Lady Pirates fall to Ronan in rivalry wrangle

At the Ronan Events Center, the visiting Lady Pirates had aspired to put their best game of the season on the hardwood against the host Maidens in their second round of the rez roundball rivalry wrangle. They were looking forward to the encounter. The venue itself seemed hospitable enough, “Welcome to R House.”

But once the game got underway, the best laid plans of mice and Lady Pirates went astray. The Maiden press created turnovers that were turned into transition points. Out of 18 first-half shots from the floor, only one would find net in the first half for Polson. By the time intermission put the game on pause, the Maidens led by 30 at the half.

Ronan placed a trio in double figures, led by 13 from Tiana Ulutoa and 10n apiece from Regan Clairmont and Jaylea Lunceford, the latter who also turned in a double-double with 10 boards.

Polson will have already played at Columbia Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 29 then travel to Hamilton on Friday, followed by a doubleheader at home (SKC gym) against Browning on Saturday.

Ronan 55, Polson 13

Ronan (3-5, 6-8), Polson (0-7, 0-13)

Polson 2 3 6 2 – 13

Ronan 13 22 14 6 – 55

POLSON – Mossy Kauley 2 2-5 6, Megan Rost 1 0-0 2(2r,2s), Olivia Perez 1 0-3 2(1r,1s), Misty Tenas 0 1-4 1(1r), Karly Lawson 0 1-2 1(4r), Berkley Ellis 0 1-5 1(2r,1a,1s), Lisa Costilla 0 0-2 0(1r,2s), Mahala Buffalo (2r,1s).

RONAN – Tiana Ulutoa 5 2-2 13(3r,1a,3s), Regan Clairmont 4 0-0 10(3r,1s), Jaylea Lunceford 4 2-3 10(10r,2a,2s), Madison Clairmont 2 0-0 4(4r,6a,1s) Madeline McCrea 2 0-0 4(8r), Kieauna DeRoche 1 2-2 4(2r), Jaeleigh Gatch 2(1r,2a,4s), Lexi Wirz 2(1r,1s), Analeta YellowBird 2(1r), Madison Miller 2(3r), Aislyn Baker 1(2r,3a,3s), Lareina Cordova 1(2r,1s), Ari Burke (1r,1s), Macao Jackson (1s).

3FGs – P0-5 (), R3-14 (R.Clairmont 2-4, Ulutoa 1-4). (Fr25Jan19)

Stat specs derived from informal JH tally. Krossover breakdown variants: Ulutoa 5r6s, M.Clairmont 3r, DeRoche 2s, McCrea 1s.

Polson 43, Ronan 10 (Tu24Jan2012); Polson 49, Ronan 14 (Fr04Feb2011).

Maidens split conference slate

At the Ronan Events Center last Tuesday, the visiting WildKats from Columbia Falls dictated the tempo of this conference contest from the onset, building a double-figure mid-teen lead by the half, then expanded the margin over the course of the second half.

The game was a direct contrast from the last time these two teams met at Columbia Falls, when the Maidens carved out a 16-4 lead with two minutes remaining in the second frame before a late Kat surge cut the deficit to a half dozen before intermission.

This time around, the Kats skipped the kitten mitten phase by extending their claws from the onset as they carved out an early lead.

Jaylea Lunceford was the only Maiden to delve into double figures, turning in a double-double that included 11 rebounds.

Last Friday, the Maiden prevailed over visiting Lady Pirates from Polson for their third conference win (see Polson).

The Maidens will have already played host to visiting Whitefish on Tuesday, Jan. 29 then travel to face the 7B Bigfork Valkyries on Thursday.

Columbia Falls 70, Ronan 33

Ronan (2-5, 5-8), C-Falls (5-1, 12-1)

C-Falls 16 18 19 17 – 70

Ronan 8 10 11 4 – 33

COLUMBIA FALLS – Ryley Kehr 23(14r,6a,4s), Josie Windauer 14, Trista Cowan 10(9r,5s), Savvy Ellis 7, Maddie Robison 6, Lakia Hill 3, Madysen Hoerner 2, Lauren Falkner 2, Grace Gedlaman 2, Graceanne Sevesind 1.

RONAN – Jaylea Lunceford 8 0-0 16(11r,1a,3s), Tiana Ulutoa 2 0-2 4(3r,2a,2s), Jaeleigh Gatch 2 0-0 4(2r,1a,1s), Regan Clairmont 3(1r,2a,2s), Aislyn Baker 3(1r,3a,1s) Madeline McCrea 2(3r,2a), Ari Burke 0 1-2 1(1r), Madison Clairmont 0 0-4 0(5r,1b), Analeta YellowBird (1r,2s), Macao Jackson (1s).

3FGs – CF6-16 (Kehr 3-7, Ellis 1-1, Robison 1-3, Hill 1-4), R2-19 (Baker 1-3, R.Clairmont 1-4). (Tu22Jan19)