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SKC Men and Women Basketball teams are AIHEC champions

By Marianne Addison

RAPID CITY — The SKC Bison led by Most Valuable Player of the AIHEC Tournament, Delbert Trombley, and fellow teammates and all-stars, Ed Running Rabbit and Howard Walker, cruised to their third AIHEC championship at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The SKC Lady Bison carried by Most Valuable Player, Bobbi Woodworth, also took home the championship trophy and coats after avenging an earlier loss to a tough Oglala Lakota College squad. This was the first time since 2001 that both SKC men's and women's teams won the championship. Both teams were jubilantly hollering and cheering after the victories.

L-R: Delbert Trombley, Pius Takes Horse, Andrew Zimmer, Howard Walker, Gabe Caye, Justin Tonasket, and Ed Running Rabbit hold up the number three in honor of the SKC men's third AIHEC championship in three years. (Photo courtesy of Juan Perez)

Standing L-R: Ang Red Star, Carla McLean, Racquel Little Plume, Genevieve Cochran, Kodi Kuka, Rikki Ollinger, Coach Juan Perez. Kneeling: Phyllis Kipp. SKC Lady Bison strike a victory pose after defeating Oglala Lakota College in the championship game of the AIHEC Tournament in Rapid City. (Photo courtesy of Juan Perez)

The tourney began Thursday with both teams playing in a pool-play format. The SKC men dominated in every game going 4-0 in pool play. Chief Dull Knife College from Lame Deer forced overtime and gave the Bison a scare, but no team could stop the Bison from stampeding to victory.

The Lady Bison beat Fort Berthold College, won by forfeit against Blackfeet Community College, and lost to Oglala Lakota College in pool play. Teams were seeded according to how they fared in pool play. A single elimination bracket was made and on Saturday, March Madness, tribal college basketball style, was under way.

In the preliminary round of the women's tournament, Salish Kootenai College dominated the glass on the offensive and defensive ends of the court to soundly beat the women's team from Chief Dull Knife College located on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation 101-53. Phyllis Kipp led all scorers with 27 points. Also contributing points were Bobbi Woodworth and Rikki Ollinger scoring 19 points apiece.

On the men's side of the bracket, the SKC men's team was ahead 55-35 at the half against easy opponent, Turtle Mountain College from North Dakota. SKC employed a full-court trap defense to force numerous turnovers leading to fast break lay-ups. Posts unselfishly fed each other underneath the hoop for easy points in the paint. Trombley's intense defense frustrated one player to the point that the opponent threw the ball off Trombley's knee as the opponent attempted to get the ball across the half court line.

SKC didn't give Turtle Mountain College or any other team for that matter a chance and didn't abandon their full-court press defense until the very end of the game. SKC played very disciplined defense and limited fouls as best as they could as they wouldn't reach in or go for a swat and chose to play defense on the ground. TMC didn't box out, giving SKC second chance points in the paint. There was one instance where there were three shot attempts under the hoop and three offensive rebounds later, Ed Running Rabbit banked the shot off the glass and in the hoop to score two points. SKC efficiently pushed the ball up the court and moved the ball around with quick passes to each other to find the best possible shot opportunity. SKC's superior offense was too much to handle as the defense couldn't beat SKC back. The final score was 130-77. Running Rabbit scored 29 points, Takes Horse and Walker added 21.

The first game on Sunday was between the Lady Bison and the Little Bighorn College Rams from the Crow Reservation in southern Montana. Leading by three at the half, 40-37, SKC found themselves in a modern day battle against the Lady Rams. LBHC came out very aggressive after the half with Bobbi Woodworth taking a hard shot to the face as one indication. For the first minutes of the half, both teams played hard defense, limiting shot attempts. SKC threw bad passes and were fouling at crucial times. Luckily, LBHC couldn't hit a free throw, making only 1-4 in the two-minute stretch. LBHC playing with six players and lost LaVelle Spotted Bear when she fouled out with 10 points and 10 minutes remaining in the second half.

