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Tough decision, but a hoops career still fullfilled

Skylight Peyton Filius will end her basketball career early, to focus on her future

If you follow local high school and college basketball, then it would be awfully hard not to know the name Peyton Filius.

Over the last eight years, Filius has played for both the Havre Blue Ponies and the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team. In that time, she has achieved just about everything a basketball player could achieve, but now, as her life beyond basketball draws her away from the sport she loves, the 2017-18 season will be her last, at least as a player.

"I will miss my teammates and the coaches the most," Filius said of her decision to walk away from the game. "But more than that, because I won't be far away, and I will still see all those guys, I will miss just playing. I have played basketball since I was 10 years old and to make the decision to be done, is difficult. it's cool to look forward to what's ahead, but making the decision to be done is also bittersweet, just to be done with that chapter, that competitive chapter."

Filius, who is a senior at MSU-Northern, still has a year left of eligibility and at one time, she planned on using it. However, she is studying to become a teacher and next year, she will do her student teaching, which isn't something she felt like she could do and commit to 100 percent while also committing herself completely to basketball.

"It really was a tough decision," Filius said. "Of course, I would love to play next year. But I really don't want to put student teaching off for another year. Both student teaching and college basketball are two things I want to give 100 percent of my time too. I think they are both full-time commitments, and I would just feel bad short changing either one of those things. Ultimately, I just didn't want to take seven years to get my teaching degree, so that's kind of where I came from with that decision."

After a stellar career playing for Havre High, where she helped the Ponies win a Class A state championship in 2014, Filius joined the Skylights. She followed in the footsteps of her mother, Kari Filius, who is a member of the Northern Hall of Fame and her father, Scott Filius, who is also a Northern Hall of Famer and national champion wrestler for the Lights.

However, the similarities don't stop there. While both of Peyton's parents played sports at Northern, they also pursued teaching degrees and have taught in the Havre Public School system for over 20 years,

"To be honest, I wanted to kind of branch out and do my own thing in college," Filius said. "And it's really funny that I have parallelled so much with my parents, coming to the same college and getting the same degrees, because both of those things weren't my first choice. At first when I was coming out of high school, I wanted to branch out, because I had always lived in Havre, but once I got to know coach Mouat and the girls, it just wasn't an option anymore. I wanted to stay and then when I started school, I wanted to do something in the medical field and then I was like, you know, I am a teacher. But my parents are my biggest inspiration and to kind of follow in their footsteps is not something that I am ashamed of at all."

After making the decision to join the Skylights, the next step in the process was working her way onto the court. After sitting out the 2014-15 season as a redshirt, Filius played in 24 games as a redshirt-freshman, followed by 32 games as a sophomore. In her first action, during the 2015-16 season, she averaged 2.5 points per game and then in the 2016-17 season, she averaged 2.1 points. But even though she didn't score a ton of points, she was still an important contributor who played on two teams that eventually reached the NAIA national tournament.

"I could go on and on about her," Skylights head coach Chris Mouat said. "She has become a leader, she has improved her game every year and, especially this year, she is shooting the ball as well as anyone in the conference. She can really shoot it and she has worked really hard for that. Anytime you have a kid that works hard and is a great leader and brings a great attitude to practice every day and does all the community service stuff that she does, it's a huge loss."

While it took Filius two years to play her way into the starting lineup, it had nothing to do with the kind of player she was and had more to do with the veteran talent that was in front of her. Yet, after the graduation of players like Natalie Faupel and Molly Kreycik, Filius was given a chance to shine, and she didn't disappoint.

In 24 games this season, the junior has increased her scoring average by more than 10 points, as she is averaging 12.4 points per game this season, compared to the 2.1 she scored in 2016-17. She has always been a solid 3-point shooter and, for her career, is shooting 39.4 percent from deep. Yet, after her 3-point percentage dipped to 23.5 last season, Filius has been better than ever this season, shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc, which is 16th in the NAIA. She's also 11th in 3-point field goals with 65 and 15th in 3-point field goals per game with 2.7.

"You know, she has worked for everything she has gotten," Mouat said. "She has played with some great players, but this has been her year and she has really stepped up and done some great things. But again, it's on and off the floor. Peyton really does a good job with every aspect of being a student-athlete."

Filius has been a steady performer throughout her basketball career, but this season especially, she has put together more than a few memorable performances. In fact the month of November was a highlight all on its own for Filius, as she earned Frontier Conference Player of the Week honors in the that month at the start of the season.

She was given the award after averaging 16 points, 3.7 rebounds, three steals and one assist, in a three-game stretch against Dickinson State, Northwest University and San Diego Christian. She was 12-of-22 from 3-point range during the stretch and the Skylights won all three games. However, her best individual performance probably came against Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish back in December, when she scored a career-high 31 points. She made 11 shots total in the game and knocked down eight 3-pointers. She also had 10 rebounds and five assists.

Those are just a couple examples of what has been a stellar season for Filius, who said she is at least happy to be walking away on top of her game.

"My career has kind of been funny," Filius said. "I didn't get a ton of time early and my role has changed so much over my career. But me looking at it, it's nice to end the way I would have wanted it to end, being able to get a bunch of minutes and playing for Coach Mouat and Coach Pullin, who have been by my side since day one. It's tough to walk away, but at the same time, I can't really look at it like that, because I have already made my decision."

And according to Mouat, what makes her production this season even more impressive, is the fact that she's done it often-times guarding the other team's best player.

"Especially with the loss of Jacy (Thompson) Peyton's role as our primary defender has just increased," Mouat said. "And that's really increased since the start of the year, since we were trying to decrease the wear and tear on Jacy's knee. She has really grown in that role of going out and guarding the other team's best guard, each and every night. And she has really embraced that. She has given such great effort, and just done some great things, and taken some really good players and done a good job with them. So I am extra proud of her ability on the defensive end and her growth there. It's been fun to watch and she looks forward to the challenge. She asks a lot of questions and she has a really great mind for the game. She's just really grown into being a special player."

Despite the fact that her career as a basketball player might be ending, whether it be in the Frontier Conference Tournament or beyond, Filius said she was hoping to stay involved with the game and someday, might follow in the footsteps of her parents again, this time, as a coach.

"Being around sports has kind of been my whole life," Filius said. "I can't really see myself not being around sports. So if something were to open up, I would totally take advantage of it."

Mouat also agreed that Filius would do well as a coach and even said he was hoping to have her on the bench next season, if at all possible.

"Teaching is coaching and coaching is teaching," Mouat said. "I think she would be a great coach at any level. I am really hoping when she can and when it fits her schedule that she will be on the bench with us next season. Peyton is the kind of kid that you want to have around as long as you can and I want to do whatever I can to help keep her active in the game."

But even as her career is coming to a close, Filius is focused on finishing it on the best note possible. That started with an upset win over Lewis and Clark State last weekend. And with four regular-season games left, as well as the conference tournament and, in the dream scenario, another trip to the national tournament, Filius is just trying to take it all in and enjoy every moment she has left on the hardwood.

"I don't even know what I am going to think when I hang it up, I am just assuming it will be an overwhelming moment," Filius said. "But I am trying not to think too much about it, because it will be a very real and a very overpowering emotion. We have had a rough season and our record is not what we want it to be and I think that is motivating all of us right now. I know that everyone, myself included, is playing for each other and hopefully, we can keep it going and keep playing for as long as we possibly can."

 

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