Hamilton’s Lady Broncs played a patient waiting game and utilized the clock to their advantage during their game against Dillon on Saturday. Rebecka Hood hit a three point shot to give Hamilton a two-point lead with 1:44 left in the game. Dillon’s Janet Moore tied the game with two free throws. Hamilton then took possession and ran the clock down. They missed a last second shot and sent the game into overtime. The Lady Broncs played tough defense and held Dillon to only two points in the extra minutes. They went on to win, 34-28.
“I thought we worked our tails off at one end and kind of floundered at the other,” said Hamilton coach Don Faris. “But then we found our rhythm in the second half and got back in it.”
After being tied at the end of the first quarter, Dillon sank a couple of quick baskets to give themselves a bit of an edge. Hamilton trailed by three at the end of the first half. Dillon came out strong in the third quarter and were up by as many as nine points before Hamilton found a chink in the Dillon zone and Taylor Goligoski and Mary Conwell connected with the basket. The freshman Goligoski was held to only four points. It was another freshman, Jaylee Albert who sank a long trey to give Hamilton the lead the first time midway through the third quarter. She finished with eight points.
“They play it (the zone defense) very well,” said Faris. “They are well coached and a very disciplined team. Once we realized that a little bit o patience would break it down, we started finding some success. You can’t attack it on the first three passes and think you’re going to get something.”
Faris went on to say he was pleased with the entire team’s play. He said that Kara Wetzsteon had a great game and played with an incredible amount of energy.
“All of those little things that will never show up in the stats, she was the one that, when we were down and out, she was the one that sparked us.”
Hamilton 34, Dillon 28 OT
Dillon – Moore 4, King 5, Parke 1, Hahnkamp 13, Schurg 4, Pendleton 1.
Hamilton – Meghan Kratofil 9, Mary Conwell 5, Taylor Goligoski 4, Rebecka Hood 5, Jaylee Albert 8, Kali Hayes 3.
The No. 3 ranked Lady Yellowjackets of Stevensville held on for a 36-30 non-conference win over Frenchtown. The game matched up two of the top players in the west against each other. Frenchtown’s Sarah Lester, who has signed to play basketball at Minot State in North Dakota next year, and Stevensville’s Alycia Sims, a junior, are normally the hot shooters for each team. Lester did lead her team with 10 points. Sims finished with eight points but the double-teaming on her opened up Kyla Paulsen who finished with 25 points, including seven treys.
Stevensville 36, Frenchtown 30
Stevensville – Baylee Bergman 2, Alycia Sims 8, Kyla Paulsen 25, Kayla Peterson 1.
Frenchtown – Indreland 2, Stavish 4, Blood 7, Oostdyk 3, Lester 10, Jacobs 4.
Corvallis fell to Polson, 57-45, on Thursday. Polson jumped out to an early lead and the Blue Devils just could not catch the Lady Pirates. Annie Jessop had 13 points to lead Corvallis. Corvallis fell to Butte Central, 75-48, in Butte on Saturday. Lakyn Connors had 15 points and Jessop added 10 more in the conference game.
Florence had a couple of tough games this week. They played archrival Loyola on Thursday. The Breakers broke out to an early lead and never looked back as they won, 64-38. Rosie O’Brien had 12 points to lead the Lady Falcons and Paige Bodner added seven more.
Saturday, the Bigfork Vals were the Lady Falcon’s opponents. Florence jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter but then the tables were turned in the second quarter with Bigfork outscoring Florence by 18 points. Bigfork went on to win, 58-45. Ava Kollman was Florence’s leading scorer with 11 points.
Victor had three games this week. They took on Arlee and lost, 53-39, on Thursday. Victor took an early lead but a two point third quarter proved to be their downfall. Skye Mitcham had 19 points to lead the Lady Pirates and Shai Scheffer added nine. The Blackhawks from Seeley-Swan came to town on Friday. Victor lost, 63-25. Scheffer and Haley Tillotson each had seven points for the Lady Pirates. Victor traveled to Philipsburg on Saturday. They defeated the Lady Prospectors, 43-38. Scheffer had 16 points and Ryanne Tracy added nine more in the win.
Darby split their games over the weekend. The Lady Tigers defeated Alberton, 47-36. Brianna Massey had career high 22 points in the game. The third quarter was the defining quarter for Darby as they held Alberton to only five points. Darby lost to Seeley-Swan, 72-33. Freshman Keely Ehmann had nine points for Darby and Lacey Dolcater added seven more.