by Scott Sacry
The high school basketball season in the Bitterroot is upon us. Its duration will take us from the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring, as the first games began on December 1st and State Champions will be crowned on March 9th. All told, there are 12 boys and girls varsity basketball teams in the valley, all striving for that same goal.
The Class A boys and girls basketball teams from Stevensville, Corvallis, and Hamilton will be in Frenchtown for the Class A Tip Off Tournament on Friday, Dec. 8th and Saturday, Dec. 9th.
13/14C Tip Off Tournament
Class C basketball for the valley schools began in Hamilton on Friday, Dec. 1st and Saturday, Dec. 2nd at the Class C 13/14C Tip Off Tournament in Hamilton. The boys and girls teams from Darby and Victor participated.
The Darby girls defeated Two Eagle River 49-42 on Friday, Dec. 1st. Georgia Fisher led with 17 points, Sierra Reed and Hadley Heiland each had 9, and Natalie Anderson and Paige O’donald each had 6. Then, on Saturday, Darby beat Noxon 53-10. Georgia Fisher had 15 points, Hadley Heiland scored 14, Kimmie Berry had 12, Sierra Reed added 10.
The Darby boys defeated Alberton 55-23 on Friday, Dec 1st. Jordan Browning, Leif Nelson, and McCoy Townsend each scored 10 points, Ben Martin had 7, and Payton Ehmann added 5.
On Saturday they lost 21-62 to Two Eagle River.
The Victor boys lost 34-49 to Hot Springs on Friday, Dec. 1st. Then on Saturday, they defeated Superior 31-29. Russell Drewien led with 9 points, Josiah Berk had 8, Jace Martin had 5, and Henrique Nunes added 4.
The Victor girls played Superior on Saturday, Dec. 2nd and lost 13-45
Florence
The Florence basketball teams opened the season by hosting Thompson Falls on Saturday, Dec. 2nd, and the Falcon boys defeated the Blue Hawks 72-45. Tyler Abbott led the way with 20 points, Trapper Oster added 18, Brody Duchien had 15, Quintan Monaco had 6, and Bridger Alexander had 5.
The Florence girls also won, defeating Thompson Falls 45-35. Kenzy Pickering led with 13 points, Olivia Coulter had 9, Maggie Schneiter, Emory Ralston, and Taylor Pyette each added 6.