Tip Off Tournaments abounded this weekend as the basketball season started off with a bang. Class A teams were in Whitefish and Columbia Falls where they took on Northwest A foes. Victor hosted Darby, Charlo and Superior for both varsity and junior varsity action. Florence traveled to Manhattan for a chance to play teams from the Southern B division.
The Hamilton girls got off to a great start, notching two wins behind the scoring of Taylor Goligoski. The freshman scored 26 points against Columbia Falls and then notched 25 points against Libby. Hamilton trailed Columbia Falls by three at the end of the first period but dropped in 22 points in the second quarter where they took the lead and cruised to a 56-35 win over the WildKats who went to the state tournament after winning the Northwest A tournament. Rebecka Hood had 17 points for the Lady Broncs in the game.
Hamilton 56, Columbia Falls 35
Hamilton – Rebecka Hood 17, Taylor Goligoski 26, Brianna Huggans 4, Mary Conwell 5, Meghan Kratofil 4.
Columbia Falls – Finberg 2, Tamburelli 3, Price 2, Jetty 4, Burlage 5, Sandefer 2, White 6, Getts 3, Belgarde 8.
Hamilton 51, Libby 34.
Hamilton – Goligoski 25, Kali Hayes 5, Jaylee Albert 5, Casey Shifflett 6, Huggans 6, Kratofil 4.
Libby – Stevenson 6, Gilder 4, England 5, Johnson 2, Klin 2, Craig 3, Moe 2, Quinn 4,Tangen 2, Germany 4.
Stevensville also picked up a couple of wins over their northern foes. They took on Bigfork in their first game. The ‘Lady Jackets jumped out to an early lead and then held off the charging Vals in the final stanza to take the 40-38 win. Alycia Sims had 16 points and Britney Chilcott added 11 points.
Stevensville 40, Bigfork 38
Stevensville – Bailey Vercruyssen 4, Alycia Sims 16, Kyla Paulsen 6, Britney Chilcott 11, Carly Sebastian 1, Shelby Engebretson 2.
Bigfork – Shults 4, Scoggins 7, Peck 12, VanDerveer 10, Robertson 1, Coleman 4.
Stevensville’s Baylee Bergman scored 16 points to lead the Lady Yellowjackets to a 54-39 win. Sims dropped in 14 points and Kyla Paulsen also had 14 points in the game.
Stevensville 9 16 21 8 – 54
C. Falls 10 14 9 6 – 39
Stevensville- Bergman 16, Carly Vercruyssen 2, Sebastian 4, Sims 14, Paulsen 14, Chilcott 4.
Columbia Falls – Finberg 3, Tamburelli 2, Jetty 4, Burlage 7, Sandefer 6, Getts 4, Belgarde 13.
Corvallis split their games at the Tip Off Tournament. The Blue Devils defeated Whitefish, 59-49, in their opening game. Sadi Henderson had 11 points and Annie Jessop and Lakyn Connors each added nine points. The Blue Devils came on strong in the second half for the win.
Corvallis 59, Whitefish 49
Corvallis – Sadi Henderson 11, Annie Jessop 9, Lakyn Connors 9, Jessica Lewis 6, Becky Montgomery 1, Sydonia Curtis 2, Kayla Lewis 5, Courtney Albright 6, Jordan Miller 3, Carlie Jessop 5, Marissa Powell 2.
Whitefish – Silliker 3, Havens 8, Millard 1, Brewer 20, Craft 14, Craft 3.
The second game for Corvallis didn’t go quite as well. They played a loaded Frenchtown team. Frenchtown won, 72-28.
Frenchtown 72, Corvallis 28
Corvallis – Henderson 4, A. Jessop 2, Connors 8, Curtis 4, Lewis 2, Miller 6, C. Jessop 2.
Frenchtown – Indreland 6, Stavish 8, Blood 4, Lowry 14, Oostdyk 11, Jacobs 3, Lester 22, Ray 2, Berg 2.
Florence took on Class C Ennis in their opening game. Although the Lady Falcons had the lead at the end of the first half, a 23-point surge by Ennis gave them the momentum and the 71-65 win. Rosie O’Brien had 12 points to pace the lady Falcons and Ava Kollman added 11 points.
Ennis 71, Florence 65
Florence – Megan Byrne 4, Cassandra Skeers 6, Courtney Byrne 5, Paige Bodner 5, Jill Harris 2, Ava Kollman 11, Cody Miller 4, Carli O’Brien 4, Kyndal Hoff 12, Rosie O’Brien 12.
Ennis – Barney 11, McKitrick 1, Durham 11, Schubarker 2, Martello 4, Sullivan 26, Konen 13, Nestegard 2, Owens 1.
Florence rallied on Saturday and defeated Whitehall, 79-23. O’Brien had 22 points to lead the team. Cody Miller and Courtney Byrne each added 13 points.
Florence 79, Whitehall 23.
Florence – R. O’Brien 22, Jill Harris 8, Cody Miller 13, C. Byrne 13, C. O’Brien 3, Hoff 3, Skeers 2, Kollman 3, M. Byrne 9.
Whitehall – Larsen 8, Johnson 8, Shaw 5, Volz 2.
Victor is in a rebuilding year according to first year coach Drew Lewis. His young team had to battle two experienced teams, Charlo and Superior. Superior rolled over Victor, 57-12. Shai Scheffer and Ryanne Trace each had four points for Victor. On Saturday, Charlo defeated the Lady Pirates, 57-20. Tracy had six points to lead her team.
Charlo defeated Darby, 58-16, in the Lady Tiger’s opening game. Lauren Dolcater had eight points to lead Darby’s scoring. Superior kept on rolling on Saturday and defeated Darby, 82-44. Brianna Massey had 14 points to lead the Lady Tigers and Lacey Dolcater added 12 points.