State proves tough for Lady Pirates

HAMILTON — The Lady Pirates returned to town last week a little dejected after going two-and-out at the state basketball tourney, but were heartened by the fact that the team did better than anyone expected them to after finishing atop the divisional bracket.

Having a top seed going into the state tourney means you play a second-seed team in the first round, but there didn't appear to be any second-rate teams there, including the Browning and Hardin squads the Lady Pirates faced. They fell to Browning on Thursday, 64-51, before losing to Hardin on Friday, 49-37.

Both opponents were characterized by fast-paced games that were heavy on the pressure, including full and three-quarter court pressing and man-to-man defense in most of both games. With perhaps the exception of the Ronan Maidens, it was a faster style of play than the Lady Pirates were used to seeing during the regular season.

"Every time you take a team there to the state tourney, they go through that learning process. I've been to the state tourney before, so I knew it would be tough," said head coach Bruce Thomas.

And tough it was. Against Browning, the Lady Pirates had 23 turnovers, making it difficult to stay in the game. The teams were fairly close after the first quarter, though, when Jen Orchard hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the team within two.

In the second quarter, the Indians pulled away, outscoring the Lady Pirates 22-15 to take a 36-25 lead at the half. Polson gave up 22 offensive rebounds to the Indians which translated into too many second chances.

"Their half-court pressure forced us to slow down offensively, but we shot well from the outside," Thomas said.

Overall though, Polson managed to spread out its offense evenly. Strohm Fouty led the team with 11, Orchard and Kara Huyser had nine, Jenni Nesladek and Kari Mowbray had seven, Alia Eraky had four, Lisa Mathias had three and Emily Fors had one.

The Lady Pirates looked good from 3-point land, getting five of 11, including three from Fouty. Fouty and Nesladek had two steals each.

Huyser led the team with six rebounds, while Eraky and Mowbray had five, but Browning out rebounded the team, 40-27. Huyser's six rebounds put her in the top 10 in the tourney overall after action in Day 1.

"We had a chance. We were within five points with a minute and a half to go, but another steal (by Browning), a shot, and another steal, and that was the ballgame," Thomas said.

Day 2 proved just as competitive, as Hardin came out with both fast guards and big post players. They pressed immediately, but both teams struggled on offense until Fouty's field goal at the 2:30 mark got the game going.

Hardin went to a man-to-man defense, causing a lot of headaches for the Lady Pirates who turned the ball over several times. Hardin led 9-6 after the first quarter.

The second quarter put the Lady Pirates into a big hole, with teammate Jessica Buckless' two points 4:15 into the quarter representing the first score. Meanwhile, Hardin pulled ahead to a 22-9 halftime lead.

"We were trying so hard not to lose on Friday instead of playing to win. That was the difference," said Thomas.

Hardin continued to pound the Lady Pirates in the third, opening with a seven-point run to take a 29-9 lead before Fouty, Huyser, Fors and Mowbray chipped in field goals to pull the team back into contention.

Faced with a 19-point deficit going into the fourth, the Lady Pirates kept their chins up and buckled down. Buckless got a steal, then Eraky hit a jump shot, followed by another Fouty steal and a lay-up. Huyser hit a few jumpers and a free throw, and with a trey by Fouty, the Lady Pirates pulled to within 11 with less than three minutes left.

Another trey by Fouty and a great drive through the lane by Orchard bought the team to within 10 with 1:45 left, but it just wasn't enough - Hardin answered with buckets of their own each time.

"Those southern and eastern (conference) teams are traditionally better. Those are schools where they don't have as many options in terms of high school sports, so you have more kids playing basketball. I don't know if the answer is to have us play more AA teams during the season or what," Thomas said.

Overall, Thomas was optimistic about the experience - the Lady Pirates made it further than expected, and the state tourney is good experience for the underclassmen coming up. The Lady Pirates will lose Fouty, Mowbray, Nesladek and Eraky to graduation.

"That's half our offense, but it means half our offense is coming back," Thomas said, referring to Orchard and Huyser. "Our JV team won their last seven games, and our frosh team was 14-3, so the future's not looking bad. And winning the divisional tourney was the feather in our cap."

Browning 64, Polson 51

Browing 12 22 16 14 - 64

Polson 10 15 16 10 - 51

BROWING: Joena Eagle Feathers 14, Loris Whiteman 11, Bobbi Woodworth 11, Jenna Skunk Cap 10, Kendall Edmo 6, Melanie Calf Boss Ribs 3, Misty Tatsey 3, Teresa Kennerly 4, Phyllis Kipp 2.

POLSON: Jen Orchard 9, Strohm Fouty 11, Jenni Nesladek 7, Kari Mowbray 7, Kara Huyser 9, Lisa Mathias 3, Emily Fors 1, Alia Eraky 4.

Hardin 49, Polson 37

Hardin 9 13 15 12 - 49

Polson 6 3 9 19 - 37

HARDIN: Rae Howe 4, Tana Steward 19, Brydget Rogers 10, Dvera Tolbert 10, Cara Bull Shows 2, Cassi Hodges 4.

POLSON: Jen Orchard 3, Strohm Fouty 18, Kari Mowbray 1, Kara Huyser 6, Jessica Buckless 2, Jaelin Vandeberg 2, Emily Fors 3, Alia Eraky 2.