The Lady Falcons of Florence opened on the road with a couple of wins. They were at the Manhattan Tournament. They opened against Whitehall and came out playing tough defense. They allowed only two points in the first quarter and went on to win, 59-34. Freshman Megan Kowalski finished with 21 points for Florence. Megan Byrne added 15.
Florence 59, Whitehall 34
Florence – Megan Byrne 15, Nikki Schurg 10, Hailey Huot 2, Carli O’Brien 8, Megan Kowalski 21, Chloe Arthur 2, Margaret Finlay 1.
Whitehall – Simon 8, Larsen 1, Kopf 5, Pate 4, Welch 3, Shaw 10, Benner 3.
Next up for the Lady Falcons was Ennis. Once again, strong defense played a key role in the win. Florence held the Mustangs to only 16 points in the second half and went on to win, 55-39. Byrne finished with 14 points.
Florence 55, Ennis 39
Florence– Byrne 14, Huot 14, O’Brien 8, Kowalski 8, Arthur 7, Finlay 4.
Ennis – Frederickson 8, Martello 7, Coffman 6, Moen 6, McNally 5, Croy 4, Sitz 3.
Hamilton’s Taylor Goligoski poured in 26 points in their opening game against Whitefish. The Lady Broncs allowed only two points in the first half and cruised to a 62-14 win. Bri Huggans added 13 and Jaylee Albert had 10.
Hamilton 62, Whitefish 14
Hamilton– Taylor Goligoski 26, Brianna Huggins 13, Jaylee Albert 10, Sami Kratofil 6, Kali Hayes 4, Kloie Nye 3.
Whitefish – Schulz 6, Fyall 4, Drown 2, Larsen 2.
Hamilton’s next game was not as easy. They were up against the tough Columbia Falls WildKats. The Lady Broncs had a poor first half and only scored three points. They came back in the second half but it was not enough and fell, 48-34. Albert had 13 points to lead the team’s scoring.
Columbia Falls 48, Hamilton 34
Hamilton– Albert 13, Huggans 8, Goligoski 7, Ellie Hurlbert 2, Hayes 2, Kratofil 2.
Columbia Falls– Belgarde 10, Johnson 10, Kemppanien 9, Getts 6, Cydney Finberg 5, Ciera Finberg 4, Burlage 2, Bigmbel 2.
Corvallis, under new coach Zane Warnken, split their games, losing to Bigfork in the opening game but then picking up their first win over Whitefish. The Blue Devils got off to a slow start against Bigfork and were not able to come back. Corrine Sanderson led Corvallis with 14 points.
Bigfork 39, Corvallis 24
Bigfork – Coleman 3, McAnally 2, Berg 15, Spoklie 9, Robertson 8, Weilacker 2.
Corvallis – Jessica Lewis 4, Corrine Sanderson 14, Chelsi Clarke 6.
Saturday was a different story for the Blue Devils. They had a strong second quarter and that continued into the third quarter as they built up a 19-point lead and then cruised to a 42-21 win. Sanderson again had the hot hand and finished with 19 points.
Corvallis 42, Whitefish 21
Corvallis – Lewis 6, Sanderson 19, Clarke 4, Kayla Lewis 4, Doyle 2, Albright 7.
Whitefish – Schulz 3, Fyall 4, Nicholson 6, Drown 1, Craft 1, Peterson 4, Benbrook 2.
Stevensville ran into a tough Frenchtown team. Stevensville is redefining themselves after losing two top players, Alycia Sims and Bailey Vercruyssen to graduation. Frenchtown is picked to be one of the top teams in the state Class A this year. The Lady ‘Jackets couldn’t find their momentum and lost, 52-22. Kayla Peterson had 12 points to lead Stevi.
Frenchtown 52, Stevensville 22
Frenchtown– Stavish 3, Wickman 9, Hochhalter 9, Cyr 7, Blood 5, Moe 5, Shourds 2, Pyron 2.
Stevensville – Kayla Peterson 12, Daye Miller 4, Katie Malachinski 3, Carly Sebastian 3.
Stevensville bounced back to defeat Libby, 37-23, in their second game of the season. Balanced scoring by the team and consistent defense gave them the edge. Kayla Peterson had nine points to lead her team.
Stevensville 37, Libby 23
Stevensville– Malachinski 4, Carly Vercruyssen 4, Sebastian 6, Tvedt 8, Peterson 9, Maddie Boesch 6.
Libby –Oliver 4, Stevenson 3, Quinn 8, Germany 3, Gallagher 5
Darby began their season with a blowout over Bridger, winning 61-18. The Lady Tigers held Bridger to only two points in the first quarter and then cruised to the win. Siri Nojd finished with 19 points. Keeley Ehmann and Lauren Dolcater added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Darby 61, Bridger 18
Darby– Keeley Ehmann 13, Seanna Abrahamsen 2, Lacey Dolcater 4, Lauren Dolcater 12, Siri Nojd 19, Sydney Bergren 2, Sarai McCollaum 9.
Bridger – Gelfarth 3, Zentner 11, Cooke 8, Cummings 6.
Darby’s next game was against a tough Broadus team. The two teams battled but a strong fourth quarter by Broadus stopped Darby short of the win. Broadus won, 43-35. Sarai McCollaum led the Tigers’ scoring with 10 points.
Broadus 43, Darby 35
Darby–Ehmann 3, Abrahamsen 4, Lacey Dolcater 7, Lauren Dolcater 4, Nojd 7, McCollaum 10.
Broadus – Vies 6, Hansen 5, Riley 8, Gaskill 8, LaPlant 2, Price 10, Swenson 4.
Victor lost to a tough St. Regis team, 55-47. The Lady Pirates didn’t get going fast enough in the first quarter and then had to work to get out of the hole they had dug themselves into. Haley Tillotson had 15 points and Ryanne Tracy added 10.
St. Regis 55, Victor 47
St. Regis 1–Jones 24, Moeller 12, Hill 10, Cantrell-Field 7, Cheesman 2.
Victor – Haley Tillotson 15, Ryanne Tracy 10, Carly Jean Conley 6, Payton Tillotson 8, Skye Mitcham 4, Jamie Burdett 2.
Victor lost to Wallace, Idaho, in their second game at the St. Regis Tournament.