The Lady Falcons of Florence outran and outscored the St. Ignatius Bulldogs, 56-51, in a 6B conference game Thursday night in Florence. Florence jumped out to an early lead behind three baskets by senior Courtney Byrne but then turnovers and missed shots allowed the Bulldogs to get back in the game. By the end of the first quarter, Florence was down three points.
“The fact that we turned the ball over 12 times in the first quarter against a team that did not press us, that’s not a good deal,” said coach Bryan Neuman.
After a brief timeout just before the first quarter buzzer, the team settled down and began making their shots. Courtney Byrne sparked a rally at the end of the second with a trey, followed by Cody Miller’s bucket and finishing with Kyndall Hoff’s steal and basket. They scored 25 points in the second quarter and led by four at the end of the half.
“I don’t mind giving up lay ups but we’re probably just giving up too many at this point,” said Neuman.
He went on to say his team had done three hard practices this week and felt their legs were a little tired. “But they’re just going to have to suck it up.”
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second half with each taking the lead more than once. Megan Byrne hit a long, long trey to give Florence the lead for good with a little more than two and a half minutes left in the game.
Florence 56, St. Ignatius 51
St. Ignatius – Kaylie Durglo 4, Loren Erickson 14, Stephanie Lewandowski 21, Haley O’Hern 12.
Florence – Megan Byrne 10, Cassandra Skeers 9, Courtney Byrne 6, Jill Harris 4, Cody Miller 5, Courtney Austin 5, Carli O’Brien 1, Katie Benson 3, Kyndall Hoff 13.
Friday night, the Lady Falcons traveled to Hamilton for a non-conference match. Coach Neuman was concerned about how his team would handle the longer floor with their run-and-gun style of play.
“They shoot the ball better and make more lay ups” said Neuman of the Hamilton team.
Hamilton came out strongly and slowed the Florence offence down while ramping up their own. The Lady Broncs went on to win, 65-49. Taylor Goligoski of Hamilton led all scorers with 22 points. Hoff and Megan Byrne each had 10 points for the Lady Falcons.
Hamilton 65, Florence 49
Florence – Cass Skeers 8, Jill Harris 3, Courtney Austin 5, Megan Byrne 10, Kyndall Hoff 10, Cody Miller 6, Paige Bodner 7.
Hamilton – Taylor Goligoski 22, Kali Hays 6, Jaylee Albert 7, Bri Huggans 9, Sami Kratofil 16, Shaylan Mohn 5.
Stevensville picked up a huge win over Anaconda in Anaconda on Friday. The Lady ‘Jackets let throughout the game and cruised to a 49-33 win. Led by Alycia Sims’ 25 points, with Kyla Paulsen dropping in 11 points. Paulsen had been out after having surgery on her knee.
Stevensville 49, Anaconda 33
Stevensville – Bailey Vercruyssen 4, Carly Vercruyssen 9, Alycia Sims 25, Kyla Paulsen 11. Totals 17-34 14-22 49.
Anaconda – Taylor Flynn 5, Kiernan Gallagher 2, Courtney Moodry 16, Natasha Strommen 3, McKenah Blume 1, Khali Knadler 2, Tyler Baustadt 4. Totals 11-46 6-15 33.
Darby also picked up a conference win. The Lady tigers defeated Valley Christian, 47-41. After trailing by two at the end of the first quarter, Darby rallied back to tie the game at the half. Lacey Dolcater and Julie Abrahamsen each scored 10 points for Darby.
Darby 47, Valley Christian 41.
Darby – Keely Ehmann 7, Lacey Dolcater 10, Lauren Dolcater 7, Julie Abrahamsen 10, Sarai McCollaum 4, Brianna Massey 9.
Valley Christian – Kaileigh Moser 14, Taylor Kelly 4, Brie Lange 4, Darby Dybdal 3, Sarah Kesler 4, Dez Dargan 12.