Bulldogs perform well but drop games aginast Florence, Bigfork
<p class="p1">Paden Alexander cuts around a Florence defender during last Thursday’s game.</p>
<p class="p1">Nikko Alexander shoots over a Falcons defender.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Stuart Grant sprints up the court during last Thursday’s game.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Stephanie Lewandowski scored 21 points against Florence.</p>
<p class="p1">Haley O’Hern scored in the double-figures in both games.</p>
BIGFORK — The Bulldogs enter the holiday break with a disappointing 1-5 record after falling to Florence 77-64 last Thursday and Bigfork 71-50 on Saturday.
BIGFORK — The Bulldogs enter the holiday break with a disappointing 1-5 record after falling to Florence 77-64 last Thursday and Bigfork 71-50 on Saturday.
Despite the wide gap in the scoreline, however, Mission was very much in both games early on.
Against the highly-regarded and undefeated Falcons last Thursday, the Bulldogs actually came out of the first quarter with an 18-15 lead.
However, a 21-point second quarter by Florence changed that, as the team would build a 36-28 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs were strong in the second half, scoring 36 points, but the Falcons were stronger, putting up 41 after a 25-point third quarter.
Even with the loss, Mission had plenty of positives to take away from the game as five different Bulldogs would rack up double-digit point totals on the night.
Stuart Grant led the group with 15 points, while Paden Alexander was right behind him with 14 points of his own.
Nikko Alexander dropped 12 in the game and Dylan Evans and Jarred Brown finished with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Will Powell was the only other Mission player to score against the Falcons, chipping in two points.
The Falcons, meanwhile, were led by Aaron Ward’s 21-point performance, but also had Ryno Baerlocher (18) and Mike Finlay (13) reach double-figures.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs again ran out to a first quarter lead, though a slim one, entering the second frame with an 18-17 advantage over Bigfork.
The Vikings then took control, leading 36-33 at the half, but it was still anybody’s game at that point.
However, the Bulldogs would not be able to keep their strong pace going in the second half, scoring just 17 points while allowing 35 to Bigfork, which had 21 of those points come in the final quarter.
Nikko Alexander was the lone double-digit scorer for Mission, ending the night with 11 points, but the team had six others put points on the scoreboard.
Brown put up nine points for the Bulldogs, while Paden Alexander (eight), Evans (seven) and Powell (seven) weren’t far behind him on the scoresheet.
Patrick Eichert and Grant finished the night with four points apiece.
Bigfork was led by Christian Evans, who scored a game-high 17 points, while Seth Roessmann had 14 and Colter Trent posted 11.
The Bulldogs will be looking to turn things around on Jan. 3, when they’ll go on the road to take on Loyola Sacred Heart.
GIRLS
BIGFORK — After a poor outing against Charlo, the Lady Bulldogs have picked things back up again right before the holiday break after a narrow 56-51 loss to Florence last Thursday and a 38-28 victory over Bigfork on Saturday.
After jumping out to an 11-8 lead over the Falcons last Thursday, the teams nearly matched each other point-for-point for all but the second quarter, which would prove to be the difference maker in the tight contest.
Florence would ignite for 25 points in the quarter, while the Lady Bulldogs scored 18.
In the second half, the Falcons would outscore Mission by just one point, holding a 23-22 advantage.
A majority of Mission’s points in the game were scored by just three players, as Stephanie Lewandowski, Loren Erickson and Haley O’Hern combined for 47 points on the night.
Lewandowski led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Erickson and O’Hern scored 14 and 12 points respectively.
The only other player to score for the Lady Bulldogs was Kaylie Durglo, who turned in four points.
The Falcons, meanwhile, had nine different players contribute points in the contest, with Kyndall Hoff leading the way with 13 and Megan Byrne behind her with 10.
Though they wouldn’t pick up the win in Florence, the Lady Bulldogs would do so against Bigfork on Saturday to give them a boost going into the break.
Mission built up an 11-4 lead after the fourth quarter and kept the lead throughout, finishing things off with a 15-point fourth quarter.
Erickson paced the Lady Bulldogs with a game-high 14 points, while O’Hern and Lewandowski scored 10 and nine points respectively.
Sahriha Camacho added four points for Mission, while Carley Elverud chipped in two.
The Valkyries were led by Tessa Robertson, who turned in six points.
The Lady Bulldogs will be hoping to stay on the winning track when the return from the break on Jan. 3 when they host Loyola Sacred Heart.