Mee hits five 3-pointers in win over Troy
Once Jackie Mee gets into a rhythm, she can be tough to stop.
Playing a nonconference matchup at Class B Troy on Friday night, the Libby High School junior buried five 3-pointers during the third quarter alone in the Lady Loggers’ 51-24 victory. Mee finished the game with 24 points.
“I think in the second half, we were starting to wear down a little bit and weren’t getting to our responsibilities on the top of the zone,” Troy head coach Cory Andersen said. “She’s a good outside shooter. You leave somebody like her open and she’s going to make the shot. … You have to give her credit, she made the shots.”
Mee scored on back-to-back 3-pointers just 23 seconds apart during the final minute of the third quarter. Her last came just before the buzzer to give Libby a 44-18 lead.
“We had some great looks to her, some good screens and good ball movement,” Libby coach Jim May said.
The Lady Loggers were able to pull away early primarily because of rebounds. Libby shot 40 percent in the first quarter while building a 14-5 lead but had a huge advantage on the boards, 13-5.
“Rebounding is our biggest weakness on the team,” Andersen said. “That’s an area that we hope in the next five or six games before we start to get to the end of the season where we’re going to improve. It’s a mental thing … they’re just not used to thinking about, ‘I’ve got to run and find somebody to box out.’ They’ve improved but still have miles to go.”
The Loggers’ defense frustrated Troy and kept senior Molly Harpole in check with no points in the first half. The Lady Trojans’ only hoop during the second quarter came on a shot by Alicia Anderson after a feed from Harpole, who finished with a game-high six assists.
Following Mee’s long-range outburst in the third, the Lady Trojans showed great character by playing to the final buzzer. Sophomore Jackie Pepiot scored twice over the final 1:18 for the home squad.
“There’s no quit in those Troy kids,” May said.
Anderson left the game with 3:12 remaining after spraining her ankle.
Besides Mee’s 24 points, Libby also got good numbers from Gilden on the boards with 11. Harpole finished with a team-high seven points for the Trojans.
Neither team shot real well with Libby at 33 percent and Troy at 30 percent. The Loggers held a 38-32 advantage in rebounds but Troy won the battle on the boards over the final three quarters, 27-25.
“It’s good to play those guys,” Andersen said. “I’d love to play them more because it’s somebody better than us and it shows us what we have to do to get better to keep up with them.”
The two schools will meet again on Feb. 12 at Libby.
It Was Over When …
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Jackie Mee hit a pair of 3-pointers during a stretch that led to a 32-9 lead. Troy played better down the stretch but could not overcome such a steep deficit.
Game Ball
Libby junior Jackie Mee scored 24 points over playing time that amounted to roughly three quarters.
Stat of the Game
Mee’s nailed five 3-pointers over 6:41 of clock time in the third quarter.
Loggers 51, Trojans 24
Friday at Troy
Libby (51)
Cernick 3 0-0 6, Luscher 0 0-0 0, B. Martin 4 0-0 8, Gilden 1 5-6 7, Mee 9 1-2 24, A. Martin 1 1-4 3, Best 1 1-5 3, Shaw 0 0-0 0, Sweet 0 0-0 0, Haugen 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-17 51.
Troy (24)
Maestas 3 0-1 6, Olds 1 1-2 3, Harpole 3 1-2 7, Hand 0 0-0 0, Anderson 2 0-0 4, Pepiot 2 0-0 4, Cummings 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 2-5 24.
Three-Pointers–Libby 5 (Mee 5). Rebounds–Libby 38 (Gilden 10), Troy 32 (Harpole 11). Assists–Libby 17 (A. Martin 5), Troy 8 (Harpole 6). Total Fouls–Libby 10, Troy 12. Technical Fouls–None.