Hamilton may have come into the tournament as the defending state champion but that didn’t mean that this team had that much experience. Only one player, Kloie Nye, on this year’s team saw much playing time last year. The other five had very limited varsity, let alone tournament, experience. So a Saturday morning, loser out experience was new to the Lady Broncs. They played Dillon for a chance to advance to the state tournament. Dillon had not advanced since 2012.
The Beavs had played the late game against Columbia Falls and lost, 51-45. However Dillon was focused and executed their game plan on Saturday morning. Brynley Fitzgerald quickly sank two shots and even though Nye sank a trey in between the two shots, Hamilton could not keep up in the low scoring first half. Nye, who had been spot on from long range in the previous games, couldn’t find the range on Saturday morning. Reilly Rostad stepped up her game and played tough even though she picked up her third foul early in the third quarter. Rostad finished with 12 points, and fellow senior Jordan Bauder finished with eight points.
“The kids played with a lot of heart,” said coach Mark Albert. “They never quit. We came in here with a number five seed and that’s how we finished. There are clearly four teams that are better.”
Dillon 52, Hamilton 41
Hamilton – Kloie Nye 6, Reilly Rostad 12, Caitlin Gillespie 5, Jordan Bauder 8, Tristan Searle 1, Breann Duce 6, Mallory McGill 2, Rachel Ringer 1.
Hamilton advanced to the Saturday morning game after topping Polson on Friday afternoon. Polson lost to Butte Central, 58-24, on Thursday. The Lady Pirates defeated Stevensville on Wednesday so this was their third game of the week.
Hamilton went to a press defense against Polson that held their top two players, Nichole Lake and Lauren Lefthand to nine points apiece. Hamilton took the lead when Nye hit a long trey and although Polson made one more run, the Lady Broncs were in the driver’s seat. They came out and scored 23 points in the second quarter and went on to win, 62-35.
With the momentum going Hamilton’s way, Albert made the unusual decision to keep his team on the court for half time. The team sat on their bench and watched the cheerleaders perform, and looked relaxed.
“It’s a momentum thing,” said Albert. “I’ve felt like if we went in there (the locker room) I felt we were going to lose that. It was an instinct thing, stay in the atmosphere. We’ve had trouble with that third quarter all year. It’s a little quirky but we’re a little quirky.”
The strategy worked. Hamilton kept their scoring going and went on to win, 62-35.
Hamilton 62, Polson 35 (loser out)
Hamilton – Ba. Duce 4, Kl. Nye 12, Rostad 11, Gillespie 4, Bauder 9, Searle 11, Ka. Nye 1, McGill 2, Rocheleau 2, Ringer 6
Polson – Congdon 6, Lefthand 9, Clarke 4, Lake 9, Weltz 2, Smith 4, Fisher 1.
Hamilton opened against Frenchtown in a battle of the Broncs. The two teams played close the first quarter but then Frenchtown’s defense stifled Hamilton in the second quarter, holding them to only one point. Hamilton only shot 9 for 23 field goals and could not find an answer for the Frenchtown defense. Hamilton fell, 42-26.
Frenchtown 42, Hamilton 26
Frenchtown –Delaney 5, Williams 10, Willet 8, Moe 5, Hinrichs 12, Statelen 2.
Hamilton – Ba. Duce 1, Ringer 3, Gillespie 3, Br. Duce 8, Kl. Nye 8, Gillespie 3.
The Corvallis girls proved that it really doesn’t matter what the score is, until the end of the game. In Friday afternoon’s loser out game against Whitefish and 4.7 seconds remaining in the game, Corinne Sanderson stepped up to the free throw line. The game was tied at 35 all and it was looking like overtime. Sanderson calmly sank the first and the second free throws and Corvallis took the lead for the first time in the game. A desperate shot by Whitefish fell short and Corvallis moved on with a 37-35 win.
“When it counts, the girls did what they had to do,” said Corvallis coach Andy Knapp. “They didn’t give up.”
Knapp said he knew Whitefish would be tough, as they had improved throughout the season. But it was Corinne Sanderson and Taia Tully who led the Blue Devils. “Taia stepped up and played some good defense on a very talented (Dani) Douglas. And Corinne didn’t step up, it’s what she does every game.”
Corvallis 37, Whitefish 35
Whitefish –Douglas 5, Schulz 4, Schulz 11, Nicholson 5, Ross 10.
Corvallis – Taia Tully 8, Corinne Sanderson 14, Penny Jessop 6, Genesis Keith 1, Calla Haldorson 5, Tayler Wright 3.
With the win over Whitefish, the Blue Devils made it to Saturday morning. The Blue Devils took on Frenchtown in the loser out action and came out swinging. By the end of the first quarter, the Blue Devils had a 10-point lead but once again, the Frenchtown defense stepped up and closed the gap. The two battled throughout the second half however the difference came down to Frenchtown holding Corvallis to only two points in the final frame. They won, 37-34. Kira Doyle came back from a scoreless game the day before to score 10 points to lead Corvallis and Sanderson had eight points.
Corvallis’ first game was against the Columbia Falls WildKats, the No. 1 seed from the Northwest. The WildKats came into the tournament with only one loss in the season but in their last game of the regular season, it was Corvallis that gave them a run for their money. Columbia Falls didn’t want a repeat of that performance while Corvallis was hoping to repeat that. Columbia Falls came out shooting and went on a run. Corvallis couldn’t find their range in the Civic Center and lost, 67-39. Sanderson dropped in 15 points and freshman Calla Haldorson added 11.
Stevensville opened against Polson Wednesday night. The Lady Yellowjackets got off to a slow start and never really recovered. They lost to Polson, 42-31. Mariah Hinson led the Lady ‘Jackets with 11 points. Makayla Davids added seven, Megan Pendergast had five; Ashlynn Harrington and Deanna Blair each had three points and Angel Richards finished with two points.
Stevensville then had to play Whitefish in loser out action Thursday evening. Although the first half was close, Whitefish pulled away to win, 42-35. Hinson led with nine points. She was followed by Davids with eight, Blair and Payton Tillotson each with seven, Richards with three and Harrington with one point.