by Scott Sacry
The Florence and Stevensville basketball teams met on Saturday, January 27th. The girls game was in Florence while the boys game was in Stevensville.
In the boys game, Florence won 71-54. The Florence boys are a skilled, athletic and competitive group. Brody Duchien had a solid game with 19 points, Jake Schneiter had 14, Bridger Alexander had 12, Trapper Oster had 11, Arlington Mason had 9, Quintan Monaco had 5, and Levi Winters added 2.
Although it was a loss for Stevensville, the young Stevi squad continued to improve and played one of their best games of the year. For reference, Florence defeated Stevensville by 34 points on Jan. 2nd. Then in this game, with a minute left in the 3rd quarter, the ‘Jackets trailed 42-45, and for a second it felt like they might get their first win. But in the end Florence proved too much for the ‘Jackets and the Falcons pulled away in the 4th quarter.
For Stevensville, Kaden Wyant led the scoring with 15 points, Kaeden Gum had 14, Jake Gavlak had 12, Easton Hollis had 8, David Djokic had 3, and Gage Bierer had 2.
In the girls game, Florence came out on fire and led 30-8 at halftime. Stevensville was strong after halftime, outscoring Florence 11-2 in the third quarter, but the Lady Falcons steadied the ship in the 4th to earn the 45-31 victory.
For Florence, Kenzy Pickering led the scoring with 15 points, Jaden Fisher and Kendyl Meinhold each had 8, Maggie Schneiter had 6, Heidi Lambson and Taylor Pyette each had 3, and Emory Ralston added 2.
Florence Roundup
On Friday, Jan. 26th, the Florence boys and girls hosted Anaconda.
In the boys game, Florence had their hands full with the #9 (406mtsports.com) Copperheads. The Falcons led 14-8 after one quarter, but were unable to keep the lead and fell 42-53. For Florence, Bridger Alexander led the way with 10 points, Trapper Oster and Brody Duchien each had 8, Jake Schneiter and Caleb Katen each had 5, and Tyler Abbott and Quintan Monaco each added 3.
In the girls game, the Lady Falcons fell just short of upsetting the undefeated #3 ranked Lady Copperheads. Like the boys game, the girls also led 14-8 after one quarter and were unable to keep their lead, and with just under three minutes left in the game Florence trailed 28-40. Florence then finished the game on an 11-1 run to pull within two points, but their comeback bid fell short and they lost 39-41.
For Florence, Kendyl Meinhold led with 14 points, Kenzy Pickering had 11, Jaden Fisher had 4, Emory Ralston and Olivia Coulter each had 3, and Maggie Schneiter and Madigan Hurlburt each added 2.
Stevensville Roundup
On Thursday, Jan. 25th, the Stevensville girls went to Butte Central to face the Lady Maroons. Stevensville looked poised to get their first win of the season, as they led 18-12 at halftime. But their lead dwindled and the score was tied 27-27 going into the fourth quarter. In the 4th they fell behind and lost 36-40. For Stevensville, Cheyenne Sannar led the way with 9 points, Addi Drye had 8, Shilo McLain Lampi and Holly St. Germain each had 7, Haylie Tolley had 3, and Alexia Perez added 2.
On Thursday, Jan. 25th, Stevensville boys hosted #2 (406mtsports.com) Butte Central and lost 47-90. Despite the score, there were some bright spots for the scrappy Stevi team as they had one of their higher point totals of the year. To highlight the improvement, Stevensville scored 20 points in the second quarter of this game, while in their game with Butte Central on Jan. 6th they scored 19 points in the whole game.
For Stevensville, Kaden Wyant had a solid game with 16 points, Jake Gavlak had 11, Kaeden Gum had 10, Easton Hollis had 7, and Treyton Patzer added 3.