Eureka downs Seeley

The Daily Inter Lake

HAMILTON - Mariah Newell and Melanie Finch accounted for over half of Eureka's point production as the Lions opened Western B divisional girls' basketball tournament action Thursday afternoon with a 40-35 victory over Seeley-Swan.

Newell finished with 12 points and Finch tallied 11. Both had seven points in the opening half as both teams were deadlocked at 22.

"We started out a little slow in the first half," Eureka coach John Hammond said. "We were down by nine at one point in the second quarter."

Eureka excelled at the charity stripe, going 12-for-16. Seeley-Swan struggled, 10-for-21.

"We made some key free throws down the stretch," Hammond said.

"Six-for-nine in the fourth quarter."

Seeley-Swan's top scorer was Kyone Murphy with nine.

Eureka (11-9) advances to today's 6:30 p.m. semifinal contest with seventh-ranked Loyola Sacred Heart (17-4). Loyola defeated St. Ignatius on Thursday 41-33.

Seeley-Swan (10-13) and St. Ignatius (4-17) play a loser-out game today at 12:30 p.m.

"The kids showed a lot of heart coming from behind," Hammond said.

"We played well enough to get the job done."

Eureka was the only 8-B team to win at the divisional.

In the evening session, Florence dropped Plains 49-28 and Deer Lodge stopped Thompson Falls 54-48. Florence and Deer Lodge play in tonight's other semifinal.

Box scores were not available for the evening games.

The top two teams advance to the state tournament March 6-8 in Belgrade.

Seeley-Swan 10 12 7 6 - 35

Eureka 6 16 8 10 - 40

Seeley-Swan (10-13) - Ashley Holmes 1 1-2 3, Catalina Purcell 2 1-3 5, Jessica Baier 1 1-2 4, Kyone Murphy 3 3-5 9, Amy Meyer 1 2-5 4, Danielle Anderson 3 2-4 8, Bobbie Pierson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 10-21 35.

Eureka (11-9) - Tayler Holder 1 0-0 2, Carly Hammond 0 3-4 3, Melanie Finch 5 1-2 11, Kayci West 3 0-0 6, Rica Fils 2 2-2 6, Mariah Newell 3 6-8 12. Totals: 14 12-16 40.

3-point goals: Baier; Team fouls: Seeley-Swan 15, Eureka 20; Fouled out: None.

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Loyola 11 4 13 13 - 41

St. Ignatius 9 8 6 10 - 33

Loyola (17-4) - Rose Harringto 3 0-0 6, Brittney Anderson 4 2-4 10, Christina Medeiros 4 0-0 8. Totals: 15 11-19 41.

St. Ignatius (4-17) - Kim Christensen 2 3-4 7, Kelsey Cable 1 0-0 2, Kyla Mitchell 2 0-0 4, Rachel Jensen 2 3-4 7, Mattea Grant 3 2-6 9, Saundra Carley 1 0-1 2, Katie McDonald 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 8-15 33.

3-point goals: Grant; Team fouls: Loyola 14, St. Ignatius 20; Fouled out: None.