ALBANY — Defending state champion Albany-Monticello faced a potential postseason test to open 2025. Seventh-ranked Belmont rumbled across the banks of the Sugar River to take on the second-ranked Space Stallions in a Six Rivers crossover game Jan. 2. AM coach Derik Doescher let his talented and experienced upperclassmen take over down the stretch. The strategy worked, and the Comets prevailed 55-46.

While the Comets held the advantage throughout the game — growing the lead to as large as 11 points in the first half — the Braves simply wouldn’t let the champs pull away, catching the Stallions with a lasso and hanging on tight.

“We knew this was going to be a great test. Belmont is ranked in the Top 10 ... and their one loss was to Cuba City by 10,” Doescher said. “We knew we would have our hands full. This is one game I was concerned with from a height standpoint, from a physicality standpoint. We set the tone early that we were going to match their effort.”

In fact, Belmont slowly began pulling the lasso and the Space Stallions in. With less than eight minutes left, the Braves tied up the score, seizing the momentum at the time. 

“They are a very, very good and strong team,” said Monticello junior guard Molly Olson. “Games like this just prepare us to see how far we can go.”

Albany sharpshooter Abby Hollis had opened the game by burying a 3-pointer from the corner. After that, the 1,000-point scorer went colder than the polar vortex that descended upon the rest of the town.

“I was very frustrated with my shooting, because I like to shoot it well,” Hollis said.

Doescher subbed his star out in the middle of the second half. She went to the bench and talked not just to Doescher, but to assistant coaches Brandon Bakken and Brandon Hollis — her father.

“They all just told me to be confident in myself. They believed in me. My team believes in me. I just have to believe in myself — and so I did that,” Abby Hollis said. “When one goes down, the rest start to feel like they are automatically going to go in.”

Keep shooting she did. Hollis sank not one, not two, but three triples in a row, with the third splashdown — a cold-blooded pull-up from near NBA range on the wing — sending the Comet faithful into a ruckus. 

“She was struggling for three-fourths of that game. I kept telling her to shoot the damn ball. That’s what you do well. Believe and trust in yourself,” Doescher said.

Hollis didn’t handle the offensive onslaught by herself, either. Olson turned her game to another gear, hitting a pair of 3s in the second half and scoring 14 of her game-high 20 points down the stretch. 

“Abby hit some great threes, and that just gives everyone confidence to start shooting and get to the hoop,” Olson said. “There was a foul I got a little mad, so I started playing a little bit harder on defense.”

Olson didn’t just beat Belmont with her dribble-drive or catch-and-shoot abilities — she played mind games with Braves ballhandlers. Olson played a solo full-court press by herself, keeping pace with the ball and forcing three Belmont players to safely get it up the court. For if they didn’t — as happened elsewhere in the game — Olson could slyly pickpocket the rock for an easy transition bucket.

“I’ve never coached a kid that can go baseline to baseline defensively and guard anybody, and then to have enough legs and wherewithal to be a factor offensively. She’s just as quick on the offensive end. That’s a testament to her fitness, her work ethic — it’s special to watch. Coaches know that we’re not just blessed everyday to have a player with a motor like Molly has,” Doescher said.

Despite the relief of holding on to the win, the Space Stallions were able to use the matchup to see where they currently sit at the midway point in the regular season. AM players were able to recognize poor decisions in key moments, timid feet or hands, and sloppy fouls. 

Freshman Heidi Olson, Molly’s younger sister, is a valuable starter for the team and a prolific scorer in her own right. She struggled with foul trouble against Belmont, having to sit just five minutes into the game, and play down the stretch of the second half with four fouls — one away from getting the boot — thanks to two more quick fouls after leaving the locker room at halftime.

“She’s a special athlete. She’s physically built and ready for varsity basketball,” Doescher said. “But she’s going to have those moments where she gets in foul trouble or turns the ball over because she is a freshman, but we felt like in that second half, even with four (fouls) we just had to go with her. Up to that point, she hadn’t been in a rhythm at all. Put her in, take her out, put her in, take her out. That’s not helping her and we decided to let it ride and see if she could get into some kind of a rhythm to make some of those special plays she makes every game.”

Molly is happy to be able to share the court with her sister. The two grew up as water girls and team managers at Monticello, with their dad serving as the boys basketball coach at the school.

“We’ve been playing basketball together forever. We go home, play one-on-one — barely make it through it, sometimes it ends in a fight. But in the end, it’s great,” Molly said.

Dalana Trumpy, a Monticello senior who was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000-point milestone herself earlier in AM’s previous game, had six points and a game-high nine rebounds.

“They are physical, they are athletic, they’re long. But I felt like our girls really stepped up to that challenge tonight,” Doescher said. “At the end of the day, all this tournament experience from the last two years kind of paid dividends, and it showed in the last five minutes of that game.” 

The Space Stallions were scheduled to face New Glarus on Jan. 6, and then the biggest test of the season so far comes on Thursday, Jan. 9 when AM travels to Argyle-Pecatonica. AP (10-0) won the Six Rivers East last year, defeating AM twice in the regular season. Both teams reached the WIAA Division 5 state tournament and faced off in the semifinal, with AM finally tasting victory.

This year AP is as hungry as ever, seeking revenge and yet another conference title. In fact, AP was bumped up to Division 4, meaning the only two times AP and AM can play this year are in the regular season.

“For us it just has to be one more game. It showed last year — Argyle-Pec won the conference and we got beat twice. But we were lucky enough to beat them at the Resch Center and win the championship. So, you just never know. We’ll be up for the game, and we know Argyle-Pec will be up for the game,” Doescher said. “They are very well coached and they have great players. It’s going to be special. Whether we win or we lose, we will take something from that game. Obviously we’re going to try to win, but if we lose like last year, we’ll grow from it and we’ll get better.”