by Scott Sacry
The Florence girls are headed to State. The Lady Falcons defeated St. Ignatius 53-43 on Saturday, February 24th in the consolation game of the Western B Divisionals in Pablo to earn the 3rd place trophy. The Class B State tournament is held in Billings March 7-9. The Western B qualifies three teams to state this year.
The Lady Falcons played four games over three days at Divisionals. In the first round they defeated Thompson Falls 68-47. Then in the semifinals they met their nemesis Missoula Loyola and lost 31-64. This sent them to the loser out bracket where they defeated Eureka 50-34 on Saturday morning. This win sent them to Saturday’s consolation game where they defeated St. Ignatius 53-43.
In the consolation game, the final score was closer than the actual game. Florence led 16-14 after the first quarter, then blanked the Lady Bulldogs 13-0 in the second quarter to lead 29-14 at halftime. After the break they kept up the pressure and led 42-22 entering the fourth quarter. St. Ignatius narrowed the gap to 10 late in the game, but Florence dominated throughout.
Florence is a young team with only one senior and two juniors, the rest are freshman and sophmores. To highlight Florence’s improvement over the year, in their first meeting with St. Ignatius in December Florence lost 36-43.
For Florence, Maggie Schneiter had a big game with 20 points, Emory Ralston had 14, Kenzy Pickering had 7, Taylor Pyette had 4, Madigan Hurlburt had 3, Olivia Coulter and Heidi Lambson each had 2, and Kendyl Meinhold added 1.
Florence 68, Thompson Falls 47
The Lady Falcons played Thompson Falls in their opening round game on Thursday, February 22nd. Florence jumped out to a 31-19 halftime lead and rolled to a 68-47 victory.
For Florence, Kenzy Pickering and Maggie Schneiter had big games with both scoring 19 points each, Kendyl Meinhold had 10, Emory Ralston had 6, and Olivia Coulter and Heidi Lambson each added 4.
Florence 31, Loyola 64
In the semifinal game, Florence faced top seeded Missoula Loyola and lost 31-64. Loyola has been a tough matchup for Florence this year, as this was their 3rd loss to them.
For Florence, Kenzy Pickering had 8, Taylor Pyette and Madigan Hurlburt each had 4, Olivia Coulter, Maggie Schneiter and Jaden Fisher each had 3, and Shelby Crocker, Kendyl Meinhold and Emory Ralston each added 2.
Florence 50, Eureka 34
The Loyola loss sent them to the loser out bracket where they played Eureka on Saturday morning. The Lady Falcons weren’t ready to go home and dominated the Lionesses and won 50-34.
For Florence, Kenzy Pickering had a big game with 17 points. Emory Ralston had 10, Maggie Schneiter had 9, Jaden Fisher had 5, Taylor Pyette, Kendyl Meinhold, Olivia Coulter and Heidi Lambson each had 2, and Madigan Hurlburt added 1.
Florence boys end season at Divisionals
The Florence boys lost two games and won one at the Western B Divisionals in Ronan on Feb. 22-24. In the first round they defeated Thompson Falls 59-54, which sent them to the semifinals where they lost to seemingly unbeatable Missoula Loyola 36-63. This sent them to the loser out bracket where they were defeated by Arlee 60-69, ending their season.
Florence 59, T-Falls 54
On Thursday, February 22, Florence faced Thompson Falls in their first round game. The Falcons sputtered out of the gates and trailed 24-29 at halftime but turned the jets on in the 3rd quarter and evened it up 43-43 going into the 4th quarter, then held on for the 59-54 hard fought victory.
For Florence, Tyler Abbott had a big game with 19 points. Trapper Oster was solid with 14, Brody Duchien had 13, Ethan Alexander had 6, Quintan Monaco had 3, and Jake Schneiter and Bridger Alexander each added 2.
Florence 36, Missoula Loyola 63
In their semifinal game on Friday, the Falcons faced Loyola for the third time this year. The state’s top ranked Class B school once again was too much for Florence and the Falcons lost 36-63. For Florence, Tyler Abbott led with 10 points, Bridger Alexander had 8, Trapper Oster had 6, Quintan Monaco and Jake Schneiter each had 5, and Mason Arlington and Preston Exstedt each added 1.
Florence 60, Arlee 69
Florence then played Arlee in a loser out game on Saturday morning. The Falcons fought hard throughout, but just ran out of steam in the end and fell 60-69. For Florence, Brody Duchien led the scoring with 16 points. Trapper Oster had 11, Tyler Abbott and Ethan Alexander each had 10, Bridger Alexander had 6, and Quintan Monaco added 2.