by Scott Sacry
The Florence boys and girls basketball teams came home with matching 3rd place trophies from the District 6B tournament in Deer Lodge on February 15-17. Both teams qualified for the Western B Divisionals, which are in Pablo February 22-24. In Divisionals, the Florence girls play Thompson Falls on Thursday at 8:15 p.m., and, to make things symmetrical, the Florence boys also play Thompson Falls on Thursday, but at 9:45 a.m.
Florence Boys
The Florence boys took 3rd in the 6B District tournament in Deer Lodge by upsetting Arlee in the consolation game on Saturday, Feb. 17th. Coming into districts, Arlee was Class B’s 6th ranked team (406mtsports.com) and had beaten the Falcons in both regular season games by double digits.
But the Falcons were clutch in this game. After a back and forth first half, Florence ended the third quarter on a runner and led 56-42 going into the 4th quarter. Arlee struck back with a 15-2 run to start the final frame and Florence’s lead was cut to 58-57 with just over three minutes left in the game. But the Falcons settled down and controlled the game down the stretch to get the satisfying 68-60 victory and the 3rd place trophy.
In their first round game at Districts, Florence flew past Deer Lodge on Thursday. After a mostly even first quarter, Florence exploded in the second, outscoring Deer Lodge 28-12 to take a 47-26 halftime lead. They kept their foot on the gas in the second half and won 80-46.
Florence had a true team performance with eight players scoring. Brody Duchien continued his strong play and led with 16 points. Trapper Oster had 11, Quintan Monaco had 10, Tyler Abbott, Bridger Alexander and Jake Schneiter each had 9, Ethan Alexander and Kade Anderson added 8.
This sent them to the semi-finals where they played the state’s #1 ranked Class B team (406mtsports.com) Missoula Loyola on Friday afternoon and lost 31-84. Loyola is one of the best boys basketball teams in the state and are the favorite to win state. While Florence didn’t play their best in this game, in all honesty, Loyola is going to be tough for anyone to beat this year. For reference, they beat Anaconda in the district championship game by 48 points.
With this loss, Florence went to the loser out bracket where they faced their Bitterroot neighbor Darby on Saturday morning. Florence wasted no time and jumped out to a 49-26 halftime lead and cruised to an 80-50 victory.
For Florence, Tyler Abbott led the scoring with 16 points. Trapper Oster had 13, Ethan Alexander had 12, Quintan Monaco had 10, Jake Schneiter and Kade Anderson each had 6, Mose Smith had 5, Bridger Alexander had 4, Wes Potter and Brody Duchien each had 3, and Preston Exstedt added 2.
This win sent them to the consolation game where they defeated Arlee on Saturday afternoon for the 3rd place trophy.
Florence Girls
The Florence girls finished 3rd in the 6B District tournament in Deer Lodge by easily defeating Deer Lodge in the consolation game on Saturday, February 17th. Florence raced out to a 29-11 halftime lead and soared to the 49-24 victory. Florence’s Taylor Pyette led with 9 points. Maggie Schneiter had 7, Emory Ralston and Kenzy Pickering each had 6, Kendyl Meinhold had 5, Shelby Crocker had 4, Alyx Monaco and Taryn Appelhans each had 3, and Lexi Danczyk, Jaden Fisher and Madigan Hurlburt each added 2.
Florence played Arlee in their first game of Districts on Thursday. The Lady Falcons overpowered the Scarlets and won 82-22. Florence was up 30-7 after one quarter, so they were able to rest their starters and get the bench players some gametime.
Kenzy Pickering, Lexi Danczyk and Madigan Hurlburt led the scoring with 10 points each. Maggie Schneiter had 9, Emory Ralston had 8, Kendyl Meinhold, Shelby Crocker and Jaden Fisher each had 7, Taryn Appelhans and Alyx Monaco had 4, and Olivia Coulter and Taylor Pyette each added 3.
This win sent them to the semi-finals where they faced Anaconda and lost 38-47. This was a close, competitive game but Florence just couldn’t put it all together against the #7 (406mtsports.com) Lady Copperheads.
For Florence, Maggie Schneiter led the scoring with 16 points. Olivia Coulter and Kenzy Pickering each had 6, Kendyl Meinhold had 5, Madigan Hurlburt had 3, and Emory Ralston added 2.
This loss sent them to the loser-out bracket where, much like the Florence boys, they met their Bitterroot Valley neighbor Darby on Saturday morning. And also like the boys, the Lady Falcons dominated the Lady Tigers, winning 63-20.
For Florence, Kendyl Meinhold led the way with 14 points. Emory Ralston had 10, Kenzy Pickering had 8, Maggie Schneiter, Taylor Pyette and Jaden Fisher each had 6, Alyx Monaco and Lexi Danczyk each had 5, Shelby Crocker had 2, and Madigan Hurlburt added 1.
This win sent them to the consolation game hours later on Saturday afternoon where they defeated Deer Lodge for 3rd place.
Darby Boys
The Darby boys were the 6th seed in the 6B District tournament and played 3rd seed Anaconda for their opening game on Thursday, February 15th. The young Tiger team didn’t have an antidote for the Copperheads’ biting play and fell 18-72.
For Darby, Payton Ehmann led with 6 points. Jordan Browning had 5, Ben Martin had 4. McCoy Townsend had 2, and Brad Reasor added 1.
This loss sent them to the loser-out bracket where they faced their Bitterroot neighbor Florence on Saturday morning. The Tigers fell short against the Falcons, losing 50-80, thus ending their season. For Darby, Jordan Browning had a big game with 16 points. Leif Nelson had 10, McCoy Townsend had 8, Payton Ehmann had 6, Ben Martin had 5, Braydon Lundgren had 3, and Brad Reasor added 2.
Darby Girls
The Darby girls were the 5th seed in the 6B District tournament and played 4th seed Deer Lodge in their opening game on Thursday, February 15th. The Lady Tigers played tough, but couldn’t make it over the hump and lost 35-48.
For Darby, Hadley Heiland had a big game with 15 points, Georgia Fisher was solid with 10, Kimmie Berry had 4, and Natalie Anderson, Paige O’Donnell and Sierra Reed each had 2.
This loss sent them to the loser out bracket where, much like the boys, they faced their Bitterroot neighbor Florence. The Lady Tigers battled hard, but just didn’t have the guns to match the Lady Falcons and fell 20-63, thus ending their season.
Victor falls at districts
The Victor basketball teams played in the District 13C tournament in Frenchtown on February 15-17. Both teams lost their games and concluded their season.
The Victor girls were the 5th seed and played 4th seed Seeley-Swan on Thursday. The Lady Pirates ran up against a solid Blackhawk squad and fell 23-68. This sent them to the loser-out bracket, where they played Lincoln on Saturday morning and lost 17-42. This loss ended the girls’ season.
The Victor boys were the 5th seed and played 4th seed Valley Christian on Thursday. The Pirates played well, but eventually fell 41-65 to the Eagles. This sent them to the loser-out bracket where they faced Seeley-Swan on Saturday morning and lost 27-42. This loss ended the boys’ season.