Maidens build confidence at Missoula Tip-Off Classic

The Ronan Maidens have undergone a lot of transition at the start of the season.

This year marks the first season the Maidens have played from Class B to Class A and they’ve already began making the proper adjustments to finish with a .500 at the Missoula Tip-Off Classic.

The Maidens won their first game defeating Stevensville 56-45 in the opening game of the Missoula Tip-Off.

Maidens’ coach Steve Woll said his team was “nervous” as they headed into the season opener.

“We were nervous because (our team) was headed into uncharted waters and we weren’t sure what to expect,” Woll said. “Our girls were a little bit more tentative during the first basketball game, but we played hard and we belonged here too.”

Woll said she felt the victory over Northwest A conference opponent Stevensville was a big confidence booster.

“That first win was a huge confidence booster and it is nice to play someone else besides each other in practice,” Woll said. “No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Our girls are competitors and they came to play.”

The Maidens nearly finished the tournament with an unblemished record, but fell to Corvallis in the final minutes of the game in a 51-49 loss.

“Everyone is asking us how we are going to play Corvallis and no one gave us a shot against Corvallis,” Woll said. “We will show up and have two chances to win the game and lead at halftime. That third quarter killed us because they outscored us (in the third quarter) 11-4 and we ended up losing the game 51-49. We tried to hold the ball. We turned it over and the girls did a great job at holding their composure. We had an opportunity to get a 3-point shot, but it rolled in and out of the basket.”

Woll said he felt pretty good about his team finishing nearly 2-0 in the Tip-Off Classic.

“We were one play away from being 2-0 and our girls now know that we can compete,” Woll said. “They have the confidence that they are not going to be a pushover in either the north or the south. I was way excited. We came from a tough conference (in Class B) that helped us prepare. We made two deep runs in the postseason and that helped us. The girls were expected to win and are extremely disappointed (that we lost) last night.”

Woll said his three starters from last year’s team are still learning their new roles as the team continues to move on from losing the offensive point production of Alicia and Lee Camel.

“They are learning those new roles and I am learning where to put them and trying to build a bench,” Woll said. “The season is a journey and not a race. We want to be playing our best ball at the last part of the season. It’s a process and I’ve already seen some kids step up and fill some voids. Some our younger kids will have a chance to win a game. Our team plays to win and not play to lose.”

Woll said he and his team will continue to look forward and not backward despite the success of last season with the two Camel Cousins.

“They are alumni now and we can’t be looking back in our rear view mirrors,” Woll said. “We have to look forward. We have a new team with new roles and this is a big week for us. Now we have a week’s worth of games on film. We have a little bit of strategy. The girls just continue to play hard and have fun.

The following are the statistics from the Ronan Tip-Off Tournament:

Corvallis 51, Ronan 49

Ronan (1-1), Corvallis (2-0)

Corvallis 14 13 13 11 – 51

Ronan 15 16 4 14 – 49

CORVALLIS – Calla Haldorson 12, Isabelle Evans 10, Lainie Albright 8, Hannah Hutchison 5, Hannah Martin 4, Hadlie Lords 4, Tayler Wright 4, Ashlynn Nixon 2, Lilly Berry 2.

RONAN – Micalann McCrea 9 2-4 21, Kianna Finley 4 2-2 10, Louetta Conko-Camel 2 1-4 6, Tiana Ulutoa 2 1-1 5, Jaelyn Askan 2 1-2 5, Regan Clairmont 1 0-0 2.

3FGs R2-19 (Mi.McCrea, Conko-Camel). R40REB (Mi.McCrea 9, Finley 6, Askan 6, Ulutoa 3, Madeline McCrea 3, Conko-Camel 2, Gabby Wirz 2, R.Clairmont). R14AST (McCrea 5, Ulutoa 3, Conko-Camel 2, Finley, Askan, R.Clairmont, Shea Whiting). R7STL (Ma.McCrea, Ulutoa 2, Conko-Camel 2, Mi.McCrea). R8BLK (Finley 3, Mi.McCrea 2, Conko-Camel, Ulutoa, Wirz). (Sa09Dec17)

Ronan 56, Stevensville 45

Ronan (1-0), Stevensville (0-1)

Stevensville 11 10 6 18 – 45

Ronan 13 10 18 15 – 56

STEVENSVILLE – Maddie Weber 13, Angel Richards 12, Megan Pendergast 7, Haley Kampka 5, Maddie Paul 5, Evynne Alexander 2, Maddie Sims 1.

RONAN – Louetta Conko-Camel 6 3-8 17, Micalann McCrea 6 4-8 17, Jaelyn Askan 4 0-0 8, Kianna Finley 3 0-2 6, Tiana Ulutoa *4, Regan Clairmont 2, Madeline McCrea *2.

3FGs R3-14 (Conko-Camel 2, Mi.McCrea). R28REB (Mi.McCrea 6, Finley 6, Conko-Camel 5, Askan 4, Ma.McCrea 2, Ulutoa, Gabby Wirz). R15AST (Mi.McCrea 6, Askan 3, Ulutoa 2, Conko-Camel, Finley, R.Clairmont, Wirz). R13STL (Mi.McCrea 6, Askan 3, Conko-Camel 2, Ulutoa 2). R3BLK (Mi.McCrea, Askan, Ulutoa). (Fr08Dec17)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where sideline specs reflect alternate data that may not be comprehensive: tm51p: Conko-Camel 18p (3FG 3-6), Ulutoa 0p (0-3), Ma.McCrea 0p (0-1).