Lady Pirates return to action
Polson guard Kaivin Bad Bear rises for a layup in a crowd of Stevensville defenders. (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
The Lady Pirates' Mossy Kauley pulls in a rebound next to Kelti Wandler (4). (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
Turquoise Pierre gets some air while defending an inbound pass by Stevensville's Kennedy Praast. (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
Polson's Mossy Kauley drives the lane against Stevensville. (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
Polson's Megan Rost shoots a 3-pointer over Maliya LeCoure of Stevensville. (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
PABLO — The Polson girls basketball team finally returned to action Thursday night at Salish Kootenai College after sitting idle for two weeks and missing three games for a coronavirus-related hiatus.
The Lady Pirates hosted Stevensville in a home opener at the Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center with just a single game under their belts, a 60-25 loss at Hamilton on Jan. 7.
Senior Megan Rost scored nine points with four rebounds and four assists to lead Polson, but the Yellowjackets offense pulled away for a 63-32 victory.
The game was close in the beginning. Gianna Fyant hit a jumper to pull Polson to within 14-7 with a few minutes left in the first period. Then Stevi sophomore Claire Hutchinson hit back-to-back shots for an 18-7 Yellowjackets lead.
The Lady Pirates got a big boost from an Ali Hupka 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the period, but the celebration was short-lived as Stevensville’s Maliyah LeCoure countered with a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 21-10 lead going into the second.
The game slipped away from there as Polson managed just two additional points before half, when they trailed 34-12.
Jaivin Bad Bear scored seven points in the loss, while Grace Hobbs contributed four points and three steals. Turquoise Pierre nabbed five rebounds to go with two points, and Mossy Kauley pulled down seven rebounds for Polson.
Saturday against Whitefish (4-2) , the Lady Pirates struggled on offense, managing just six points in the first half of a 53-21 loss to the Lady Bulldogs.
Jazlyn Dalbey scored a team-high five points, while Rost and Kauley each scored four. Kauley also snagged four rebounds. Junior Arly Teaff added three points.
Whitefish’s Gracie Smyley led all scorers with 15 points, and they got 14 from Jadi Walburn as well.
The Lady Pirates (0-3) were set to host Dillon on Tuesday before road games at Ronan on Friday and Columbia Falls next Thursday.
