BUTTE – The Montana Tech fan base, and, in general, the fan base for any team in Butte, is rarely going to give a round of applause to any opposing team or player. But when the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears and Montana Tech women’s basketball teams met at Kelvin Sampson Court for some early Frontier Conference action this past Saturday, one of those very times happened during the player introductions.
The crowd erupted with cheers for former Butte Central standout and current Rocky Mountain College point guard Kloie Thatcher. The true freshman has started 14 out of the 15 games this season and has become a pivotal part of Rocky’s success that has it ranked nationally in the NAIA. But for Thatcher, that game on Saturday was all about playing in front of the community that never lost support for one of its own.
“I mean, it was awesome. I knew right from the get-go when I got announced that the crowd was going to be awesome (Saturday),” Thatcher said. “It’s always good playing in front of family and friends, can’t really beat the experience. You know, being in Billings you don’t really get that opportunity, but it’s awesome, you’ve got to take advantage of it while you can. It’s definitely been marked. I have family and friends that ask, ‘When are you coming to Butte?’ So it came kind of fast, actually. I was so happy it came so soon.”