The Lady Bison made a run afterwards as Carla McLean grabbed a defensive rebound and Bobbi Woodworth converted a three-point play on the other end to give the Lady Bison a 59-54 lead with 9:30 remaining in the half. Seconds later, Woodworth grabbed a defensive board, threw a long pass to Kodi Kuka, who made the fast break lay-up to give SKC a seven point lead.

LBHC called a time-out and the LBHC coach said, "It's not over, we've still got nine minutes. We've come this far with six, we can do it." SKC comes out of the time out aggressive as ever, attempting to full court press the Rams to increase the lead. A McLean rebound and post move puts SKC up 65-54. The posts for the Lady Bison proved to be too much for LBHC. As McLean and Woodworth worked the blocks and passed back and forth to find Kipp, LBHC's zone defense was having a heck of a time keeping up, and Kipp canned an easy short jumper to give the Lady Bison a 67-54 lead.

The LBHC coach yelled from the bench, "Come on! Keep fighting. Let's go!"

As optimistic as the coach and team were, nobody could stop the dominating post players, namely Carla McLean. The key to this victory, McLean had two crucial steals and long passes leading to points on the other end. She grabbed two defensive rebounds, which lead to another two points. With the score 75-62 and 2:49 on the clock and no sub, LBHC began to lose hope. The coach told his players, "Go as hard as you can. Give 'em hell for the last two minutes."

LBHC came out of the time-out attacking the basket. A three-point play was converted after McLean picked up her second foul. A scramble for a loose ball lead to an LBHC player snapping a three-pointer to knot the score at 75-68 with 1:20 on the clock. Kuka was fouled and made both free throws. However, another LBHC three pointer made put the score at 77-71 with 60 seconds left. Finally, SKC sealed the 81-73 victory.

At the game's end, the LBHC coach said, "You're lucky we didn't bring our A-squad." SKC's victory over LBHC wasn't easy. One of the key players for LBHC, Misty McCormick, didn't play. The last time the teams met in Crow Agency, McCormick scored 31 points in an LBHC victory. Woodworth led SKC with 24 points. Rikki Ollinger added 13 and McLean chipped in 11. Raylee Pretty Weasel scored 21 points and Sariah Two Leggins added 18 for Little Bighorn College.

In the second game on Sunday, the SKC men faced off against their neighbors from the north, Blackfeet Community College. BCC came out ready for the Bison, flying out on defense, grabbing rebounds, and shooting well from the field. The Bison, however, proved to be just as ready as every player contributed to seal the victory. In the first half, both teams traded baskets. Kellen Hall of BCC came ready to play, matching almost every SKC basket in the beginning of the half but was soon quieted by SKC's defense that made Hall work for his points by converting free throws. Alvin Yellow Owl started out strong as well, using a height advantage to jump for rebounds and tipping in shots.

The halftime score was 48-34 in favor of the Bison. Pius Takes Horse rained threes and killed any momentum BCC created as every scoring run by BCC was answered with a Takes Horse three-point dagger in the heart. SKC's superior ball movement was so quick and executed so well for the most part that BCC's zone defense wasn't rotating quickly enough. Most of the time, Takes Horse caught BCC's zone defense sleeping and calmly composed himself long enough to swish in a three pointer.

Howard Walker started the half, catching the zone defense sleeping again, with an easy two pointer to extend the lead 50-36. Walker followed up with another shot off the glass for two more points. Yellow Owl answered with a move to the hoop. A steal by Walker lead to Delbert Trombley laying it in on the other end. Mike MacDonald of BCC snapped a jumper. Maurice St. Goddard got a steal and Dan Edmo laid it in on the other end. The score was 54-42. BCC tried to get some offense generated, but the defense was slacking. Trombley quietly went to work, canning two three pointers to put the score at 60-44 in favor of SKC with 15:30 remaining in the second half.

BCC's Javier Bustas attempted to carry his team. An acrobatic lay up in traffic by Bustas cut the lead to single digits, 62-53, with 12:40 on the clock. Hall picked up where he left off in the first half to score an easy two points and then snapped a three to cut the lead to six with 12 minutes on the clock. Bustas sliced to the hoop and scored to cut the lead to four.

