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More than 300 people from first-graders to adults showed up at Amundson Sports Complex in Plains Saturday to take part in the daylong basketball competition hosted by the Wildhorse Sports Association.

Seventy-eight teams - one from Belt, Montana, 299 miles away - participated in the 5th Annual Wildhorse Shootout 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. It was the biggest showing they've had, some 20 teams more than 2019, said Erika Lawyer, one of the coordinators of the event. Lawyer also estimated there were around 800 people at the event. 

There were 11 teams playing at the same time from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Games went for 20 minutes or until a team reached 21 points. The portable hoops were set up on an old runway of the former Plains Airport for the half-court games.  A basket was one or two points and an infraction meant a one-point free throw. Just over 20 of the teams were from Plains and Thompson Falls, although there were players from Noxon and Trout Creek on those teams. There were also teams from Frenchtown, Ronan, Polson, Arlee, Bigfork, Whitefish, Kalispell and Missoula, and some teams had players from Idaho, according to Lawyer. 

Only one Sanders County team finished at the top - the Thompson Falls Renegades, consisting of Lady Hawks Maliyah LeCoure, Natalie Roberts, Avery Burgess and Ellie Baxter. Competing in the girl's 11th/12th grade class, the Renegades went 0-2 in pool play, but came back to win their bracket in afternoon play. The boys 11th/12th grade Thompson Falls team, the C Squad, took second place and the Thompson Falls Ball Stars, competing in the 7th/8th grade category, took third.

The Wildhorse Sports Association raised $5,400, all of which will go to the upkeep of the Amundson Sports Complex, comprised of baseball, softball and soccer fields, as well as a walking path. The tournament was the biggest fundraiser of the year for the association, the nonprofit organization that created the complex nine years ago. It also hosts a co-ed softball tournament in late summer. 

"I was thrilled at the number of a teams we had this year who had never done three on three before," said Lawyer. "I do think that missing out on a whole lot of activities over the past year has really spurred interest in getting back into some sense of normal," she said.

In the men's open class, the Red Hots of Arlee finished at the top. The men's open was the largest class with 15 teams, including two from Sanders County - the Wildhorse Diesel Performance and McDonald's All Americans. The girls 9th/10th and girls 11th/12th had the smallest numbers with three apiece.

The Shake 'n' Bake of Ronan took the boys 11th/12th grade class. In the boys 7th/8th class, Orange Hoop (organizers didn't have where they're from) finished first. In the girls 7th/8th grade, the Triple Threat of Ronan finished first. In the boys 5th/6th, the Black Mambas of Ronan took first. The Lady Warriors of the Mission Valley took first in the girls 5th/6th grade class. And in the co-ed 1st/2nd grade, the Lil' Ballerz (town unknown) took first.  

Sanders County teams also included the Velociraptors, Blue Broncs, Ballers, Striker, and the Bluehawks, all from Thompson Falls, and the Bean Bugs Gettin' Buckets of Plains.

Randy Garrison, who had been one of Wildhorse Sports Association's original board members, again volunteered as announcer for the day. There were a dozen paid and volunteer referees for the day, including locals Jaron Laws, George Sherwood, Marie Errecart, Wyatt Weyers, Jack Revier and Parker Flock, as well as MOA officials from Kalispell. 

Ed Moreth

GOING FOR THE POINT – Thompson Falls Renegade Natalie Roberts goes up between Polson Pirates Julia Barnard and Alysia Adams at the 5th Annual Wildhorse Shootout 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Polson won 15-13.

"I am very happy with the turnout and the positive comments from participants. Any time you can bring that many kids out with families to enjoy some outdoor activity and competition I think it's a win," said Lawyer. "We definitely would like to expand, but we recognize that we are going to hit the peak point that we're going to have to consider a cap," she said. Of the $5,400 the association raised this year, $2,400 went to pay for its own portable hoops, eliminating having to rent them in the future. It's an expense that Lawyer said they purchased them last year, but due to COVID, didn't hold a tournament, which meant the cost would have to come out of 2022 money raised. She added that if the tourney grows, they might have to buy more of them. The association is looking to use the rest of the money raised to get permanent structures built for restrooms and changing rooms, which will eliminate the need to rent port-a-potties, too. 

The cost to enter a team was $150. The staff of the Bean Bug Coffee Shop in Plains sponsored special shooting events during a break in the tournament, featuring free throw, three-point, layup and trick shots. Contestants paid $3 to sign up for each event. Thirteen youths signed up for the free throw contest in four age groups, but none of the winners were of Sanders County. Judges for the layup were Jaron Laws, George Sherwood, and Jack Revier. 

Lawyer said much of the success goes to the volunteers who stepped up to help with the tournament: Ron and Deb Warren, Brian Crain, Tony Ferlan, Jeremiah Allen, Paige Fickler, Tonya Revier, Nick Lawyer, Juli Thurston, Lores Porter, Melody Taylor, Lisa Read, Ava Lawyer, Wyatt and Jake Weyers, Lexa Craft, Grace Horton and the youth group from the Plains Alliance Church.