Mission holds off Lady Trojans

Looking up at the scoreboard during halftime, the Lady Trojans trailed St. Ignatius by only 11 points.

Although a double-digit deficit, Troy had hit just one field goal the entire first half – a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Molly Harpole. If the home squad could start hitting shots in the second half, who knows what could happen?

Troy did shoot better in the second half but St. Ignatius also played well and went on to a 36-23 victory.

“We only lost by 13 and I didn’t think we played that well,” Troy coach Cory Andersen said. “Their pressure defense pushed us into making some mistakes.”

The Lady Bulldogs, which are tied with Eureka in the loss column for first place in District 7-B, led just 6-3 through the opening 8 minutes. All three Troy points came on foul shots, including one by Harpole after Mission coach Les Rice was called for a technical foul.

“We wanted to keep it a low-scoring game,” Andersen said. “It kind of just got away from us in the second quarter.”

The Bulldogs opened the second with a 10-point run to build a 16-3 lead. Troy got back to within 11 by halftime on that big 3-pointer by Harpole but couldn’t put much of a dent in the St. Ignatius lead in the second half.

“They go 10, 11 deep and we really play only seven players,” Andersen said. “I think overall the girls are improving.”

Mattea Grant, senior, had a big game for the visitors with 13 points and nine rebounds. Harpole had a game-high 14 points, accounting for 61 percent of Troy’s points on the scoreboard. She also had nine boards.

Troy will play host to Eureka on Valentine’s Day in the regular-season finale. The Lady Trojans would need to defeat Eureka to clinch a home game on Feb. 17. On that date, Troy and Plains will meet in a play-in game for the right to advance in the divisional tournament.

On Saturday at Class C Arlee, the Lady Trojans won a 31-30 thriller. Arlee had a chance to send the game into OT at the free-throw line with less than 1 second left.

The Lady Trojans took a 26-18 lead into the fourth quarter only to see the Scarlets rally. A pair of 3-pointers by Kenzie Bradshaw sparked the comeback.

In the final second, Arlee put up a 3-pointer in an attempt to tie the game. The shot didn’t fall but Shaylene Hayes drew a foul and went to the line with 0.2 of a second showing on the game clock. Hayes made two of the three free throw attempts and Troy escaped with the win.

Alicia Anderson scored a team-high seven points for Troy. Harpole, Allie Maestas and Cassidy Hand each added six.

The Lady Trojans (1-6, 7-9) head to Libby for a nonconference game on Thursday and then play host to Eureka on Saturday.

It Was Over When …

St. Ignatius opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run to build a 16-point lead. The Lady Trojans never got any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

Game Ball

Molly Harpole led the Lady Trojans with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 3-of-6 free throws. She also grabbed nine rebounds and committed just one foul.

Stat of the Game

Troy went 15:59 without a field goal in the first half. Harpole hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Lady Trojans’ only basket from the field over the first two quarters.

Bulldogs 36, Trojans 23

Friday at Troy

St. Ignatius (36)

Cable 0 2-4 2, J. Grant 2 0-1 4, Jensen 0 0-0 0, M. Grant 6 0-0 13, Adams 2 0-0 4, Mitchell 0 2-2 2, McDonald 3 2-4 8, Gravagno 1 1-3 3, Larson 0 0-0 0, Dally 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-14 36.

Troy (23)

Maestas 0 1-6 1, Olds 1 3-3 5, Harpole 5 3-6 14, Hand 0 2-2 2, Anderson 0 1-2 1, Pepiot 0 0-2 0, Cummings 0 0-0 0, Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 10-21 23.

Three-Pointers–St. Ignatius 1 (M. Grant), Troy 1 (Harpole). Rebounds–St. Ignatius 25 (M. Grant 9), Troy 27 (Harpole 9). Assists–St. Ignatius 5 (Cable 2, M. Grant 2), Troy 2 (Harpole, Anderson). Total Fouls–St. Ignatius 18, Troy 11. Fouled Out–Hand. Technical Fouls–St. Ignatius coach.

Trojans 31, Scarlets 30

Saturday at Arlee

Troy (31)

Maestas 6, Olds 1, Harpole 6, Hand 6, Anderson 7, Cummings 2, Pepiot 3.

Arlee (30)

Bradshaw 8, Apland 3, Haynes 6, Ivanoff 4, Allaire 2, Nelson 7.