Hathaway, Kiebert receive league honors in final season

At the conclusion of last Thursday’s 1A Division II District 1 title game, North Star League honors were handed out and two Lady Cats made the list.

Senior Ellie Kiebert was named the league MVP and senior Sara Hathaway made the all-league team.

Kiebert was Clark Fork’s leading scorer all season and was paramount to their success. Whether it was fighting for defensive rebounds or hitting a clutch basket when the team was looking to get out of a scoring slump, she did it all. And if she was having an off game (which was rare) where she couldn’t find her shot, she still had an impact on the defensive end or in another essential area of the game.

“That to me speaks volumes especially at this level,” head coach Jordan Adams said about Kiebert’s consistency throughout the season.

At one point in the season, Kiebert had a four-game stretch where she scored over 20 points in each contest. When she attacked the rim, she was almost unstoppable and opponents were afraid to get in her way.

But the one attribute that was undeniable about Kiebert this season was her vocal leadership.

On and off the court, Kiebert led by example and helped show the younger players on the team how it’s done. And when you walked into a Lady Cats practice or game this year, you could hear her voice above the rest.

“She can be intimidating whether it’s to the other team or even people on her own team,” Adams said about Kiebert. “We’ve had to have chats with girls on our team like Ellie is not being mean, she just knows where you need to go and when the girl is out of breath and trying to talk to you, it’s not going to sound nice but at the end of the day she has a comprehension of the game and she sees things pretty well for her age.”

Kiebert became so knowledgeable about the game that she would give suggestions to Adams and assistant coach Mark Stevens that they hadn’t even thought of.

Hathaway was just as key to the Lady Cats success this season as the point guard and she really stepped up down the stretch. In her final home game, Hathaway put on a show hitting five 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 24 points.

Hathaway continued to shoot the lights out in Clark Fork’s opening game of the district tournament, scoring 23 points and tallying 13 steals and seven rebounds.

Hathaway was never afraid of the moment and her commitment to getting everyone involved on the offensive end showed.

Adams had high praise for Hathaway and the impact she had on the team night in and night out.

“Sara Hathaway, in my opinion, is one of the best ball handlers in our league,” she said. “And not only one of the best ball handlers but I would go as far as to say she is the best defender in our entire league. Nobody can come close to how many steals that girl has because she just knows how to anticipate the ball and she’s so darn fast. She can dribble through like 10 people and have zero issues getting down the court.”

What stood out to Adams about these two seniors was their dedication. There were times this season where Kiebert and Hathaway had to miss practices due to college courses they were taking but they still found a way to get on the court and put time into improving their games.

“These girls were going and finding a gym on their own time just to get some shots up because they couldn’t go to practice,” Adams said, “and that’s the type of dedication it takes. To be able to go to state every year you have to have that dedication all year long.”

Adams said she is going to miss Kiebert and Hathaway next season and felt more emotionally connected to this group of seniors than in years past.

Maybe it was because there was only two seniors instead of the six Clark Fork had last year. Maybe it was because the pair felt so comfortable coming to Adams for advice and talking to her about pretty much anything. Or maybe it was their willingness to listen and learn.

Whatever it was one thing is for sure, their absence will leave a void on the team that will be tough to replace.

“This year for me, I actually teared up in the locker room,” Adams said while talking about the seniors. “They’re so coachable. I ask them to go do something and they go do it ... I can’t even explain it, they are just great young women.”