Lady Loggers sweep season series with Troy
The Lady Trojans (0-6, 2-11) dropped a basketball contest in Thompson Falls (3-2, 8-5) on Saturday. Troy struggled to score early against a stiff Bluehawks defense, but played strong defense of their own in the first half. The game was 15-9 at halftime.
Thompson Falls erupted for 19 points in the third quarter. Logan Beckman, the Bluehawks’ leading scorer, scored 12 of her team-high 14 points after halftime. Troy’s primary offensive weapons, Kellie Lundin and Caitlin Johnston, scored 15 and 12 points, respectively. Eight players scored for Thompson Falls. Taylor Brown, with five points, was Troy’s only other scorer.
Troy won the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponent 11-10.
Columbia Falls 51, Libby 30:
At Libby, Columbia Falls (5-0, 11-1) used superior depth to run away from the Lady Loggers (2-2, 4-9) on Saturday.
Libby trailed 21-18 at halftime.
“The kids did what we needed,” Libby Coach Jim May said. “On offense we waited for a good shot and were very deliberate. Our defensive energy was very high.”
A balanced rotation of eight Columbia Falls scorers paced the Wildkats to a 30-12 second half. Andrea Getts and Winter Kemppainen led the visitors with 11 points each. Libby post Taylor Quinn led all scorers with 12 points.
“They’re a very good, deep team and we battled with them for three quarters,” May said. “We got some good film of our zone offense. It was the best it’s been all year. But whenever we broke down on defense they got easy buckets, especially in the fourth. We need to limit those mistakes.”
Libby 34, Troy 14: At Libby, a hot-shooting start by the Lady Loggers developed an early lead they would never relinquish Friday against the Lady Trojans.
Libby swept the Lincoln County series this year after defeating Troy on the road earlier. After giving up the opening basket on a Lundin layup, Libby went on a 18-0 run. Dayln Germany knocked down a three-pointer and a long two in the first quarter. Devon Gallagher also made a three-pointer and a layup, which closed first-quarter scoring at 12-2.
Troy’s freshman guard Allie Brown traversed Libby’s aggressive defense with precocious aplomb, complimenting Lundin’s ball-handling. Still, Troy struggled in the half-court, and Johnston’s free throw with 1:55 remaining ended first half scoring with Troy down, 20-6.
Libby’s Hailley Moe made an outstanding hustle play to start the fourth quarter when she stole the ball after diving twice. Moe passed the ball and Germany scored a transition layup on the other end, earning the Lady Loggers a 30-8 lead. Troy freshman Olivia Roach’s free throw with 22 seconds left brought the game to its final score, 34-14.
“We did what we wanted to do on defense,” May said.