GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

| January 21, 2015 8:29 AM

by John Heglie

Special to the Leader

Two Eagle 44

Valley Christian 36

At Missoula in the battle of the Eagles on Saturday, the visiting Two Eagle gals were the ones to take flight first and gained elevation over host Valley Christian girls, cobbling together a lead in the teens before their hosts mounted a rally to close the gap, only to fall short. After a close first quarter, Two Eagle took control of the tempo thereafter, opening up one of their largest leads of the season after halftime.

Two Eagle was paced by Casadi Wunderlich with 18 points, while Misty Mendoza, Jax Wright and Tyra Michel collaborated on another two dozen. Coach Erica Shelby was pleased to see the Lady Eagle offense start to click, reading the defenses and finding the open player with the hot shooting hand. The double figure lead in the latter going opened up an opportunity for their reserves to see some minutes on the floor so that Lady Eagle bench depth can develop even further.

Two Eagle (4-6) has a pair of 14C conference clashes this week, traveling to Hot Springs on Friday, Jan. 23, then host the Noxon Lady Red Devils on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Pablo.

Two Eagle 12 14 11 7 – 44

Valley Chr 14 5 2 15 – 36

TWO EAGLE – Casadi Wunderlich 18, Jax Wright 9, Tyra Michel 8, Misty Mendoza 7, Gabby BigBeaver 2.

VALLEY CHRISTIAN – Linnea Hill 14, Grace Lowder 7, Lilly Schulz 5, Kelcie Hill 4,Tara Messner 4, Lea Gress 1, Kaytlin Kelly 1. (Sa17Jan15

Arlee 57

Two Eagle 35

At Pablo, the host Lady Eagles couldn’t counter the inside post play of the visiting Scarlets as Arlee placed a trio of players in double figures in this county 14C conference clash.

Bryndle Goyins of Arlee and Casadi Wunderlich of Two Eagle countered each other, leaving the double figure tallies of Scarlets Violet Pablo and Carly Hergett to more than offset the sum contributions of the remaining Lady Eagle scoring efforts. Lady Eagle Wunderlich dialed the operator long distance and completed the call on a trio of triples from beyond the arc.

Two Eagle made some halftime adjustments and played much more competitively in the latter quarters. Although Kaci Ducharme only scored a deuce, she reeled in ten boards, four off the offensive glass, and dished out four assists. Tyra Michel pulled down eight rebounds and had two blocks, while Gabby BigBeaver hauled in a half dozen rebounds.

Senior post Pablo is on the brink of century club membership for seasonal scoring and is anticipated to join Goyins in the upcoming game.

Arlee 18 19 15 15 – 67

Two Eagle 6 9 10 10 – 35

ARLEE – Bryndle Goyins 17, Violet Pablo 15, Carly Hergett 12, Becca Whitesell 7, Megan Shick 7, Morgan Malatare 5, Abby Yocum 2, Ella Lindbergh 2.

TWO EAGLE – Casadi Wunderlich 17, Tyra Michel 6, Naomi Stevens 3, Misty Mendoza 3, Gabby BigBeaver 2, Kaci Ducharme 2, Jax Wright 2.

Arlee 39, Charlo 24

At Arlee this past Thursday, the host Scarlets and the visiting 9th-ranked Lady Vikings engaged in a county conference clash for supremacy in the District 14C standings. The game would be a battle between two teams with unblemished conference records.

The game was close in the early going, but the consistency of the Scarlets started to gain separation from their Nordic opponent. Sophomore post Carly Hergett netted 15 points and eight boards, while Bryndle Goyins hauled in 11 rebounds along with chipping in eight points. Morgan Malatare was sandwiched right between the middle of both of them with nine rebounds of her own.

The Nagy sisters of Charlo split a dozen points down the middle to lead the Lady Viking effort.

Charlo (4-1, 8-1) slips under Arlee in the standings and host the Lady Savage Heat of Hot Springs on Saturday.

Charlo 8 5 8 3 – 24

Arlee 12 9 7 11 – 39

CHARLO – Cheyenne Nagy 6, Shayna Nagy 6, Sienna Brown 4, Lindsey Tryon 4, Mikaylan Roylance 2, Skyler Frame 2.

