The Lady Falcons of Florence picked up a couple of conference wins over the weekend including a nail-biter double overtime win over Deer Lodge on Friday. With one more week of regular season play, Florence is looking to secure the No. 2 seed in the district and a first round bye. They played Ronan, who leads the conference, on Tuesday night but those results were not available at press time.
The game against Deer Lodge was back and forth all night. Florence took a three point advantage into the second quarter but then tough defense by Deer Lodge stymied the Lady Falcons and held them to only five points in the quarter. At the break, Deer Lodge was up by three. The teams traded shots and baskets throughout the second half and at the end of regulation play, the score was tied at 45 all. They battled another four minutes and then the score was tied at 50 all. Florence’s phenom, Danielle Zahn knocked down 24 points in the game. The Deer Lodge strategy in the second overtime was to keep Zahn from getting the ball and it was working. But with time running out, another freshman, Makenna Liles, stepped up and swished the basket from beyond the three-point line. That gave Florence the 56-55 win.
Florence 56, Deer Lodge 55
Deer Lodge – Gray 3, Campbell 10, Senecal 21, Walker 9, Scully 2, Crichton 10.
Florence – Kourtney Kohlman 6, Autumn Round 10, Jewel Zeiler 3, Makenna Liles 7, Danielle Zahn 24, Chloe Arthur 6.
Anaconda came to town on Thursday night to play Florence. The two teams matched up pretty well in a tough, physical battle. By the end of the first quarter, Chloe Arthur of Florence, who is one of their guards, had racked up three fouls. This put Florence at a bit of a disadvantage as Arthur can hit the long ball and take pressure off Zahn. It was Zahn that knocked down a trey right at the buzzer for the half to give Florence a four-point edge.
“We started out slow,” said Florence coach Duane Zeiler. “But when we started running our plays, we did alright.”
Florence continued to patiently run their plays, and worked the ball around for the open shot. Ally Rust, Autumn Round and Liles established a strong inside presence that allowed them to control the boards. Florence went on a seven point run in the first couple of minutes in the fourth quarter. Although Anaconda put pressure on the Lady Falcons, they were not able to overcome the gap and lost, 52-42. Zahn had 19 points.
Florence 52, Anaconda 42
Anaconda – Sullivan-Utz 2, Seitzinger 8, Petersen 7, Johnson 4, Huber 10, Jorgensen 2, S. Forsberg 7, J. Forsberg 2.
Florence – Autumn Round 7, Ally Rust 2, Jewel Zeiler 5, Rilee Mangun 8, Makenna Liles 7, Danielle Zahn 19, Chloe Arthur 2, Megan St. Germain 2.
The Blue Devils defeated Whitefish, 41-23. Although Corvallis led throughout the game, Whitefish challenged them late in the third quarter. Corvallis put their starters back in and pulled away for the win. Corinne Sanderson had 15 points to lead all scorers.
Corvallis 41, Whitefish 23
Whitefish – Douglas 2, C. Schultz 4, A. Schultz 2, Brown 2, Nicholson 9, Benbrook 4.
Corvallis – Taia Tully 3, Kira Doyle 2, Corinne Sanderson 15, Penny Jessop 6, Calla Haldorson 6, Genesis Keith 2, Steffani Stoker 2, Tayler Wright 5.
Hamilton fell to Frenchtown, 32-19. Hamilton was unable to stop the Frenchtown team and had a cold shooting night on offense.
Frenchtown 32, Hamilton 19
Hamilton – Kloie Nye 6, Reilly Rostad 4, Mallory McGill 2, Rachael Ringer 3, Caitlin Gillespie 2, Jordan Bauder 2.
Frenchtown – Delaney 3, Williams 9, Willet 9, Moe 2, Channer 3, Hinrich 2, Hochhalter 4.
Darby fell to Arlee, 55-29. Although the Lady Tigers got off to a good start, they stumbled in the third quarter and couldn’t recover. Casey Ehmann had 10 points to lead Darby.
Arlee 55, Darby 29
Arlee – West 1, Whitesell 5, Hergett 7, Yocum 2, Malatare 3, Shick 2, Vanderburg 30, Reed 2, Goyins 3.t
Darby – Breanna Brickey 1, Casey Ehmann 10, Peyton Muir 7, Lily Lang 2, Rebecca Seidelin 1, Kylie Fisher 8.
Darby ran into a tough Drummond team on Saturday. The Lady Tigers started strongly again but then lost momentum and fell, 48-26. Breanna Brickey finished with 10 points for Darby.
Drummond 48, Darby 26
Darby – Breanna Brickey 10, Casey Ehmann 6, Peyton Muir 5, Lily Lang 3, Mackenzie Smith 1, Kylie Fisher 1.
Drummond – Parsons 9, Radtke 1, Schindler 4, Fickler 8, Au. Parke 17, Goodrich 2, Bryant 4, Al. Parke 3.
The Victor girls defeated Valley Christian, 37-30, in District 13C action. The Lady Pirates came from behind in the third quarter and held the Lady Eagles to only five points in the frame. Krissy Kuettel paced Victor with 13 points.
Victor 37, Valley Christian 30
Valley Christian – Kelly 2, Schulz 16, Hill 5, Messner 5, Glidewell 2.
Victor – Alyssa Hopper 3, Ashley Hopper 8, Madison Allred 6, Elizabeth Madrigal 2, Krissy Kuettel 13, Jamie Burdett 5.