Coach Mark Albert was quite happy with his team’s victory over Polson on Friday night. After all, it was the first time since he’s been coaching the Hamilton team that they have notched a win on the first game after the Christmas Break.

“We took a while to get going, it was pretty typical of our after Christmas game,” said Albert.

Although it may have taken a little longer than he would have liked for the Lady Broncs to get back into the rhythm of the game, Hamilton took a six point lead into the halftime break and then came out on fire against the team that was a preseason favorite to win the Northwest A conference.

“That’s a good team,” he said of Polson. “We felt really good about how it finished out tonight.”

Surrounded by Pirates, Hamilton’s Misha Trotter looks for an opening or the basket. She scored 15 points in the 49-28 victory over Polson. Jean Schurman photo

Hamilton cruised to a 49-28 victory. Ashley Albert had 16 points in the game and Misha Trotter added 15. This was also Cierra Smith’s first game back since a season ending knee injury during last year’s divisional tournament.

“She shoots a couple of three’s. It was great,” said Albert. “It was like she’d never left.”

Hamilton 49, Polson 28

Polson – Amanda James 2, Staci Benson 3, Rochelle Woods 4, Riley Kenney 5, Kayla Duford 2, Nicole Davey 7, Sarah Newton 3, Cali Hislop 2.

Hamilton – Ashley Hayes 2, Misha Trotter 15, Ali Mildenberger 7, Cierra Smith 5, Ashley Albert 16, Annie Schultz 4.

Hamilton played Seeley-Swan on Saturday in more non-conference action. There were no answers for the Blackhawks as they tried to contain Ashley Albert and company. Albert finished with 31 points and was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in three-point range. Hamilton won, 60-37.

Hamilton 60, Seeley-Swan 37

Seeley – Ashley Holmes 6, Catalina Parcell 12, Janelle Greenwood 10, Bobbie Pierson 9.

Hamilton – Misha Trotter 8, Ali Mildenberger 2, Kaurie Albert 6, Ashley Albert 31, Annie Schultz 4, Ashley Hayes 3, Cierra Smith 6.

Florence also defeated Seeley, 34-25, in conference action on Friday night. Katie Niemeir notched 19 points for the Lady Falcons and Odessa Conley added 12 more. Florence held Seeley to only four points in both the second and fourth quarters.

Florence fell to Thompson Falls on Saturday, 54-41. Conley finished with 14 points while Niemeir had eight.

Stevensville fell to Polson, 59-45. Blaire Brookshire had 21 points and Alexa Omlid added 11 in the non-conference loss.

Darby lost to Deer Lodge, 48-37. Rachel Wetzsteon finished with 14 points and Taylor Ruark added nine.

Victor split their games, defeating Lincoln, 47-24, on Friday night and then falling to Alberton, 56-33, the next night.

Victor held Lincoln to only two points in the first quarter and eight total points in the half. Liz Taylor had 19 points and Teal Patton added 10. The win was the first for Victor this year.

Saturday night was not so kind to the Lady Pirates. Alberton came out playing tough and using a pressure defense to create Victor turnovers. Taylor finished with 14 points and Rachel Borowiec added six.

Learning Curve for Broncs

The Hamilton Broncs didn’t take Christmas off. Instead the Broncs held intense practices throughout the winter break and most days put in two practices with the goal of coming together and building a strong core team. With the focus on teamwork, Coach Toby Stack said this was a great place for the younger members to gain confidence and have a chance at playing varsity.

Polson came to town on Friday night and quickly gained a nine point lead in the opening period of play. Hamilton’s Devin Leonardi came in off the bench and dropped down a trey to break the ice and the Broncs were ready to play. Leonardi scored another bucket to tie the game at 11 with a nice assist by Kyle Crowley and then youngster Jeff Embree canned a shot from the top of the key to give the Broncs a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. The two teams played neck and neck throughout the second quarter. Hamilton had a couple of costly turnovers but remained tied with Polson at the end of the half.

“We’re still struggling with our young guards and our turnovers,” said Stack. “It’s going to take some time and some experience for our young guys.”

Hamilton’s Jake Jessop goes up for a lay in against Polson. Jessop finished with five points in the 49-42 loss to the Pirates. Jean Schurman photo.

Polson gained some ground in the third quarter but Hamilton was only down by three at the end of the third quarter. Using a trapping half court defense, the Broncs generated a few turnovers but couldn’t capitalize on them.

“I like the way that we’ve done in our half court and full court pressure,” said Stack. “I need the kids to realize that you don’t have to steal the ball every time. It’s really about wearing the defense down and then picking and choosing your spot.”

He went on to say his team was a little over aggressive and Polson’s good guards took advantage of that. Hamilton was tough inside even though they were outsized a bit.

Polson took advantage of a few mistakes and didn’t miss many shots in the final period of the game, and went on to win, 49-42. Kyle Crowley’s 12 points paced Hamilton. Leonardi finished with nine points.

