BILLINGS – Seven straight wins. Back-to-back upsets of top-10 nationally ranked programs. A 13-1 overall record.
Rocky Mountain College is rolling, thanks to a potent inside-out combination from Brooke and Mikayla Jones – no relation.
Or is there?
“She calls me her sister,” smiled Brooke Jones. “We have the same last name, so I just kind of go with it.”
“That’s my long-lost sister,” laughed Mikayla. “I am going to tell you that now, that is my long-lost sister. I see her on the court, I give it to her.”
Brooke looks like Rocky’s missing piece. She’s leading the team in scoring in her first year after spending her first two seasons at Dawson Community College. But Mikayla is right behind her.
“I know it takes a lot of pressure off being a post player, myself, knowing that if I get it inside and they double or something, I can kick it outside to Hailee (Farstveet) or Mik or Alecia (Chamberlin) and you have the confidence in them to knock down the 3,” Brooke said.
“Our emphasis before every game is we want to get paint touches and open 3s,” Rocky women’s head coach Wes Keller said. “Once we start establishing the inside game, then the outside game will open up.”
And it’s not always Brooke inside and Mikayla outside. Sometimes Mikayla drives to score. And sometimes Brooke pops a 3. One thing both will always do, however, along with the rest of the team, is play defense.
“From what we understand, we’re the No. 1 team defensively in the country, so you always want to keep working on what you’re good at,” said Brooke.
“There’s going to be nights when the ball isn’t going through the basket, but can you step up and continue get stop after stop and not let your offense affect how you’re playing on the defensive end?” Keller said.
Rocky’s women haven’t had a winning season in six years, but it looks like their patience is finally paying off.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity the last couple years, and we’ve talked about it,” admitted Keller. “At some point, we’re going to break through. You have to stay the course.”
Now it’s up to the rest of the conference to try and keep up with the Joneses.
