Lady Pirates press their way to pair of victories
<p>Polson's Heidi Rausch faces three defenders in the lane Saturday night, Rausch finished with 7 in the Lady Pirates win. </p> <p> </p>
POLSON - Spirits are high in Polson and the Lady Pirates full-court press and 3-point shooting has put them on a winning streak they hope to sustain heading into their district tournament this weekend.
At Corvallis, Polson dominated the Blue Devils with a 43-27 road win. The Lady Pirates’ aggressive defense had Corvallis searching to find the rim all night. Heidi Rausch scored 19 points for the Pirates and Mackenzie Banner had eight. The Pirates didn’t put up much offense Thursday, however, they didn’t need to, as Corvallis had just 13 points by the half and only tallied four points in the final quarter.
Saturday, the Lady Pirates traveled back to Polson for a game against the Libby Lady Loggers. At the half, Polson took just a 30-24 lead into the locker room. But in the second half, Polson’s relentless full-court press wore down Libby, who had trouble setting up their offense and finding quality looks at the basket. Polson outscored the Lady Loggers 19-8 in the second half, sparked by a 12-4 third quarter run that comfortably secured the 17-point win. Malia Hamel was hot from long range and carried the offensive load for Polson, scoring 17 points. Polson cleared their bench late in the game and gave role players Skyla Krantz and Kaelen Wall much deserved playing time.
The Lady Pirates’ ability to use their full-court press for nearly the entire 32 minutes of a game has the potential to wear down their opponents - certainly something to look forward to heading into the district tournament. With the season in its final stretch, teams will be feeling fatigue and the Lady Pirates’ full-court pressure is something teams won’t be looking forward to facing.