ARLEE – Carly Hergett 15, Becca Whitesell 9, Bryndle Goyins 8, Violet Pablo 7.

Charlo 61

Hot Springs 15

At Charlo this past Saturday, the Lady Vikings took some of their frustration out on the visiting Lady Savage Heat after losing to county rival Arlee earlier in the week.

Charlo placed a pair of players in double figures with Shayna Nagy netting 21 points, while Mikaylan Roylance tallied a dozen. Sienna Brown and Cheyenne Nagy collaborated on another 15 points, which was enough to offset the sum total generated by Hot Springs.

Charlo ( 5-1, 9-1) travels to 6B Mission for a cross-classification contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, then host the 14C St. Regis Lady Tigers on Friday, Jan. 23. The Lady Vikings had risen to a ninth ranking in the Class C power poll prior to their loss to Arlee and it remains to be seen whether they can retain their place or at least retain some votes.

Hot Springs 2 5 4 4 – 15

Charlo 22 18 13 8 – 61

HOT SPRINGS – Stacy Gray 6, Josey Carr 6, Kalen Lien 2, Mikayla Mueller 1.

CHARLO – Shayna Nagy 21, Mikaylan Roylance 12, Sienna Brown 8, Cheyenne Nagy 7, Skyler Frame 5, Madison Foust 4, Brooklyn Foust 2, Kenzie Couture 2. (Sa17Jan15)

Troy 54, Mission 44

At Troy, the visiting Lady Bulldogs matched the host Lady Trojans in the opening quarter, then outscored them in the second half, but a scoring drought in the quarter preceding halftime forced Mission St. Ignatius to play catchup the remainder of the game.

Mission (0-4, 0-9) continues its quest for its first win, hosting cross county 14C Charlo on Thursday, Jan. 22, then travel to 6B Deer Lodge on Saturday, Jan. 24 for a conference contest.

Mission 10 5 13 16 – 44

Troy 10 16 15 13 – 54

MISSION – Irene Lopez 15, Trinity Lewandowski 13, Sydney Castor 10, Pam Anderson 5, Shania Dubois 1.

TROY – Allie Coldwell 19, Aurora Becquart 14, Allie Brown 9, Olivia Thomas 6, Taylor Brown 3, Kaitlyn Downey 3.

Ronan 60, Mission 20

At St. Ignatius, the visiting Maidens made sure they jumped out of the starting blocks early over the host Lady Bulldogs in this cross county 6B conference contest. Ronan showed plenty of spark in this one as they vaulted into a commanding lead after the opening quarter and never looked back.

The Maidens placed a pair of players in double figures with Lee Camel compiling two dozen and Jordyn Clairmont netting a dozen.

The Lady Bulldogs matched the Maidens stride for stride the second quarter but couldn’t keep the lid on the pressure cooker once the second half got under way. Irene Lopez led the Lady Bulldogs with seven points.

Mission (0-4, 0-8) travels to 7B Troy for their next encounter. Ronan (4-0, 7-3) travels to 6B Florence on Friday, Jan. 23, then heads up to face 7B Eureka on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Ronan 18 8 24 10 – 60

Mission 2 8 6 4 – 20

RONAN – Lee Camel 24, Jordyn Clairmont 12, Haley O’Hern 6, Kendra Starkel 6, Micalann McCrea 4, Siliye Pete 4, Aspen Jore 2, Ashley Peterson 2.

MISSION – Irene Lopez 7, Jordyn Eichert 4, Sydney Castor 3, Trinity Lewandowski 3, Pam Anderson 3.(Fr16Jan15)

Plains 32, Ronan 31

At Ronan this past Thursday, there were plenty of opportunities for the outcome of the game between the visiting Trotters and the host Maidens to swing one way or the other, but in the end it would be a decisive free-throw that would prove to be the difference. With the score knotted at 31 apiece with 4.3 seconds remaining, Trotter senior forward Hailey Phillips hit her second attempt after missing the first to inch Plains past Ronan in this Class B nonconference thriller. A last ditch just past half court heft by Maiden Lee Camel would not get close enough or off in time to alter the outcome.

