MISSOULA -- The Missoula Big Sky Eagles dropped their opening pair of games in Billings last weekend by a combined five points.
In Tuesday night's home opener against Great Falls CMR, the Eagles did not allow such small margins of error, giving up just one point in the entire first quarter.
"We played tough over there," senior Kadynce Couture said of the trip to Billings. "I think coming back, we just knew that we had to play tight at home in order to win. That's what our mentality is gonna be.
"We knew that we had to come out and shut them down. Our way to do that is on defense, because our defense sets up our offense."
Winning each quarter by at least six, the Eagles (1-2) clamped down the Rustlers' (1-2) en route to a 60-19 win. Couture, as well as freshman Kenzi Schmitz, finished with 19 points. Seniors Kyler Latrielle and Tina Kirilovich both contributed six, as well.
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"I think everybody was doing their job," senior Sadie McGuinn said. "We all worked together to get touches on the ball and get steals."
The opening two losses, falling to Billings Skyview 45-41 and Billings West 44-43, were both to what head coach Travis Williams called two of the best programs in Class AA basketball.
Despite the losses, Williams said his team showed growth and thus was confident returning to Missoula to open its home schedule.
"We were fired up to get back home and play our first game at home," Williams said.
"I thought we came out with really good intensity and maintained that throughout the game."
The defensive pressure was evident from the first CMR trip down the floor. Scrambling to the ball-handler, Big Sky eliminated easy passes for the Rustlers, jumping into passing lanes and tipping away any balls the Eagles could.
Williams attributes the effort and focus shown to his senior class.
"That's the biggest area of improvement we needed to work on from last year," Williams said. "I think it's just that constant intensity, we're showing it right now and you can attribute that all to the seniors and their leadership and setting the tone."
Despite tying Schmitz for the team-high in points, Couture largely facilitated the offense in the early phases of the game. With the weight of the defense falling down on her when she received the ball at the elbow, Couture zipped outlets back out to the three-point line, one of which going to Latrielle for the game's first bucket.
In the second quarter, though, the Montana State commit went to work. A 12-point period, capped off by a pull-up three to close out the half, helped Big Sky build a 26-point lead after two quarters.
"The biggest thing for me offensively is gonna be my mentality," Couture said. "I have to step on the court every time and be confident, I think that's what really pushed me this game."
The team is still without 2023-24 all-state selection guard Avory DeCoite, who Williams said tore her ACL last spring. With no timetable on her return, the third-year coach said he's enjoyed seeing other pieces of the team take the reins in her absence.
"I think it's a good opportunity for some of the other players on our team to step up and take on more of a role than maybe they wouldn't have at the forefront," Williams said. "Whether offensively, being relied upon to do some things or defensively that they probably wouldn't have been asked to do."
As the game rolled into the second half and a comeback became unattainable, those other players Williams highlighted continued to shine. Couture scored just four of the Eagles' 26 second-half points, a testament to both the versatility and focus of the group. Williams credited the team's maturity for remaining detail-oriented and competitive despite the lopsided score.
"The very first thing we talked about at halftime was, 'How are we going to come out and respond to this now that we've built this big lead,'" Williams said. "They came out and brought some energy in the second half, and it was good to see."
Big Sky heads to Belgrade Thursday to take on the Panthers, the Eagles' last game of 2024 before winter break.
Photos: Missoula Big Sky vs. Great Falls CMR girls basketball
Carson Cashion is a sports writer for 406 MT Sports, primarily covering the Bitterroot Valley. Follow him on X @CarsonCashion or contact him at [email protected].
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