The Box Elder basketball team came out with a statement at the Native American Classic in Great Falls earlier this month, which was the beginning of their campaign to defend a state title in the sport. Before the Bears took the court for their season opener, New Media Broadcasters spoke with senior leaders Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette and Tracen Jillot.
Jillot will be out until sometime next month with an injury suffered in the football team’s semifinal playoff game. He gave his thoughts on the rehab process and said it all comes down to trust.
“(I’m) just trying not to rush everything,” Jilot said. “(I’m) trusting my trainer and physical therapist. Just listening to them and taking their advice.”
Without his brother Jillot, Stiffarm-Rosette took the court for basketball, helping lead his team to a (4-0) start, including a 51-point performance against Lame Deer on night one at the Native American Classic in Great Falls. He shared his expectations for his current team before beginning the campaign to repeat as state champions.
“Expectations are really high,” Stiffarm-Rosette said. “There’s a standard now that we have to hold ourselves to.”
“We just hope to get back to that same level we were at last year and please the people,” Stiffarm-Rosette continued.
“It’s been done on the girls’s side. They’ve gone back-to-back, but not on the boys’s side yet,” Stiffarm-Rosette said. “We’re trying to make history again on the boys’s side of things and try to go back-to-back. That motivates us a lot.”
Box Elder boys’ basketball continued its season with a close win at Fort Benton this past Friday night and on Saturday night for the home opener against North Star. Stay tuned to New Media Broadcasters each week as District 9C standings are updated.