Trombley seen enough at that point and snapped a three to end the temporary scoring drought. However, Bustas grabbed an offensive rebound and scored two more points. Immediately after that, Hall's two-pointer cut the lead to three with 10:30 on the clock. Trombley anticipated the pass and got a steal. Justin Tonasket finished on the other end and SKC was up 67-62. A foul by MacDonald found Running Rabbit converting 2-2 from the charity stripe to give SKC a seven-point lead.

Bustas's shot off the glass for two points cut the lead again. Free throws helped SKC secure this victory as BCC kept fouling and playing lackluster defense. With 9:00 on the clock, BCC had nine fouls to SKC's five. Tonasket converted two more free throws and the lead extended to seven.

In the next three minutes, SKC went on a 10-3 run that ended when BCC was forced to call a time out after Takes Horse nailed a three pointer to give SKC an 81-69 lead. After the timeout, SKC went on another 10-3 run that saw Walker hit two threes.

Ed Running Rabbit's dunk at the end of the game gave SKC 100 points to BCC's 82. In the end, BCC couldn't match up to SKC. They gave it a good effort, but it clearly wasn't enough. Walker led all scorers with 27 points. Trombley and Takes Horse chipped in 20 apiece and Tonasket finished with 16 points. For BCC, Yellow Owl finished with 26, Hall added 19, and Bustas scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

SKC Lady Bison's victory over LBHC earlier on Sunday found themselves facing off against Oglala Lakota College for the championship game. SKC and OLC started out a little too eager to be in the championship game. Missed shots under the hoop and offensive rebounds leading to no second chance points was how the half began until Rikki Ollinger's steal and layup ended two scoreless minutes of basketball action. OLC immediately called a time out. Following the time out, SKC's offense began to flow so nicely that OLC couldn't stop it. The Lady Bison were hitting almost every shot they attempted from long jumpers by post players to lay-ups to an Ang Red Star three pointer from downtown Rapid City. With the first part of the half over, SKC led 22-6 after Kipp's two points in the paint.

Things seemed to be falling in place for the Lady Bison in the first half of the championship game. OLC finally hit double digits with eight minutes left in the half. Then, OLC went on a 15-2 run. With the score standing at 29-23 and 2:20 remaining in the half, SKC finished the half strong. Gen Cochran's jumper and Ang Red Star's long three found the Lady Bison up by 10 at the half, 34-24.

SKC picked up their winning ways to start the second half. SKC maintained a 10-point lead throughout the first part of the half. A small slump found an OLC player snapping a three pointer to cut the lead to seven, and then SKC was called for over and back. A Tate Locust two point jumper cut the lead to five until Carla McLean answered with her own post move to give SKC a seven point lead. Coach Juan Perez was called for a technical foul with 13:22 on the clock after saying a call made by the ref was "ridiculous." The lead was cut to two points, 44-42, and then Locust's two pointer tied the game. Rikki Ollinger and Ang Red Star snapped back-to-back three pointers from the corner to give SKC a six-point lead.

Picking up where the guards started, the post players went to work on defense grabbing defensive rebounds and blocking a shot. Woodworth's offensive presence in the paint was too much and OLC was forced to foul her, sending her to the free throw line where she converted free throws. A timely three-pointer by Cochran, followed by another Red Star three pointer saw the Lady Bison up by 14. OLC answered with a 9-2 run that cut the lead to four points and knotted the score at 62-58.

Kipp picked up her fourth foul and Locust converted a three-point play to cut the lead to one point with just under four minutes in the game. Locust then sent Kipp to the line where she made both free throws. Locust's drive to the hoop all over Woodworth cut the lead back to one, then Locust caught the defense asleep and OLC took a one-point lead. OLC's Tera Cuny scored in three SKC defender's eyes to take a three-point lead.

Rikki Ollinger's pass to Woodworth underneath cut the lead to one. Moments later, Ollinger's ferocious drive to the hoop gave SKC a two point lead after converting on the three-point play. Woodworth took a cue from Ollinger's drive and drove to the hoop and made both free throws to give SKC a four-point lead. Immediately following that drive, Woodworth aggressively attacked again and was fouled. Making both free throws, SKC secured the victory. The final score was 76-69.

