The Lady Broncs of Hamilton earned their second divisional title in as many years on Saturday night with a 55-47 win over the Lady Beavs of Dillon. They will play this weekend at the Class A state tournament which is being held right here in Hamilton. Hamilton will play Frenchtown at 6:30 Thursday night. The state tournament has been a destination for this Lady Bronc team since their freshman year. Last year they finished second after losing to Havre. Hamilton’s only state title was in 1984 when they defeated Billings Central.
Dillon came out with an aggressive game plan and took an early lead and then continued the pressure throughout the first half. Hamilton was having trouble defending their ace shooter, Cierra Lamey, who had 10 of her 17 points in the first half. Hamilton, on the other hand, only sank seven field goals in the first half and trailed by 12 points at the break.
Hamilton had already secured a state berth because Butte Central had won the consolation game and could not challenge Hamilton. Butte Central could, however, challenge Dillon if they lost. Albert figured Dillon would come out a little tight and was surprised they were as fired up as they were in the first half.
“They (Dillon) came out and they were fired up, but a lot was on the line,” he said. “I told my kids, they were better. And I jumped our kids. They block out better, they execute better.”
At the half, Albert took the advice of his assistant coach, John Walker, and made a defensive adjustment. “It was fantastic. It took them out of their rhythm and allowed us to get into one.”
A steal by Bri Huggans, a short jumper by Hayes, two free throws by Goligoski and a high, arcing shot by Jaylee Albert got the Lady Broncs on track and pulled them within five points of the lead.
“He told us we really needed to pick up the intensity on defense if we wanted to win,” said Goligoski.
The Lady Broncs continued to push on offense and another high trey from Jaylee Albert and two free throws from Hayes had Hamilton within one point. Hamilton took the lead with five and a half minutes remaining in the game when Goligoski hit a trey. Dillon regained the lead when Rachael Nye hit two free throws. But then Goligoski and Jaylee Albert got going. The duo hit six free throws in the last three minutes to push Hamilton. Hamilton’s defense limited the Dillon scoring to only 11 points and Hamilton went on to win, 55-47.
“It’s amazing,” said Jaylee Albert, of the win. “It gives us one more week. We showed so much heart out there, and hustle. You’re never out of a game, especially with our team when we can shoot like we can. Teammates have each other’s backs, that’s what we do. We set ourselves up pretty well for next week.”
Hamilton 55, Dillon 47
Hamilton – Taylor Goligoski 22, Ellie Hurlbert 2, Jaylee Albert 18, Kali Hayes 9, Carlie Jessop, 2, Brianna Huggans 2.
Dillon – Jordan Peterson 2, Alex Rouse 8, Holly Anderson 2, Audrey Schurg 10, Rachael Nye 5, Cierra Lamey 17, Brynley Fitzgerald 3.
Hamilton and Stevensville girls opened up their tournament play against each other. The Lady Broncs took an early lead but the Lady ‘Jackets played right with them in the first quarter. Stevensville hit their shots early and pushed the Lady Broncs but then Hamilton tightened their defense and started increasing the lead. Stevensville had several small victories, winning possessions and completing shots but just not enough to overcome the Lady Broncs. In the second half, it was all Hamilton as they held the Lady ‘Jackets to only six points. Payton Tillotson and Carly Vercruyssen each had 10 points to lead Stevensville. Taylor Goligoski finished with 17 points to pace Hamilton.
Hamilton 55, Stevensville 30
Stevensville – Mariah Hinson 3, Carly Vercruyssen 10, Carly Sebastian 5, Payton Tillotson 10, Maddie Boesch 2.
Hamilton – McKayl Rothie 6, Goligoski 17, Hurlbert 2, Albert 8, Kloie Nye 5, Hayes 13, Jessop 3, Breann Duce 1.
The win over Stevensville put Hamilton into the semi finals where they matched up against the young but talented Butte Central Lady Maroons. Butte Central came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Hamilton jumped out to an early lead but the Lady Maroons came back to push the Lady Broncs. It wasn’t pretty for either team with both teams scrambling for the ball and spending a lot of time on the floor. However Hamilton moved the ball around well to set up open shots. By the end of the first half, Hamilton held a six-point lead.
