by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton girls basketball team hosted Corvallis on Tuesday. Hamilton’s relentless defense and efficient offense proved too much for Corvallis, and Hamilton cruised to a 44-28 victory.
Corvallis was able to handle Hamilton’s defensive pressure early on, but struggled as the game progressed. Hamilton led 14-5 after the first quarter and built a 23-5 lead halfway through the second. Corvallis rallied before halftime, going on an 8-2 run, to end the first half with a score of 25-14. Hamilton methodically increased their lead in the third quarter, leading 37-20 at the start of the fourth, and an uneventful fourth quarter ended with a Hamilton victory, 44-28.
Corvallis’s Madeline Gilder led all scorers with 14 points, despite tweaking her ankle early in the game. Tylin Sorenson added four points and Tahnee Lewis added three. For Hamilton, Taryn Searle had a great overall game and led the team with 13 points, Layne Kearns had 12, and Harley Hansen added 6.
The Corvallis girls traveled to Polson on Thursday and won a thriller in overtime, 62-56. Corvallis’s Madeline Gilder had a huge night with 32 points, Tylin Sorenson added 12, and Olivia Lewis chipped in seven.
The Lady Broncs went to Butte Central on Saturday and won an exciting contest, 58-54. It was a close matchup between top teams in the conference. The Lady Broncs were bolstered by clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to pull out the road victory.