by Scott Sacry
The Florence-Carlton boys defeated Missoula Loyola 57-40 on Saturday, Feb. 19th to claim the District 6B Championship. The game was close early, and Florence trailed 13-14 after the first quarter, but the Falcons’s defensive and offensive pressure proved too much for Loyola. Florence outscored them 32-17 in the second half and cruised to the win, trophy in hand. In a true team effort, Blake Shoupe led with 12 points, Levi Posey had 10, and Patrick Duchien added nine. Florence hosted Deer Lodge on Thursday, Feb. 17th in the semifinal game and won in a blowout, 70-40. The Falcons jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Levi Posey led with 13 points, and Caden Zaluski and Blake Shoupe added 11 each.
The Falcons play Thompson Falls in the first round of the Western B Divisional Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 24th at 3:00 p.m. in Ronan.
The Florence girls finished in second place in the 6B District Tournament, losing 34-53 to top-seeded Missoula Loyola on Saturday Feb. 19th in a hard-fought championship game. Florence fell behind 8-24 after the first quarter and 17-37 at half and were never able to mount a comeback. Kasidy Yeoman led Florence with 18 points, Josie Lewis added four, and Olivia Coulter and Trista Williams each had three. In the semifinal game on Friday, Florence visited No. 2 seed Anaconda. The two teams played the previous week with Anaconda winning, but Florence wouldn’t be denied in this game. They built a 40-27 halftime lead and won handily, 65-57. Kasidy Yeoman led with 24 points, Trista Williams had 15, and Kolbi Wood added 11. The Florence girls play St. Ignatius in the first round of the Western B Divisional Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 24th at 1:15 p.m. in Ronan. Florence defeated St. Ignatius, 68-47, when the two teams met on Feb. 3rd.
