Lady Loggers take control

Winning their sixth game in a row, Libby catapulted over Polson and into the second place slot in the Northwestern A league, 33-26.

Libby will start off the Northwestern A Championship at Glacier High School in Kalispell tonight at 6 p.m.

Beating Polson tied the Loggers, (7-3, 13-5) with Whitefish (7-3, 10-7), but topping the three point differential of their last match-up against the Bulldogs nudged them into second place - giving them a bye.

Coach Jim May said the low scoring game was a result of strong defense from both sides.

"They made it hard for us to score," said May. "We panic sometimes - and we also missed some freethrows."

Although sophomore Jackie Mee was 7-for-9 at the charity stripe, overall the Loggers netted less than half, 12 of 26.

May added that despite a Logger "mental lapse" in the third quarter, when Polson scored seven of their 26 points, Libby's superior defense prevailed.

Mee led in points for both teams with 12, the only player in both teams to hit double digits.

"It was kind of a defensive battle," said Mee. "We just held our ground and scored when we needed to."

Merilee Mowbray canned a Polson-high of eight points for the Pirates, which finished the regular season 4-6 and 9-9 overall.

Senior Laice Dedrick said that playing more as a team has been key to their improvement.

"We've gone a lot harder in practice - we push each other," she said. "We have a lot more confidence."

Senior Brooke Hageness said to keep their winning streak going, they will need to stay focused.

"We're going to have to be very motivated and just believe in ourselves and trust our plays and our defense," she said.

Mee added the team has grown over the season.

"At the beginning we weren't consistent with scoring, but now we have a lot more girls involved and we're spreading our scoring around better," she said, noting three Loggers hit double digits against Whitefish last Friday night.

Their 56-50 victory over the Bulldogs was a prime example of Libby's improved teamwork, with freshman Jaime Gilden scoring six of her 11 points in the third quarter and Dedrick adding 10.

Mee led the Loggers in Whitefish with 19 points - four of them 3-pointers - while Hageness and junior Brittany Martin contributed eight points apiece.

After a 14-7 Bulldog run at the end of the first quarter, Martin hit two treys in a row, bridging the gap between Libby and Whitefish at the end of the second quarter.

Bulldog Ashley Ferda scored a game-high 26 points.

Senior Kory Kulbeck said their victory over Whitefish was a big one.

"Since we've been in high school, this is the first time we've beaten them, so it just makes us want to win even more," she said, adding that if they face them on Friday, "we'll have to make sure we don't give them a chance to score."

The Loggers will play either Whitefish or Columbia Falls tonight.

"Whoever we play, it'll be a good game either way," said Mee. "We just need to play like we have been."