Polson 49, Hamilton 42

Polson – Craig Bagnell 5, Kyle Bagnell 11, Michel 16, Rausch 11, Kelley 6.

Hamilton – Jake Jessop 5, Jeremy Powell 3, Kyle Crowley 12, Devin Leonardi 9, Mac Walters 2, Phil Silcher 4, Tyler Pigman 5, Jeff Embree 2.

Hamilton had another non-conference game on Saturday, against the tough Seeley-Swan Blackhawks. Hamilton came out strong and had a three-point margin at the end of the first stanza. But the Blackhawks came back and tied the second quarter and then tied the game at the end of the third quarter. It was basket-for-basket in the fourth quarter, which sent the game to overtime. There, Ryan Nelson of Seeley hit a couple of free throws to give Seeley the 64-62 overtime win.

“We definitely need to work on our man offense, especially when it’s crunch time and pressure time,” said Stack. “We tend to sometimes hold the ball and hope the clock expires. Instead, we need to work on attacking and letting us finish the game. But that’s something a young team can learn.”

Crowley and Jake Jessop had 15 and 13 points respectively. Freshman Beau Maus who was just moved up to varsity finished with 10 points.

Stack is very happy with how his team is developing. “These kids are going to learn and they’re going to believe in each other. Then it’s time to surprise some people.”

Seeley-Swan 64, Hamilton 62 OT

Hamilton –Jessop 13, Crowley 15, Leonardi 7, Phil Silcher 2, Maus 10, Gillespie 3, Pigman 8, Embree 2, Graham Silcher 2

Seeley –Evans 9, Wood 2, Nelson 30, Birdsbill 17, Cahoon 2, Blenderman 4.

Victor split their contests this weekend with Lincoln defeating the Pirates on Friday night, 49-43.

“We ran into a good Lincoln team,” according to Victor coach Jay Jagelski. “They were very disciplined, athletic and it just wasn’t our night.”

Victor got off to a slow start and trailed by four at the end of the half. The Pirates came alive in the third quarter but couldn’t stop the Lynx in the final period as they scored 21 points to Victor’s 12. Victor was paced by Gatlin Lamb’s 13 points. Clay Sacks added 10 more for the Pirates.

Lincoln 49, Victor 43

Victor –Lamb 13, Saxton Coorough 9, Dustin Harris 2, Alex Bishop 4, Sacks 10, Matt McClintock 1, Dalton Buker 4.

Lincoln –Hagen 8, Lumpkin 7, Erickson 2, Fleming 9, Ebraham 5, Tams 14 Fleming 4.

The rivalry between Alberton and Victor can be intense at times. After all, Chris Clevenger, the Alberton coach, used to be the assistant at Victor several years ago. He has built a strong program in Alberton and there’s nothing better than defeating the Pirates. Both teams played with intensity but a strong third quarter proved to be the edge for the Pirates who notched a 51-41 conference win.

“Clev does a great job with those boys,” said Jagelski of the Alberton coach. “They are very disciplined and they understand the game really well.”

Victor had a spark from sophomore Dalton Buker who drained a three-pointer to take the lead at the end of the first half. Jagelski said that after the loss to Lincoln, they realized they were going to have to play the younger team members as well as the more seasoned players. “We’re going to have to rely on them if we’re going to go place.”

Lamb and Sacks who each had 13 points paced Victor.

Victor 51, Alberton 41

Alberton –Hoose 11, Brovold 11, Ishler 4, Wemple 4, Brown 7, Thompson 4.

Victor –Lamb 13, Coorough 5, Harris 2, Bishop 6, Sacks 13, Buker 8, McClintick 4

Florence also split their games over the weekend, losing to Seeley Swan, 46-38, and defeating Thompson Falls, 57-54. Brandon Lorensen had 17 points against Seeley. The junior had 19 points against the Bluehawks from Thompson Falls.

The scouting paid off for coach Keith Chambers of Stevensville on Friday night. He watched the Polson Pirates play against Hamilton and then developed a game plan that put the Yellowjackets on top on Saturday. Of course it didn’t hurt that senior Ethan Pateman had a stellar night, dropping down 22 points in the 56-39 non conference win. Another senior, Jeremy Rusnell added 12 points.

Stevensville held Polson to only four points in the first quarter and only 11 in the first half. They cruised through the third quarter, scoring 22 points and notched the victory.

Darby fell to Deer Lodge, 65-35. Kyle Rider had nine points for Darby.

The Elks National Hoop Soot District Contest

The Elks National Hoop Soot District Contest was held in Pablo on Saturday, December 13. Kyla Paulsen, girls 12-13 division, and Jace Omlid, boys 10-11 division, took home first place trophies. The two Stevensville students will advance to the state contest in Livingston in February.

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