But the feisty Lady Maroons were not done. Midway through the third quarter, freshman Kloie Thatcher sank a long trey to pull Butte Central within one point of the Lady Broncs. But Goligoski answered with a duck and dodge into the basket for the lay up. That was the scene throughout the third quarter. For almost every basket Butte Central made, Hamilton had an answering basket. It was not only Goligoski but all of the team who stepped up to make plays and baskets according to Hamilton coach Mark Albert. He said Goligoski was frustrated with the box in one defense that Butte Central was running on her.
“She handled it really well but other kids stepped up. We wanted to make other kids beat us. And we had some really nice bench contributions tonight but we did what we needed to do.”
The Lady Maroons continued to push the Lady Broncs in the fourth quarter and that resulted in a lot of fouling and free throws for Hamilton. Goligoski, who finished with 27 points, dropped in 19 points in the second half alone and shot seven free throws. Hamilton went to the line 29 times and sank 19 of those. They went on to win, 66-58.
Hamilton 66, Butte Central 58
Hamilton – Rothie 3, Goligoski 27, Hurlbert 1, Albert 16, Hayes 10, Jessop 3, Huggans 6.
Butte Central –Thatcher 15, Peoples 12, Pica 12, St. John 16, Hjelt 1, Trudnowski 2.
After losing to Hamilton, Stevensville had a bye and then played Corvallis on Saturday morning. The Lady ‘Jackets came out on fire and built up a 15 point lead by the half. Corvallis struggled on the inside while Stevensville was hitting their shots. Corvallis came back in the four quarter to score 22 points but it wasn’t enough as Stevensville won, 58-47.
“They’ve been doing a lot of things right all season,” said Stevensville coach Joe Nisly. “And then this morning, the shots they’ve been shooting finally went in.”
Carly Sebastian had 22 points to lead Stevensville. Corvallis’ Corinne Sanderson had 15.
Stevensville 58, Corvallis 47
Corvallis – Taia Tully 4, Jane Booth 9, Corinne Sanderson 15, Penny Jessop 10, Sydonia Curtis 4, Kira Doyle 2, Tayler Wright 1.
Stevensville – Mariah Hinson 3, Carly Vercruyssen 12, Carly Sebastian 22, Makayla Davids 8, Payton Tillotson 2, Maddie Boesch 3.
The win gave Stevensville, who finished last in the regular season, a chance to play for third against Butte Central. The Lady ‘Jackets had expended most of their energy in the morning and didn’t have the legs for this game just five hours later. Butte Central won, 36-14.
“Tonight, they were tired,” concluded Nisly.
Corvallis’ presence in the middle proved to be the difference for the Lady Blue Devils first game of the Southwest A tournament on Thursday. Corvallis, the No. 4 seed, was up against Anaconda, the No. 5 seed. Corvallis was the taller team and used that to their advantage, pulling down 49 rebounds while Anaconda only had 26 rebounds. Jane Booth, at 6’2”, controlled the middle. She had 13 rebounds alone. Corvallis won, 43-20.
The Blue Devils played with confidence and moved the ball around well, looking for the open shot. Anaconda had to concentrate on Booth and Jessop under the basket and that opened up the perimeter and Corinne Sanderson. Sanderson was three for three from beyond the three-point line. She finished with 19 points. Corvallis held the Copperheads to only two points in the third quarter and cruised to the win, and the semi finals.
“Anaconda is a tough team to play,” said Corvallis coach Andy Knapp. “They didn’t shoot the ball well today. I don’t know that we did anything differently.”
Corvallis 43, Anaconda 20
Anaconda – Jorgensen 5, Jo Johnson 4, Knadler 4, Baustadt 4, Moodry 3.
Corvallis – Sanderson 19, Tully 5, Jessop 5, Weishaar 4, Stoker 3, Curtis 3, Booth 2, Wright 2.
Corvallis then came up against Dillon in the semi finals on Friday. The Blue Devils only scored three points in the first quarter and were unable to find a key to stop the Dillon offense. Sanderson scored 10 points in the first half and another 10 in the second to lead all scorers. Dillon won, 56-36.
Dillon 56, Corvallis 36
Dillon – Peterson 2, Rouse 6, Christianson 2, Andersen 3, Schurg 7, Nye 10, Lamey 14, Fitzgerald 10, Lovaas 2.
Corvallis –Tully 7, Sanderson 20, Jessop 1, Doyle 3, Weishaar 3, Wright 2.