Polson tames Lady Lions, 46-41

POLSON — The Lady Lions roar was silenced Thursday night in Polson as the Lady Pirates squeaked out a 46-41 win over Eureka, punctuated by a 19-point fourth quarter.  

Senior Heidi Rausch raked up 15 points and 13 rebounds and MacKenzie Banner scored 12, including 9-10 from the foul line, which helped the Lady Pirates secure the non-conference win.  

With what was a stagnant scoring night for both teams, Polson took a 27-24 lead heading into the fourth.  But both teams turned there offensive struggles 180 degrees and combined for a 36 point fourth quarter.  The Lady Pirates would maintain their lead, putting up 19 points in the final 8 minutes  and the five point win.

The Lady Pirates weren’t, however, able to carry over their high scoring fourth quarter from the Eureka win.   Facing Northwestern A leading Columbia Falls Saturday night, the Lady Pirates managed just four fourth quarter points in the 51-32 loss to the Wildkats.  The Lady Pirates were patient on offense and rotated the ball and looked for quality shots.  But the Wildkats zone and length was disruptive and the Lady Pirates struggled to find good looks at the basket.  After a promising 17 point second quarter, Columbia Falls’ defense tightened up after halftime and limited Polson to another four-point quarter in the third.  

Anna DiGiallonardo led the Lady Pirates limited offensive charge with 9 points and Rausch added 6.  

The Lady Pirates 2-3, 4-10 will travel to Corvallis Thursday when they face the Blue Devils.