Maidens basketball gets ready to host District Tournament

Ronan High School girls basketball coach Steve Woll knows they has been on the cusp of getting the attention as a team to be reckoned with as his team prepares for the Western A District play on Feb. 15-17 at the Ronan Events Center.

Woll likes to keep his philosophical approach to basketball short and direct when he talks about his fourth-seeded Maiden’s chances of trying to advance to the Divisional tournament as they will begin play against No. 5 seeded Whitefish.

“It’s pretty simple: win or go home,” Woll said. “In every sport there is the bottom line and it’s an old adage but you just have to play hard and smart and get a few breaks along the way.”

Woll also knows that in tournament play games are tightly-contested and with that Ronan has to play smart if the Maidens want to begin their climb to a third consecutive State appearance and first appearance in Class A since the reclassification from Class B to A in late 2016.

“You have to play hard, play smart, get a few breaks and have some luck along the way,” Woll said. “We have to stay out of foul trouble, avoid injuries and sickness, and deal with having an off-shooting night because all of those things add up. During the tournament, whoever handles the distractions the best will give them the best chance to win. That is my theory on having successful tournaments and I stick with it.”

Another philosophical approach Woll has to the game is never letting any of his starters or members of his team get complacent.

“I don’t like letting kids get comfortable and what I mean by that is every day in practice we put a different starting five out on the floor and I don’t let them know who is going to start,” Woll said. “We will have a different starting lineup coming down the stretch. I don’t like my team to get complacent. I let them earn everything that they get and as long as they stay focused on the task at hand, we are good to go.”

Woll said his team is starting to embrace his philosophies and is starting to buy in to his approach to basketball. That is evident as the Maidens nearly upset Bigfork in the team’s regular season finale, falling 59-56 against Bigfork, a team many believe is a legitimate competitor to capture a Class B title.

“Now that they understand my philosophy and have accepted that, they continue to root for each other, they are starting to come off the bench and they are team oriented,” Woll said.

Woll admits the Maidens, who don’t’ possess a lot of height on their team, will have to execute well to contend with the taller teams coming out of their district including the defending Class A champion Columbia Falls, Browning and the No. 3 seeded Libby Lady Loggers.

“Anyone with some size will create some problems for us and we have to be able to adapt to that and dictate the tempo of the game to swing the momentum in our favor,” Woll said. “Our team is very guard-oriented and against other teams that are bigger like that, sometimes you have to worry about yourself and do what you do best to make them adjust to you.”

Woll said he is “looking forward” to the tournament because he is aware it is the start of a new season.

“Everyone is 0-0 and all the records from the regular season mean nothing,” Woll said. “We just want to win and advance.”

Chiefs prepare to play Columbia Falls

The Ronan Chiefs have made a habit out of winning games in overtime. One of their big overtime victories during the course of the regular season was against Columbia Falls at Columbia Falls.

Ronan will open the District Tournament on Feb. 15-17 at the Ronan Events Center against Columbia Falls.

The Chiefs, who are seeded No. 5 in the tournament, split with C-Falls during the regular season.

In the hypothetical scenario, if the Chiefs win, they will play the No. 1 seeded Browning team, who secured a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs prepare for Class B Districts

Mission High School basketball coach Gus McDonald was part of a legendary Bulldog team that was able to upset several teams in District and Divisonals during the 2003-2004 season.

McDonald, who is on the cusp of turning around the Bulldogs’ basketball program, hopes to instill some of that same magic into the 2017-2018 team. Last year, his team nearly pulled off an upset falling to Anaconda, a team who eventually fell three points short of capturing the MHSA Class B basketball State title with a 52-50 loss to Malta in the championship game. McDonald has a knack for getting his team to compete during February and March.

This season, the tournament format will be a little different as the Mission Bulldogs will travel to Deer Lodge Saturday to play a single elimination game that will either advance them to Divisional or end their season.

The Ronan Maidens will try to continue on their quest to be at state for the third-consecutive season.

Frenchtown 39, Ronan 36

Jaelynn Askan crested the century plateau for season scoring.

NWA Ronan (6-12), SWA Frenchtown (9-9)

Frenchtown 9 8 14 8 – 39

Ronan 4 12 10 10 – 36

FRENCHTOWN – *Kylie Willett 2 9-12 13, *Alivia Williams 4 4-8 12, *Meg Delaney 0 5-8 5, *Kiya Shelton 2 0-0 4, Calliana Bagnell 3, Syd Channer 2.

RONAN – Micalann McCrea 4 1-4 10, Regan Clairmont 2 1-2 7, Kianna Finley 3 0-0 7, Tiana Ulutoa 0 4-4 4, Madison Clairmont 2 0-2 4, Jaelynn Askan 2 0-0 4.

3FG: F1-9 (Ca.Bagnell), R4-17 (R.Clairmont 2-7, Mi.McCrea 1-3, Finley 1-2). R26reb (Mi.McCrea 6, M.Clairmont 6, Ma.McCrea 5, Shea Whiting 2, R.Clairmont, Ulutoa, Askan, Finley, Gabby Wirz, noID2). R11ast (Mi.McCrea 3, R.Clairmont 2, Ma.McCrea 2, Ulutoa, Askan, M.Clairmont, Wirz). R8stl (Mi.McCrea 4, Ulutoa 2, R.Clairmont, M.Clairmont). R1blk (Mi.McCrea). (Fr09Feb18)

F37r, F5a,F8s,F3b

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where alternative venue specs differ from media coverage and visitor data: (Williams 14p, Willett 12p, Delaney 4p, Hailey Arthur 4p) Frenchtown data agrees with media citings.

XO (26r,11a,8s,1b), iTs (19r,6a,7s,0b): Mi.McCrea (xo: 6r,3a,4s,1b / iTs 3r,2a,5s,0b), M.Clairmont (xo: 6r,1a,1s / iTs: 5r,1a,0s), Ma.McCrea (xo: 5r,2a / 3r,0a), R.Clairmont (xo: 2a / iTs: 0a), Ulutoa (xo: 1a,2s / 0a,1s), Askan (xo: 1r,1a / iTs: 2r,2a), Wirz (xo: 1r,1a / 0r,0a), Finley (xo: 1r / iTs 2r,1a), noID (2r). KEY: xo (Krossover), iTs (eyeTOUCHstats)