. And there's just always competition between us. We are each other's biggest fans."
"She's definitely helped me throughout my career, to rebounding in the gym whenever we're together," Eli said. "We always like doing drills and stuff together. It's really fun playing and growing up with her."
Eli has developed into a force on the court in his senior season.
Despite his size, Eli plays like a guard and currently leads Class A in scoring, as the Broncs are 12-6 and the No. 4 seed heading into postseason play and this weekend's play-in game for the Western A divisional tournament, where he hopes to give it one final run before continuing his career at Montana Tech next season.
"It's great," Eli said. "My family has supported me so much, giving me tips after games helped me definitely become the player I am today.
"I grew up watching these kids (at Frenchtown). When my dad (Mark Quinn) was the coach, I'd always be around at practices growing up, watching. It was always a goal to become a varsity player here."
"It's really cool to see all his hard work pay off. He loves basketball," Mason added. "He loves working. And it's just really cool to see how it's all paying off for him."
As just a sophomore, Mason is developing into one of Montana's premier talents.
She's helped lead a loaded Frenchtown girls team to a 17-1 record and the No. 1 seed at the Western A divisional and already holds four NCAA Division I scholarship offers from Montana, Montana State, Colorado State and Boise State.
And she just keeps getting better along the way.
"I think I definitely have a lot more to do to grow on," Mason said. "But I think it's definitely getting better each game. I can feel myself getting more confident in everything."
"It's very cool. She's earned everything she's received," Eli added. "And I know she's gonna keep working and earn even more."
It's special watching family succeed, and knowing the behind-the-scenes work put in the Quinn siblings are soaking in and experiencing it together and seeing each other's hard work pay off.
"I see her do good. And it makes me want to play even better," Eli said. "And I mean, the sky's the limit for her. She's gonna be an absolutely amazing player. And I'm really excited to watch her grow."
"I'm very grateful. I know I owe a lot of it to him, because he's just helped me grow so much," Mason said. "I wouldn't be here today without him."
