Lady Pirates look to continue momentum
Polson's Julia Barnard, who returns to the Lady Pirates as a senior, goes up for two points against Browning during last winter's Class A Divisional Tourney in Ronan. (Bob Gunderson photo)
Polson girls' basketball went from the Northwest A cellar to third place in the conference standing in the first year under Lady Pirates Head Coach Brandie Buckless, going 12-10.
"Last year, we surpassed everyone's expectations," Buckless said. "I'm expecting that we will continue to build on the momentum that was started last year."
The Lady Pirates lost quite a few seniors from 2022-23 but have a young team with energy and excitement.
"I think our strengths will be our speed and shooting ability," Buckless said.
Polson will return starter and 2nd team all-conference senior guard Julia Barnard. McKenna Hanson will also be back on the court after sitting out last year with a torn ACL.
"We're very excited to welcome her back, and she adds some much-needed height to our roster," Buckless said.
Samantha Rensvold played substantial minutes as a junior. She will be back as a senior, while sophomore Natalie Adams made a significant impact for the Lady Pirates towards the end of the season and brings experience and confidence to the roster in her junior year.
"We have a great freshman class coming into the program this year and expect a few of them to play a pretty significant immediate role," Buckless said. "Rylee Taylor-Jefferson is an incoming freshman who is a great defender and quick shooter that adds depth to our point guard position. Aleysia Black is also a freshman who we expect to play some big minutes for us this year."
With the addition of girls' basketball power, Bigfork, the Northwest A will get more competitive since the Lady Valkyries returned a big core of last year's squad.
"We expect it to be tough but hope that we can compete and peak at the right moment towards the end of the season," Buckless said.