In the small town of Hardin, Montana, located just outside the Crow Indian Reservation in the southeastern part of the state, basketball is a tremendous source of hope and pride in a place where poverty, alcoholism, domestic abuse, and absent parents affect many of the residents.  Journalist Larry Colton came to Hardin to write about the gifted young boys from the Crow Agency who were often the best basketball players in the state only to sink into obscurity after high school with no college scholarships or skills for the future.  That was his plan, but fate intervened in the form of Sharon LaForge, a lithe, graceful 17-year-old from the Crow Reservation with an intuitive understanding of basketball and the skills to match.  Sharon and the other members of the Lady Bulldogs became Colton’s story, a story of high school basketball, but also a story of life on and off the Crow Reservation; of life in Hardin, a small town where whites and Indians are often in conflict; and a story about teenage girls who struggle with friendships, boyfriends, and family issues.  Will the Lady Bulldogs win State?  Will Sharon be able to overcome problems with her boyfriend, family, and her own lack of ambition and make it to college?  The terrific thing about Counting Coup is that you truly care about the answers to these questions.