By Matt Gade

605 Sports

As the lone undefeated team left in Class A girls' basketball, it would be easy for the Mahpiya Luta girls to start thinking about a possible state title come March.

But head coach Matt Rama is sure to keep his team focused only on the next game ahead.

“(Coach Rama) always tells us that no matter the score, no matter who we play, we always have to give 100 percent,” said senior Abby Haas. “He always just wants us to play to our best and never give up, No matter who we’re playing.”

“Because it's gonna matter in the big games when we do get to like (SoDak)16 and state,” senior Jodene Big Crow-Hunter added.

At 16-0, the Lady Crusaders hold their fate in their own hands. 

“It feels amazing,” Big Crow-Hunter said of being undefeated. “We set this expectation for ourselves since before the beginning of the season, in the preseason. We worked so hard, even in the summer, and it's just been a year-round thing for us.”

Mahpiya Luta seniors, from left, Jodene Big Crow-Hunter, Abby Haas and Sierra Black Bull wait for the JV girls game to finish as the Crusaders played Rapid City Christian last Tuesday at Hart Ranch. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

For the four seniors on the team, Haas, Big Crow-Hunter, Sierra Black Bull and Essence Tobacco, this year’s success has been a result of all their hard work not just during the season but also in the off-season.

“The girls work hard, so it isn't like a surprise that they're successful,” Rama said. “If you work hard and you put the time in, then good things are gonna happen. So I think that the success that they've had has been a testament to their hard work.”

While the goal is always a championship, this season has featured a number of highlights for these seniors which has included winning their fourth consecutive Lakota Nation Invitational in December, defeating Vermillion in the Hanson Classic — the team which defeated Mahpiya Luta in the first round of the state tournament last year, and a 10-point victory of Class AA Spearfish.

Big Crow-Hunter said she and the team feel like they have unfinished business and the seniors especially know that this is their last chance to go for it all.

In order to accomplish their goal, the players each recognize their roles and what they contribute to the team.

“We all have different roles, and we all know when or how to execute them,” Haas said. “And if one of us fails, then we kind of all fail. But if we all, if even one of us, just does our job a little bit better, then our whole team will do better.”

Joining the Crusaders this year is senior Black Bull who came over from Pine Ridge. Big Crow-Hunter, Haas and Essence Tobacco, who have played together for years, said Black Bull has been a much added bonus to the team.

Especially her “defense” according to Tobacco.

“We have more length and with our starting five, we do a half press, but then when she comes in and the rest of the group that's when they click on our full (court) press and really mess up (an opponent’s) offense,” Haas said. 

As Mahpiya Luta has four regular-season games remaining, the focus is on St. Thomas More and if they start to think ahead, coach Rama is sure to put that notion in check.

“Anytime we talk about state or the SoDak 16, he gets like ‘Let’s just focus on the game,’” Tobacco said.

“We're just trying to go game by game right now. We're not even trying to look ahead. We got to focus on playing who's in front of us,” Rama said. “That's all we can really be thinking about because if you start thinking about down the road, and then it's all sudden, you got hiccups. We got to win these games.”

Mahpiya Luta head coach Matt Rama celebrates a score against Rapid City Christian during the girls championship game of the Lakota Nation Invitational back in December at Summit Arena at The Monument. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Currently, Mahpiya Luta sits third in seed points with 45.800 behind top-seeded Dakota Valley (16-1) with 46.882 and Sioux Falls Christian (16-1) with 46.000.

While on the court, the girls said coach Rama is a stickler but off the court is quite lighthearted.

“Outside the gym and everything, he's goofy and playing and everything, but when we get in the gym and when we really have to lock in and do our drills — he sets an expectation for us, and we try our best to fulfill it, and he usually lets us know when we don't,” Haas said. “But he's a really good coach.”

While he doesn’t look beyond the next game, coach Rama is proud of the hard work the seniors have put in not just this year but since they were in elementary school. 

“I really appreciate them,” Rama said of the seniors. “Every year those kids, they dream for their moment. You know, basketball in this region is big, basketball at Mahpiya Luta is big. We have kid programs… and they were third graders looking up to somebody. So it's really exciting for them to have that moment.”

Mahpiya Luta's Abby Haas dribbles down the court during a game against Rapid City Christian last Tuesday at Hart Ranch. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)