Maidens beat bitter rival Polson in hard-fought Lake County showdown

POLSON — In what was a close match throughout between the Lady Pirates and the Maidens on Friday in Polson, Ronan would come away with the 36-32 victory.

POLSON — In what was a close match throughout between the Lady Pirates and the Maidens on Friday in Polson, Ronan would come away with the 36-32 victory.

After trailing 18-13 at the half, Polson (0-5) would take a brief lead in the third quarter before trading game-tying blows with the Maidens (5-1).

Ronan’s Raymi Clairmont put her team up 32-30 late before the Lady Pirates’ Malia Hamel was fouled and had a shot to tie things up from the charity stripe.

However, she would miss both free throws and Maiden Aspen Jore was fouled on the following play.

She made one of two of her free throws, before Clairmont hit another shot to put the team up five points.

Hamel was again fouled, but this time made both her free throws to close the gap to 35-32.

Ronan again entrusted the ball to Clairmont, who was fouled and split her free throws to put the game out of reach.

It was a tough loss for the Lady Pirates, who have yet to win a game this season and were without their best offensive weapon in Heidi Rausch (personal) that night.

Mackenzie Banner and Anna DiGiallonardo performed well in her absence with nine points apiece, but having Rausch could very well have given Polson the edge.

DiGiallonardo would also come away with five steals and three assists, while Banner turned in three steals herself and hauled in four rebounds.

Hamel finished the night with six points, as did Hallie Hovenkotter, while Breanna Harrison would be the only other player to score for Polson with two points in the game.

Though Jessica Bagnell would not score in the game for the Lady Pirates, she led the team with seven rebounds.

Jore topped all players in the game with 10 points on the night.

Raymi Clairmont, who wasn’t as effective as she usually is early on in the game, ended the night with nine points, as did Courtney Clairmont.

Courtney Taylor contributed four points to the effort, while Ashleigh Lynch and Alaina Madsen both finished with two points apiece.

Ronan’s next game will be on Jan. 4 on the road against Deer Lodge.

POLSON VS. FRENCHTOWN

FRENCHTOWN — Before their showdown with Ronan, the Lady Pirates came up just short of their first win last Thursday in a 56-50 loss to Frenchtown.

Polson looked to be on a roll in the first half, keeping pace with the Lady Broncs in the first quarter at 13-13, before outscoring them 10-4 in the second and holding a 23-17 lead at halftime.

However, Frenchtown came out strong in the third quarter and, after a 16-point frame, led the Lady Pirates 33-32 headed into the fourth quarter.

Polson kept things close, but couldn’t put out the Lady Broncs hot streak.

Rausch led the Lady Pirates with 12 points in the game.

She also skied for 12 boards to give her a double-double. In fact, Rausch came close to an elusive triple-double after racking up seven steals as well.

Bagnell also reached double-figures with 10 points and pulled down five rebounds,

Banner put up nine points and had a team-high six assists, while Hamel posted eight points and four assists.

DiGiallonardo dropped seven and had five steals, while Hovenkotter and Monika Frame both finished the night with two points apiece.

Though the Lady Pirates weren’t able to steal the victory, they certainly picked plenty of pockets in the game, as the team finished with 15 steals.

Frenchtown was led by Vanessa Stavish with 19 points, while Kayla Blood turned in 12 points for the Lady Broncs.

After coming close in these past two games, Polson hopes to pick up its first win when it returns to action on Jan. 5 for a road matchup with Loyola Sacred Heart.