James' 3-pointer lifts Lady Pirates over Frenchtown

Call it the golden arch, if you will.

Not all 3-pointers are considered equal, but this one was enough to get the win, as Amanda James banked one in with less than three seconds left last Saturday night to lift the Lady Pirates over Frenchtown, one of a slew of 3-pointers the girls hit last weekend to stage a great second-half comeback after falling behind by 11 points.

In James' defense, she wasn't even supposed to have the last shot, but even the best of plans sometimes go wrong.

With a tied ballgame and possession of the ball, the Lady Pirates inbounded the ball and looked to get it to Jessica Buckless, who had the hot hand from outside all night. But the Frenchtown defense wouldn't let her open, and James jumped out to get the pass, turned and fired, hitting the shot for the 50-47 win in front of a jubilant crowd that had not had much to cheer about in the second half.

It was her first game-winner, James said afterwards, and although she didn't call "bank," it was good enough for the win.

"I was down on the post, and I was supposed to set a screen for Lisa [Mathias], but she couldn't get open," James said.

She had a good laugh after the game about the bank-shot, saying it "looked terrible," but that didn't diminish the smile on her face. All the Lady Pirates' smiles were well-deserved though, after finding themselves down by 10 at the half, and eight going into the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Buckless to start the second half broke a six-minute scoring drought, but Frenchtown seemed to get the shots they needed to maintain a comfortable lead until late in the fourth, when buckets by Sarah Newton and Brittany Gardner brought the team to within five.

All the sudden, things were looking up.

Jaelin Vandberg fired an outlet pass to Brittany Gardner, who drove the lane, was fouled, and made the three-point conversion to tie it with 2:30 left. Vandeberg had a good steal and a lay-up to give the team a 47-46 lead with two minutes left, and Frenchtown could only manage a free throw in the waning minutes.

Buckless and Vandeberg both had 3-pointers in the first, and steals by Buckless and Gardner were converted for points to keep the team within one after the first quarter.

Angela Schuman had a good first half, too, but the girls found themselves down by 10 at the half. But in the second half, Polson was able to use its press to turn the ball over and get right back into it.

"Our defensive pressure really started wearing them down, and they started making poor decisions, poor shots, and missing shots that they had been making in the first half," said head coach Bruce Thomas. "We really picked up our intensity."

Buckless led the team with 14 points, most from beyond the arch, while Gardner had 10, and Schuman, Newton and Vandeberg finished with seven. All of James' five points came in the fourth, with two key free throws to bring the team to within three.

It was a study in contrasts, when the Lady Pirates couldn't buy a shot against Bigfork last Thursday, falling to the Lady Vals 42-23 after going only 7-for-47 from the field.

What they couldn't do on offense only cost them more on defense, since their full-court press relies on the other team taking the ball out of bounds after a basket.

"When you don't make baskets, you just can't set up the press," Thomas noted. "You aren't going to win shooting 15 percent from the field."

Bigfork held the Lady Pirates scoreless in the second, and to only one point in the fourth, but the girls still shot the lights out from beyond the arch, hitting six 3-pointers.

The team was led by Buckless' three treys for nine points, one from Gardner and James each, who both had five total points, and Vandeberg, who also had a 3-pointer. Rochelle Woods added a free throw to help the team.

Defensively, the girls held one of the best teams in the conference to 42 points, which would have been good on any other night, but they just couldn't get their inside game going, Thomas noted.

"Holding them to 42 should have been good enough to win, so we did pretty well on defense," he said. "We just didn't shoot well."

The team will have Marilee Mowbray back for a big weekend ahead of them, as they travel to Columbia Falls Friday and host Libby on Saturday — the first time they will face both teams this season. The squad practiced with all 16 players this week, for the first time in weeks, Thomas said.

"Columbia Falls is pressing a lot, like we are, and they have some strong guards, so it should be a good match-up," Thomas said. "We'll have everybody back with us and this will give us a good chance to evaluate where we stand."

The girls' game starts at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against Libby, earlier than normal, since the boys' game follows.