Florence girls 2nd at districts, Darby girls qualify

by Scott Sacry, Sports Editor

The Florence and Darby boys and girls basketball teams competed in the District 6B combined boys and girls basketball tournaments in Anaconda from Thursday, January 26 to Saturday, January 28. They played alongside the other four schools in the district: Missoula Loyola, Deer Lodge, Arlee, and Anaconda. 

The top four teams advanced to the Western B Divisional, which is in Pablo on March 5-7. On the girls side, Missoula Loyola took 1st, Florence was 2nd, Anaconda was third, and Darby took 4th. On the boys side, Anaconda took 1st, Missoula Loyola took 2nd, Arlee took 3rd, and Deer Lodge took 4th. 

Florence girls

The Florence girls took 2nd place at the 2026 District 6B girls tournament. They met Missoula Loyola in the championship game on Saturday, February 28 and lost 57-62. Florence defeated Anaconda 65-15 in their first round game on Friday, Feb. 27. 

The Florence girls advance to the Western B Divisional tournament where they are District 6B’s #2 team and play Plains, District 7B’s #3 seed, on Thursday, March 5th at 1:15 p.m in Pablo.

“We feel really good heading into Divisionals,” said Florence head coach Shane Meinhold. “Our girls are playing hard and all seemed locked in for our goal of making it to state.”

Florence 57, Missoula Loyola 62

Florence and Loyola played on Saturday night in the 6B District championship game, and if you’re a fan of high level basketball, you weren’t disappointed. 

The two teams were ranked #3 (Loyola) and #4 (Florence) in the latest Class B girls 406mtsports.com poll, and they split their regular season games. Florence has a well rounded team and any number of girls can lead the scoring on any given night. Loyola is led by one of the most dominant players in the state in Stanford-bound Spencer Laird. 

In their first two meetings the winner was decided in the last half of the fourth quarter. This game came down to the end as well. 

Florence stumbled out of the gate to start the game, and with just over two minutes left in the 1st quarter Florence trailed 2-17. The Falcons righted the ship, but still trailed 10-20 at the end of the quarter and 22-32 at halftime. Loyola extended their lead in the third quarter and Florence trailed 32-47 heading into the final frame. 

Then Florence made a valiant comeback. The Falcons went on a 17-2 run to start the fourth quarter, fueled by a frantic defense and a sharp shooting Taylor Pyette, and with three minutes to play in the game the score was tied 49-49. But Florence ran out of steam, and Loyola controlled the game from this point on, and Florence fell 57-62. 

“The Loyola game didn’t turn out how we hoped,” said Meinhold, “but for the girls to battle back from 22 points down to tie it shows their never quit mentality and passion they have to achieve our team goals.”

A rematch and fourth meeting between Florence and Loyola seems likely at the Western B Divisionals in Pablo this weekend, as both teams are favored to make the final. If you’re a fan of basketball, do yourself a favor and make your way north to watch these two high-level teams play.

For Florence in the championship game, Taylor Pyette led the scoring with 15 points, Maggie Schneiter had 13, Kendyl Meinhold and Jaden Fisher each had 7, Emory Ralston had 5, Shelby Crocker had 4, and Ali Meinhold and Madigan Hurlbert each added 3. 

Florence 65, Anaconda 15

Florence defeated Anaconda 65-15 in their first round game on Friday. Florence led 19-2 after the first quarter and 43-7 at halftime and cruised to the one-sided victory. 

For Florence, Ali Meinhold led the scoring with 12 points, Kendyl Meinhold had 11, Emory Ralston had 8, Taylor Pyette had 7, Jaden Fisher and Madigan Hurlbert each had 6, Alex Nelson and Maggie Schneiter each had 5, and Shelby Crocker added 2.

Darby girls qualify for divisionals

The Darby girls were the #6 seed in the 6B District tournament. They played #3 Anaconda on Thursday, Feb. 26. The Darby girls fought hard but lost 32-42.

This loss sent them to the losers side of the bracket where they played Deer Lodge. The Darby girls played inspired and won 49-34. This win highlights the improvement and determination of the Darby girls, as they had lost to Deer Lodge 33-52 on January 17 and 53-72 on February 7. 

With the win, Darby punched their ticket to the Western B Divisionals. The win also sent them to the consolation game on Saturday afternoon, where they met Anaconda again and lost 23-53.

The Darby girls advance to the Western B Divisional tournament and are District 6B’s #4 seed and play St. Ignatius (Mission), District 7B’s #1 seed, on Thursday, March 4 at 11:30 a.m. in Pablo.

Florence boys heartbroken at districts

The Florence boys, the District 6B’s #2 seed and ranked #8 in the latest 406mtsports.com Class B poll, had aspirations for a deep postseason run. However, their season ended with two close losses at the highly competitive 6B District tournament.

Florence 58, Missoula Loyola 66

Florence played #3 Missoula Loyola on Friday, Feb. 27 in their opening round game. The two teams split their regular season contests, but Loyola got the better of Florence on this night as Florence lost 58-66.

Florence 56, Arlee 59

The loss to Loyola sent Florence to the losers bracket to face Arlee, a team they had beaten twice during the regular season. The Falcons controlled the game for most of the contest, leading 53-43 with just over two minutes to play in the game. Unfortunately, a combination of Florence turnovers and Arlee three-pointers fueled a dramatic 16-3 run for Arlee down the stretch. Florence fell short, losing 56-59, which ended their season.

Darby boys fall short at districts

The Darby boys were the #6 seed and played #3 Missoula Loyola in the first round on Thursday, Feb. 26. As mentioned above, the boys teams in 6B are tough from top to bottom. Darby is a talented team, but just couldn’t put it all together and lost both of their games in districts, ending their season. 

The Darby boys played #3 Missoula Loyola in the first round game. Darby were competitive throughout the game, but lost 47-57. 

This loss sent them to the loser’s side of the bracket where they played Deer Lodge on Saturday morning. Again, the Tigers played hard but fell short, losing 45-59.