Youthful Lady Loggers reloaded
<p>Sophomore guard Hailey Craig keeps the ball from going out of bounds in Libby’s matchup with Troy in January. Craig was co-MVP with fellow sophomore guard Hannah England.</p>
It was a team brimming with promise at the beginning of the season, but the Libby girls basketball team was quickly beset with injuries, problems and frustrations.
Taylor Quinn, a junior post, was expected to lead the Lady Loggers. She suffered an injury and was knocked out of the season.
That led to an increasingly younger and younger team.
“I asked the kids to do stuff that they hadn’t done before,” said Head Coach Jim May. “They should be commended for their efforts. There were periods where we were the best team in conference.”
Although finishing with a 4-18 record, Libby could challenge the best teams in conference. The Lady Loggers lost by a single point to Frenchtown Feb. 15 and fought back to a near-upset of No. 1 Columbia Falls in the playoffs.
This was despite having just one senior on the roster.
“It was frustrating,” said freshman post Gavy Oliver. “We didn’t have as much experience as almost everybody else.”
Despite this, Oliver says, the leadership of some of the older girls spurred the team to keep fighting.
Co-MVPs Hailey Craig and Hannah England were team leaders, sharing the responsibility with first-year player and team most inspirational Katelyn Gilder, a senior.
But Craig and England were the on-court leaders.
In the near-upset of Frenchtown, Craig had 23 points, including six 3-pointers. England hit four treys for 14 points over Troy and five 3-pointers and 21 points in a bruising win over Whitefish.
Gilder embraced her role as a locker-room leader as well.
“She’s the epitome of dedicating herself to something,” May said. “That seems to be a little rare in our school.”
Libby upended Whitefish in playoffs before dropping to Columbia Falls and Polson. Regardless, the youth and experience returning could make for a very dangerous team next season.
England, Craig, starters Hailley Moe and Dayln Germany as well as varsity players Devon Gallagher, Bailie Rosling and Oliver could return for Libby. An extremely deep freshman class (16 players) could keep the Lady Loggers competitive for years.