by Scott Sacry, Sports Editor
#3 Florence 81, Deer Lodge 4; #3 Florence 70, Arlee 7
In a stunning show of basketball dominance last week, the Florence girls, ranked #3 in Class B in the latest 406mtsports.com poll, put up eye-popping numbers as they defeated Deer Lodge and Arlee (cough, cough – me clearing my throat) by a total of 151-11. They defeated Deer Lodge 81-4 and Arlee 70-7.
In Montana high school girls basketball we are beginning to see the “haves” and the “have nots,” as the good teams are getting better, and the weaker teams are getting worse and barely have enough girls to field a team.
It’s unfortunate for the girls on the losing end, and it’s unfortunate for teams like Florence because they don’t get experience playing competitive games, which they will need in the post-season.
Florence’s Taylor Pyette goes up for a layup against Deer Lodge on Friday, February 6. Florence defeated Deer Lodge 81-4. Photo by Stephanie K Geiser Photography.
To be fair to Florence, they didn’t intentionally run up the score, they stopped their full court press early in the first quarter, and in the second half the clock didn’t stop because of the mercy rule. But with the 35 second shot clock the girls still have to shoot, and Florence is a deep, talented team; if Florence really tried they could have scored well over 100 points in either of these games.
For Florence in the Deer Lodge game, Emory Ralston led the way with 22 points, Maggie Schneiter had 16, Ali Meinhold had 13, Jaden Fisher had 8, Kendyl Meinhold had 7, Alex Nelson, Shelby Crocker and Madigan Hurlbert each had 4, and Taylor Pyette added 3.
For Florence in the Arlee game, Ali Meinhold had 16 points, Kendyl Meinhold had 15, Taylor Pyette had 11, Shelby Crocker had 10, Maggie Schneiter had 7, Emory Ralston had 6, Jaden Fisher 4, and Alex Nelson added 1.
#8 Florence 56, Deer Lodge 29
The #8 Florence boys hosted Deer Lodge on Friday, February 6. The Florence boys played solid defense and controlled the game from start to finish and won 56-29. For Florence, Brody Duchien led with 20 points, Donnie Brooks had 8, Bridger Alexander had 7, Koa Laasch and Levi Winters each had 6, Wes Potter and Tian Bradshaw each had 3, Brennan Meinhold had 2, and Lorenzo Calderon added 1.
#8 Florence 60, Arlee 51
The #8 Florence boys went to Arlee on Saturday, February 7. The Florence boys were down 20-28 early in the first half but came roaring back and defeated a solid Arlee team 60-51. For Florence, Brennan Meinhold had a big game with 22 points, Koa Laasch had 16, Brody Duchien had 15, Levi Winters had 6, Donnie Brooks had 2, and Bridger Alexander added 1.
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