BOZEMAN — At the beginning of this basketball season, Gallatin High School girls head coach Taylor Cummings said it would be harder to defend a championship versus winning the first one.
Even so, the Raptors were able to do just that.
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Senior guard Jada Davis felt the team came out of pregame warmups that game more confident than ever.
"We were like, 'we're done only winning by only three points,' " Davis said. "We wanted to prove a message that we are the best team out there. We went out there with the mentality of we're going to play our best effort, we're going to share the ball, (and) play team ball."
The back-to-back champs were led by five seniors who had grown together throughout the years. Davis recalled the growing moments in the early years of her time with the Raptors.
"We didn't place at state my freshman year and then took seventh my sophomore year," Davis said. "So being able to now (have) back-to-back titles and an undefeated season this year (has been) amazing."
Cummings took over as head coach of the program when this group were sophomores.
"Watching their growth from my first year to this year, it's been an honor to be a part of that process," Cummings said. "To watch them finish their senior year with that perfect outcome was really special because they did truly put in all the work and the effort through the years to get there."
Senior forward Makayla Coleman said finishing the season with another state title meant a lot to her.
"We all knew it was our last time playing together and we played with each other all (throughout) high school and in clubs," Coleman said. "So to play one more game was really meaningful."
Cummings credits the persistence of the team as a whole that led them to this accomplishment.
"Keeping that focus and that dedication every week really took a lot of commitment," Cummings said. "We had some games that you're like, 'OK, we've got to sit down and figure this out.' But every time that happened, we always approached our next game with a steady mindset, and it paid off in that state championship game."
Cummings knows the future of Raptor girls basketball will look different moving forward without this group of seniors, but said the expectations will stay the same.
"It's just making sure that every day we show up ready to work hard, give our best effort, rely on each other as a team," Cummings said. "And then from there we should get better every day. And if we get better every day, we're going to put ourselves in a good position to keep being successful."
