Libby Girls Basketball Libby girls broadside Polson, 31-22

RONAN — The Lady Loggers washed over the Lady Pirates, 12-2, in the first quarter of their first round Thursday night at the northwest Class A district tournament.

Losing some of their offensive steam over the next two quarters, the Libby defense still held Polson back as the Lady Loggers slightly widened their lead, ending the third quarter 20-7.

At the end of the game, the Lady Pirates pushed back, scoring 15 points — more than double their scoring in the first three quarters.

If the Polson defense had been able to weigh down the Libby offense, it may have been enough for an upset. Yet, the Lady Loggers picked up the pace as well, making 11 points to hold the lead.

Senior Shannon Reny — with 14 — and junior Jayden Winslow — with 11 — lead the Libby offense.

Libby advances to semifinal play 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16 versus Browning. The winner of that game will go to the championship round, facing the winner of the Ronan/Columbia Falls game played at 3:30 p.m.

Heading into the district tournament, Libby Head Coach Wally Winslow said the team was going with the expectation of winning the championship.

Reny and fellow seniors Brooklyn Rainer and Khalyn Hageness said they were excited at the prospect of facing Browning and Columbia Falls again.

The Lady Loggers showed during the season that they could play on the level of both the Wildkats and Lady Indians, Reny said. Districts is their chance to show they can beat those teams, both of which had only a single in-conference loss for the season.

Libby 31, Polson 22

Libby 12 6 2 11 — 31

Polson 2 3 2 15 — 22

Libby — Jayden Winslow 11, Khalyn Hageness 2, Shannon Reny 14, Brooklyn Rainer 4.

Polson — Aislyn Baker 10, Kaelyn Smith 5, Quinn Motichka 4, Mahala Buffalo 3.