Lady Broncs top Lady Loggers, 51-21

 The Frenchtown Lady Broncs kept their undefeated 7-0 girls basketball season intact Saturday as they beat the Lady Loggers, 51-21.

The 1-5 Lady Loggers were outmatched almost from the beginning in this one, as Libby held just one brief lead at the outset when 5-foot-3 freshman guard Hanna England dropped a three-pointer to give the Lady Loggers a 3-2 lead with 5:23 left in the first quarter. After that, the Lady Broncs were never headed.

“This was a very good team we played tonight,” said Libby Coach Jim May.  “They are a very experienced team.  They stretched us, and we didn’t handle or pass the ball very well,” May said, indicating passing is an aspect of their game they will practice this week.

Both May and Lady Broncs coach Jim Tolman were asked about Frenchtown’s full-court press in the third quarter when the Broncos had a handy 34-9 lead.

“No. I don’t have a problem with the press,” May said. “I don’t get upset with that. Our players need to get the experience in handling it.”

Tolman also saw the opportunity to train his players on the full-court pressure.

“The press was something we felt we needed to work on,” Tolman said. “We’re still coming together. I felt like it was important for our bench to get the experience. You’ve got to give Libby their credit,” Tolman said. “That’s a very young team.”

Libby employed a man-to-man defense while the Lady Broncs used a 2-3 defense that seemed to stymie the Lady Loggers’ rebounds and second-chance shots.

The Lady Loggers simply did not have an answer for the Lady Broncs’ height advantage. Frenchtown’s 6-foot senior forward Sarah Lester, who has committed to Minot State University, was her team’s court general, handily passing off and pulling down rebounds.

Libby’s leading scorer was Shyla Stevenson who scored six points. Taylor Quinn and Kim Tangen both had five points.

Rounding out the scoring for Libby was England with three and Jenny Johnson with two points.

The Lady Loggers are home Thursday as they host Thompson Falls at 7 p.m., with the jayvee game at 5:30 p.m.