Girls Basketball: Lady Loggers come up short in tourney
The Polson defense came out of the gate in the Northwestern A semifinals against Libby on Friday with a strategy that centered around stopping Jackie Mee.
The Lady Loggers senior had averaged 19.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game during the regular season. And although the Pirates limited her to two points in the first half, Mee and rest of the LHS lineup rallied in the second half. In the end, however, Polson pulled out a 36-32 victory.
The Lady Loggers rebounded to defeat Ronan, 51-31, in the consolation bracket on Saturday. Later that evening, Columbia Falls downed Polson for the championship and since the Pirates had beaten LHS, no challenge game was necessary.
Polson’s Sierra Pete glued herself to Mee to help the Pirates take an 18-6 lead at halftime.
“We talked a lot about having a lot of energy this whole week,” Polson Coach Randy Kelley said. “I thought they came out real well. I thought defensively we did some great things. Sierra Pete, I can’t say enough about what she did with Jackie in that first half.”
That wasn’t the last they heard of Mee and the Lady Loggers, however. Libby came out of their offensive slumber in the second half with an 11-3 run that slimmed Polson’s lead to four.
“We were either going to lose bad or we were going to start attacking and try to get something off our defense,” Libby Coach Jim May said.
So what did May tell his beleaguered group at halftime?
“‘You just got nothing to lose, just go for it,’” he said. “So, they did.”
Mee finished with 10 points.
Libby stayed within four points up until the final two minutes before Polson squashed any hope of a Loggers’ comeback.
“We got unraveled a few times in the second half and that was the difference, a few turnovers here and there and they’re right back in the game,” Kelley said. “I thought the girls held their poise. We hit some big shots and then we attacked the hoop.”
Senior Breanne Kelley tallied 15 points for the Lady Pirates.
LaRona Luscher scored nine for Libby and Jaime Gilden had seven before fouling out midway through the fourth.
The mood was understandably somber on the Libby end of things.
“We got anxious, we didn’t attack the defense and we’ve been doing such a good job of that the last month, so I don’t know,” May said. “They just got nervous or anxious … but I’m very happy with the way we came back and made it a ball game in the second half.”
In the win over Ronan, Mee’s final game in an LHS basketball uniform was significant with 25 points – including three 3-pointers and 10-of-14 at the free-throw line – to go along with three steals. Luscher, also a senior, scored 11 points.
Libby steadily pulled away with a 25-14 lead by halftime. The Loggers went on a 13-4 run in the third quarter to bag the victory.
The Lady Loggers end the season with a 14-6 record.
(Dillon Tabish of the Daily Inter Lake contributed to this story).
Polson 38, Libby 32
Thursday at Kalispell
Scoring by Quarters:
Polson 14 4 9 11—38
Libby 4 2 14 12—32
Polson (38)
Rochin 1 0-0 2, Hamel 0 3-4 3, Pete 4 0-2 8, Kelley 5 2-4 15, Kenney 2 4-6 8, Davey 1 0-0 2, Duford 0 0-0 0, Rausch 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 9-16 38.
LIBBY (32)
Luscher 3 0-0 9, Martin 1 0-0 2, Gilden 3 1-2 7, Best 0 1-2 1, Mee 4 2-5 10, Tangen 1 1-2 3, Good 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 5-11 32.
3-point goals–Polson 3 (Kelley 3), Libby 3 (Luscher 3). Team fouls–Polson 12, Libby 14. Fouled out–Gilden.
Libby 51, Ronan 31
Saturday at Kalispell
Scoring by Quarters:
Ronan 7 7 4 13—31
Libby 12 13 13 13—51
RONAN (31)
Lynch 0 2-2 2, Grant 6 2-6 15, Van Gunten 0 2-2 2, Irvine 0 2-3 2, Clairmont 2 0-0 5, Left Hand 1 0-0 3, Grandchamp 1 0-0 2, Cheff 0 0-0 0, Orozco 0 0-2 0, Lynch 0 0-0 0, Andrews 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 8-15 31.
LIBBY (51)
Luscher 4 2-3 11, Gilden 2 4-9 8, Best 0 1-2 1, Mee 6 10-14 25, Tangen 1 4-6 6, Walker 0 0-0 0, Good 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Forster 0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 21-37 51.
3-point goals–Ronan 3 (Left Hand, Clairmont, Grant), Libby 4 (Mee 3, Luscher). Steals–Ronan 3 (Grant 2), Libby 9 (Mee 3). Team fouls–Ronan 22, Libby 6. Fouled out–Van Gunten.
Northwestern A Tournament
GIRLS
Thursday
Whitefish 39, Ronan 30
Friday
Columbia Falls 52, Whitefish 26
Polson 38, Libby 32
Saturday
Ronan 37, Whitefish 24
Consolation Final
Libby 51, Ronan 31
Championship
Columbia Falls 48, Polson 46