by Scott Sacry
The boys and girls basketball teams from Darby and Florence competed in the 6B District boy and girls basketball tournament in Anaconda on February 21-22. The Florence boys and girls both took 2nd place, the Darby girls took 4th place, and the Darby boys lost out.
Florence’s girls and boys teams had mirroring results: both teams took second place; both teams were defeated by nemesis Missoula Loyola in the championship game, and both teams advanced to the Western B Divisionals to play Eureka in Hamilton on Feb. 27.
For Darby, the girls took 4th at districts, which qualified them for divisionals. The Darby boys lost both of their games and ended their season.
Florence Girls
The Florence girls, ranked #4 in the latest 406mtsports.com poll, and the #3 Missoula Loyola girls went 1-1 against each other in the regular season. They played again in the 6B District championship in Anaconda on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Florence had an uncharacteristic off night and was defeated handily by Loyola 39-73. The Lady Falcons got down early, trailing 10-20 after the first quarter and 17-40 at halftime, and couldn’t find a way back in the second half.
“It was our poorest performance of the season,” said Florence head coach Shane Meinhold. “We struggled to shoot from the field and we had foul trouble amongst our core players, which played a big role with having continuity on the floor. We weren’t able to get into any rhythm offensively and defensively, and we had a few key players battling sicknesses which didn’t help either. All in all, it was a rough game for us.”
Meinhold was quick to praise his competition. “But kudos to Loyola, they came out and executed their game plan and got the W,” said Meinhold. “We will hopefully see them again this Saturday at Divisionals.”
For Florence in the championship game, Jaden Fisher and Kenzy Pickering led the scoring with 8 points each. Emory Ralston had 6, Maggie Schneiter had 4, Alex Nelson and Shelby Crocker each had 2, and Taylor Pyette and Kendyl Meinhold each added 1.
The Florence girls played Anaconda in the first round of the tournament on Friday, Feb. 21. The Lady Falcons jumped out to a 36-12 halftime lead and rolled to a 66-23 victory.
For Florence, Kenzy Pickering led the way with 13 points. Madigan Hurlbert had 11, Ali Meinhold had 10, Maggie Schneiter had 9, Taylor Pyette had 8, Jaden Fisher had 6, Kendyl Meinhold had 4, Emory Ralston had 3, and Alyx Monaco added 2.
“For Divisionals we think we are in a good spot,” said Meinhold. “We are looking at refocusing on us and the things we do well and having a great week of practice. I’m proud of our girls and the effort they’ve put in this season to get us to this point. I’m looking forward to this week and seeing them reach their goals of getting to state.”
The Florence girls play the #3 seed out of 7B, Eureka, in the first round of the Western B Divisionals at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 in Hamilton.
Florence boys
Florence’s Brody Duchien and the Falcons took 2nd at the 6B District tournament on Feb. 22. They play Eureka in the 1st round of the Western B Divisionals in Hamilton on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1:15 p.m. Photo by Scott Sacry.
The Florence boys played Anaconda in the first round of the District 6B tournament on Friday, Feb. 21. It was a close matchup, and the Falcons controlled the game throughout. In the final minutes of the game, Anaconda made a comeback bid, but Florence held strong and won 53-51.
This win sent Florence to face top-seeded Missoula Loyola on Saturday. Florence didn’t have any answers for the high powered Rams, falling behind 22-60 by halftime and losing 51-91.
The Florence boys play Eureka, the 3rd seed out of 7B, at the Western B Divisionals on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1:15 p.m. in Hamilton.
Darby Girls
The Darby girls took 4th at the 6B District tournament and qualified for the Western B Divisionals in Hamilton where they will play 7B’s top seed, St. Ignatius, on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 8 a.m. According to Darby head coach Hoop Reed, this is the first time the Darby girls have made it to divisionals in eight years.
The Darby girls played Arlee on Tuesday, February 18, in the District 6B play-in game. The winner moved on to Districts, the loser went home. The two teams played three days earlier in Arlee, a game that Darby narrowly won in overtime.
But the Darby girls weren’t ready for the season to end, and dominated Arlee in this game. Darby jumped out to a 30-9 halftime lead and held on in the second half to win the game 54-29.
For Darby, Natalie Anderson had one of her best games of the season, scoring 20 points. Georgia Fisher had 14, Hadley Heiland had 10, Austin Hackel had 4, and Lilly Bennett and Nyna Reasor each added 3.
This win sent them to the first round of the 6B tournament where they faced top-seeded Missoula Loyola and were defeated 21-84. For Darby, Hadley Heiland led with 9 points. Austin Hackel had 5, Lilly Bennett had 3, and Georgia Fisher and Ella Bush each added 2.
This loss sent them to the consolation game where they met Anaconda and lost 49-57 and took 4th place in Districts.
Darby Boys
The Darby boys played Anaconda in their first game of the District 6B tournament and lost 39-60. This sent them to the loser-out bracket where they faced Arlee on Saturday morning. The Tigers fought hard but were defeated 46-54. The loss ended the season for the Tigers, but this young team is full of talented players and we expect them to come back strong next year.
