Providing leadership

• Brigette Uttech

Press Photo by Chris Aarhus Dickinson High senior Brigette Uttech is the only senior in the Midgets’ starting lineup.

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As Brigette Uttech goes, so goes the Dickinson High girls basketball team.

At least that’s what coach Greg Jung believes.

“It really seems like we play as a team as Brigette plays,” Jung said. “We’ve told her that. We’re constantly stressing to her that we need her to bring her ‘A’ game every single night.

“When she does that, good things happen for our team.”

Jung is looking for just that when his sixth-seeded girls take on No. 3-seeded Jamestown in the West Region Tournament quarterfinals at 6:15 p.m. MST today at the Bismarck Civic Center.

Uttech is third on the team in scoring at nearly eight points per game, but Jung said her senior leadership is what the team looks for most of all.

“The kids really look up to her,” Jung said. “She has a magnetic personality. You really see when she walks into a practice that kids generally flock to her. That just shows the kind of kid she is and what kind of leadership qualities she has. The kids really look up to her and respect what she brings to this team.”

On the court, Uttech provides the team with an inside presence, though an adjustment to her defensive game has helped out immensely. Uttech has been able to step out and guard perimeter players.

“One thing she does is she’s a pretty good defender,” Jung said. “Just her ability to steal the basketball … She’s a great anticipator of the basketball. When we play our pressure defense, it’s nice to have a kid her size that’s able to move and anticipate and get some steals when our guards are really pressuring the ball.”

Jung said it’s not his defense he’s worried about against third-ranked Jamestown; it’s the offense.

“The main thing is their ability to defend,” Jung said. “They’ve kind of given us fits offensively. It’s been hard for us to score against that team.”

Momentum shouldn’t be an issue. The Midgets (9-10) got their first win over six-time defending state champion Mandan in eight years with a 54-45 victory at home on Feb. 24.

“The biggest thing is I saw the excitement of the kids,” Jung said. “It seems like we got a new shot in the arm so to speak in our confidence level. You can see the kids have a spring in their step.”

Uttech said the win shows the Midgets are capable of staying with the state’s elite teams.

“I think we can compete with anybody and beat people that we want to beat,” Uttech said. “(That win) was definitely a confidence booster.”

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