Lady Loggers advance after consolation win

By BENJAMIN KIBBEY

The Western News

RONAN — The Libby High School girls basketball will move onto divisionals after a weekend of victory and loss at the northwest Class A district tournament.

In their first game, the Lady Loggers washed over Polson, 12-2, in the first quarter.

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.

In the semifinal, Libby faced Browning, a team they knew would be tough to beat.

Senior Shannon 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 had taken regular season losses to both teams.

In the semifinal, the Lady Indians established their lead early, and held onto it throughout the game. By the half, they led the Lady Loggers by 12 points.

A deep bench and two high-scoring players kept Browning outside of Libby’s reach, outscoring the Lady Loggers in every quarter. The game ended with a 45-21 Browning win.

Libby switched roles in their loser out game against Whitefish, keeping the Lady Dogs’ scoring beneath their own throughout the game.

The Lady Loggers defense locked Whitefish for the entire second quarter, and by the half Libby had scored 18 points to the Lady Dogs’ 2.

The Lady Loggers were led in scoring by junior Jayden Winslow, with 14 points, and saw baskets from eight of the twelve players on their roster.

In the consolation final, Libby was up against Ronan, who had just beaten Polson 45-23.

The Maidens were kept to zero points in the first quarter, while the Lady Logger offense made 11. By the half, Ronan had begun to make some progress, scoring 10 points to Libby’s 5.

But the Lady Loggers stayed consistent and denied the Maidens a second half comeback, scoring 23 points to the Maidens’ 16.

Though scoring was spread mostly evenly among Libby players, senior Shannon Reny led with a game-high 19 points, making 10 in the fourth quarter alone.

The Lady Loggers will play their next game at divisionals on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in Butte, where their first game will be against Dillon.

Feb. 15

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.

Feb. 16

Semifinal

browning 45, libby 21

Browning 15 10 12 8 — 45

Libby 9 4 3 5 — 21

Browning: Lacie Goss 2, Olivia Hall 2, Taylor Jordan 4, Ronnal Jordan 14, Ayanna OldPerson 1, Dulci Skunkcap 14, Tamika Guardipee 8.

Libby: Jayden Winslow 10, Sammee Bradeen 4, Shannon Reny 5, McKenzie Proffitt 2.

Feb. 17

Loser Out Game

libby 44, whitefish 21

Libby 14 4 8 18 — 44

Whitefish 2 0 7 12 — 21

Libby: Emma Gruber 2, Alli Collins 5, Jayden Winslow 14, Sammee Bradeen 2, Khalyn Hageness 8, Shayla Gallagher 3, Shanon Reny 8, Brooklyn Rainer 2.

Whitefish: Hope Brown 3, Kaiah Moore 3, Ashton Ramsey 6, Annisa Brown 2, Payton Kastella 4, Marlee Bender 3.

Consolation Final

libby 39, ronan 26

Libby 11 5 9 14 — 39

Ronan 0 10 8 8 — 26

Libby: Emma Gruber 6, Jayden Winslow 9, Khalyn Hageness 3, Sheyla Gallagher 2, Shannon Reny 19.

Ronan: Micalann McCrea 12, Tiana Ulutoa 5, Reagan Clairmont 5, Jaelynn Askann 2, Kianna Finley 2.