Woodworth scored 26 points in the victory. Ang Red Star hit four three-pointers en route to 14 points and Gen Cochran added 10 points. Carla McLean and Rikki Ollinger were named to the All-Tournament Team and received sweaters commemorating the award. The victory was a team effort that saw the Lady Bison come together in the face of possible defeat and overcome Oglala Lakota's home court advantage to win the championship. Woodworth certainly carried her team to victory doing what she needed to do to win. The rest of the team followed her lead, as each contributed blocks, steals, assists, and rebounds when they had to in order to win.

The men's championship game saw SKC face off against Northwest Indian College out of Bellingham, Washington. Both teams came out trying to control the tempo. Both were in set offenses and half court defenses. NWIC jumped out to an early lead. NWIC's athletic guard Dave Maddock got a steal and a nasty dunk in transition to give NWIC a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of action. Howard Walker scored SKC's first point after making one of two free throws 30 seconds later. SKC started a little slow, missing shots and fumbling passes, but each player on the team has the ability to take control and do what he has to do so the team can win. In this game, Trombley, Running Rabbit, and Walker stepped up at certain times in the game to win the AIHEC championship.

With 16 minutes remaining in the half and NWIC leading 7-1, Ed Running Rabbit started SKC's winning scoring engine to cut NWIC's early lead. Running Rabbit quietly scored SKC's next eight points. Trombley picked up where Running Rabbit started. It was like a passing of a torch because Trombley caught fire. Trombley's back-to-back floating jumpers in the lane cut NWIC's lead to five with the score standing at 18-13. Trombley picked up a steal and Tonasket finished with the basket. Seconds later, Trombley shot, got his own rebound, and made the basket. Running Rabbit took over and drove to the hoop where he was fouled then made both free throws. Trombley tipped in a teammate's missed shot and SKC took their first lead of the game, 22-21. Following that heroic tip-in, Trombley snapped a three to put SKC up by four. NWIC wasn't about to give up though and made a chaotic scoring run, then began trading baskets with SKC. Tonasket's offensive board and two points, in addition to Trombley's long three-pointer extended SKC's lead to six points. Baskets were traded in the last minutes and SKC led at the half 46-38.

After halftime, both teams came out firing on all cylinders. Scoring went back and forth between the two teams. Fans found themselves turning their heads at breakneck speed to catch the intense action of the game. Almost every player on the floor scored a basket. No individual stood out for the first part of the half, every SKC player stood out, making the whole team stand out. As it turned out, NWIC's team was doing the same thing. With 13:45 on the clock, SKC called a timeout to stop the frenetic energy of the game and to regroup.

Walker's two points scored in transition coupled with Trombley's steal and coast-to-coast lay up gave SKC a healthy 10-point lead. NWIC began to try to battle back and did cut the lead to six, 68-62. With 5:32 on the clock, SKC's lead was back to ten. SKC maintained a 10-point lead for the most part. The game ended with a free throw shooting contest. SKC made 11 out of 15 free throws and NWIC made 10 out of 12. SKC held on to win, 98-89. SKC finished their season on a 22 game winning streak, according to coach Zach Camel.

Trombley finished with 24 points and was named the tourney's Most Valuable Player. Howard Walker added 23 points and was named to the All-Tourney team. Ed Running Rabbit scored 19 points and was also named to the All-Tourney team. Ricki McKane led NWIC with 24 points. Doug Williams and Dave Maddock added 19 points apiece and were named to the All-Tourney team.

Watching both teams come together at the right place at the right time was an honor to see. Both teams carried themselves well and represented Salish Kootenai College the best any team could. Any player on the men's and women's teams could have stepped up, but it happened to be that Woodworth and Trombley found themselves doing everything they could for the whole team's benefit. Wearing the championship coats, all-star sweaters, and AIHEC shirts proudly, the SKC men and women's teams have made Salish Kootenai College and the community proud.