Ronan led much of the game, but never by much as Plains never let the Maidens stray more than a field goal ahead before closing the gap. There were four ties and six lead changes with the majority of the nail-biting theatrics taking place in the second half. Plains tied the game at 23 apiece on a Phillips layup with about a minute remaining in the third quarter, then went ahead by a deuce when Trotter Kayla Holmes delivered down under.

Ronan (6-3) travels to Mission for a 6B conference contest on Saturday, Jan. 17, while Plains (7-2) would go on to beat Class A Libby this past Friday, Jan. 16 by sixteen points for their eighth win of the season.

Ronan 9 4 10 8 – 31

Plains 6 6 13 7 – 32

RONAN – Micalann McCrea 10, Lee Camel 8, Haley O’Hern 6, Jordyn Clairmont 4, Jordan Bush 2, Ashley Peterson 1.

PLAINS – Hailey Phillips 12, Kimberly Earhart 8, Kayla Holmes 6, Sami Kinzie 2, Carley Von Heeder 2, Leah Thompson 2.

Libby 44, Polson 27

At Libby, the host Lady Loggers tripled up the visiting Lady Pirates in the opening quarter and then caused them to stumble some more after halftime. Polson managed to outscore their hosts in the second quarter, but needed a couple more quarters of proficient point productivity to carve into the deficit they were saddled with.

Libby place a pair of players in double figures, while junior post Nicole Lake paced Polson with seven and guard Marlee Congdon chipped in five.

Polson (0-2, 0-9) continues its quest for its first victory when they travel to Whitefish (0-3, 2-9) to face the Lady Bulldogs on Jan. 24.

Polson 4 11 4 8 – 27

Libby 14 9 10 11 – 44

POLSON – Nichole Lake 7, Marlee Congdon 5, Brenna Clarke 4, Skyla Krantz 3, Lauren Lefthand 3, McKenna Weltz 3, Erin Sampson 2.

LIBBY – Shannon Reny 12, Hailey Craig 11, Hailley Moe 6, Devon Gallagher 6, Shyla Stevenson 5, Ashley Walker 2, Madison Monigold 2.

Corvallis 30, Polson 26

At Polson last Tuesday, the host Lady Pirates were in contention for winning their first game of the season over the visiting Lady Blue Devils, only to have it elude their grasp in the final minutes. After surrendering a narrow lead early in the third quarter, Polson regained their advantage just before the final quarter, then went up by five 23-18 on a Nicole Lake deuce off an sweet assist from Peyton Anderson, forcing a Corvallis time out with six and a half minutes remaining.

A pair of Taia Tully freebies and a Corinne Sanderson deuce cut Polson’s lead to 24-22. Lake was fouled down under with four minutes remaining, converting both free-throws to extend the lead back up to four points. Corvallis countered at the other end by putting up shots and drawing fouls, Tully burying a trio of freebies on a pair of trips to the charity stripe to bring Corvallis within one 26-25.

Tully dialed the operator long distance one last time and completed the call for an uncontested triple, vaulting the Lady Blue Devils ahead 26-28 with a minute remaining.

Following a technical, Tully would make her second free-throw for a 26-29 Corvallis advantage. The Lady Blue Devils were unable to capitalize upon the following possession, leaving the door open for Polson to tie the game when Marlee Congdon attempted to net her fourth triple of the game with twenty seconds remaining, but couldn’t connect.

Corvallis retrieved the ball and proceeded to burn time off the clock, forcing the Lady Pirates to foul. Tully would make one last free throw to account for the final score.

Polson (0-8) travels to Libby on Saturday, Jan. 17 for a conference clash.

Corvallis 4 7 6 13 – 30

Polson 7 5 7 7 – 26

CORVALLIS – Taia Tully 11, Kira Doyle 5, Corinne Sanderson 4, Jane Booth 3, Steffani Stoker 3, Penny Jessop 2, Ryann Weishaar 2.

POLSON – Nichole Lake 11, Marlee Congdon 9, Skyla Krantz 6.(Tu13Jan15)