Maidens get ready to open against Polson, C-Falls

The Ronan Maidens are a team that has the same story line as they prepare to enter the second half of the basketball season.

Ronan, who went undefeated during last year’s Class B regular season and qualified before losing back-to-back games during the state playoffs, is still getting acclimated to the new level of competition they are facing in Class A.

The Maidens are still in the process of developing their team identity with two close losses against Libby and Hamilton. The Maidens lost to both teams 51-47.

After a turbulent first half, Maidens coach Steve Woll has expressed confidence in his team having a strong second half as they start the season as they host Whitefish and Polson. The Maidens will host Whitefish on Jan 2 and then turn around and host the Lady Pirates Jan 4.

“I think we are starting to get know each other and we are getting to know the girls,” Woll said. “They know me and how we are going to play and move forward. We have a system and we are starting to learn who plays where, what they are good at and that we are moving forward with the players that put us in the best situation to succeed in the next few weeks. We are coming around and now we are playing people the second time and starting to make adjustments in coaching, teaching and executing. The second half of the season should be fun.”

During one of their final games of the break, the Maidens fell to the Class A defending champion Columbia Falls team 73-40. Woll felt the loss was a learning experience for a team that they might get to play possibly three times before the season is over.

“When we played them, it didn’t surprise us as a staff because they are marked No.1 in the state for a reason,” Woll said. “They are well-coached, well-disciplined and they run the transition game about as well as anyone. We have to play to compete, not go ‘oh OK you are better than us and we give up.’ We have to try to make it work for them a little bit and we have to try to switch some things up a little bit the second time that we play them. They have a really good tradition and a really strong basketball team. We want to improve and get after it on our end.”

Woll said he isn’t worried about the loss because he knows each conference opponent they will see two, possibly three times during the course of a season.

“There is no team that has ever won a state championship in December,” Woll said. “It is always the team that is peaking a lot of times that does the right things and makes the right adjustments. Our goal is to peak at the end of the season.”

Woll said he is confident that his team and coaching staff will make the necessary adjustments in order to position themselves to win at the end when it counts the most.

“That is what we tell our kids is that we are going to see teams possibly three times,” Woll said. “The first time we are just learning them, the second time is making adjustments and the third time you play them, you want to win.”

Woll said he is looking to exploit the break as a time for his team to get better and make a run in the second half of the season so they can secure a favorable position in the playoffs and improve their chance of winning.

“I look at the break as a time to get better,” Woll said. “I look at what we are going to pursue and what will be our MO. We need to attack that and push forward. Several players need to earn a spot to be in our top-10 on our depth chart,” Woll said. “If you are in the top 10 and play and execute, we are trying to move forward with our program. Some of our younger girls might get a chance to play varsity and move up and down the line. Confidence is a big factor when we look at getting the girls in the right spots. Right now, we are struggling a lot as a team. We are getting our girls open and we just have to make the baskets.”