Bigfork girls Western B champions
Mattison McAnally, a 5-foot-5 junior guard, was a dominating force in the Western B divisional girls championship basketball game late Friday night at the Flathead High School gymnasium.
McAnally knocked down a game-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and three steals in Bigfork’s 43-34 victory over District 7B rival Plains.
Bigfork trailed early, down 12-7 after the first period, but regrouped to lead 19-17 at the half. McAnally was the spark in the second quarter as she scored six of her team’s 12 points.
The Valkyries held the scoring edge in both quarters in the final half to come out on top.
Hailey Phillips led Plains with 15 points.
It was the fourth meeting of the season for the two teams. Bigfork also defeated Plains in the District 7B Tournament championship game on Feb. 22 in Columbia Falls 50-38.
In two regular-season games, Plains won 64-62 in Plains while Bigfork won 37-36 in Bigfork.
Bigfork advances to state tournament play March 12-14 in Great Falls.
Bigfork finished third at the divisional last year.
Deer Lodge beat Missoula Loyola in last year’s title game 51-36.
Bigfork 7 12 9 15 — 43
Plains 12 5 5 12 — 34
BIGFORK — Marissa Hiza 1 0-0 3, Riley Coleman 1 5-11 7, Jaime Berg 1 0-0 2, Mattison McAnally 5 5-7 17, Katie Thomas 0 1-2 1, Lana Berg 3 1-2 7, Miranda Campbell 3 0-1 6. Totals: 14 12-23 43.
PLAINS — Sami Kinzie 1 0-2 2, Carley Vonheeder 0 2-2 2, Hailey Phillips 6 3-8 15, Kayla Holmes 3 0-0 6, Jessica Thompson 0 2-2 2, Leah Thompson 3 1-2 7. Totals: 13 8-16 34.
Consolation Final
Ronan 53,
Deer Lodge 39
Ronan used a strong second quarter to pull away from Deer Lodge.
Trailing 11-6 after the first period, Ronan outscored the Wardens 19-7 in the second stanza to take a 25-18 halftime lead.
Ronan stayed on the offensive in the second half.
Alicia Camel poured in 18 points for Ronan. Aspen Jore had 13.
Natalie Padovich scored 11 points for Deer Lodge. Jessalynn Crichton finished with 10.
Ronan 6 19 13 15 — 53
Deer Lodge 11 7 9 12 — 39
RONAN — Micalann McCrea 1 3-4 5, Jordyn Clairmont 2 0-0 5, Aspen Jore 4 5-6 13, Alicia Camel 6 6-9 18, Kendra Starkel 2 4-7 8, Lee Camel 2 0-0 4. Totals: 17 18-26 53.
DEER LODGE — Natalie Padovich 4 2-2 11, Taylor Lott 1 0-0 2, Lenora Campbell 2 0-1 4, Jaicee Senecal 2 0-0 4, Kerstin Cooper 0 1-4 1, Kelsie Gray 2 2-4 6, Maggie Crisman 0 1-2 1, Jessalynn Crichton 3 4-7 10. Totals: 14 10-20 39.
Loser Out
Deer Lodge 43,
Missoula Loyola 35
Deer Lodge used a fast start to knock out Missoula Loyola.
Deer Lodge led at the half 26-17 en route to the eight-point win.
Natalie Padovich led Deer Lodge offensively with 15 points. Kelsie Gray was next with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kaya Resner, Brooke Kolar, Tessa Burke and Sami Worster all had five points each for Loyola.
The victory advanced Deer Lodge to the consolation final versus Ronan.
Deer Lodge 8 18 7 10 — 43
Missoula Loyola 4 13 5 13 — 35
DEER LODGE — Natalie Padovich 4 4-6 15, Lenora Campbell 1 0-0 2, Jaicee Senecal 3 1-2 8, Kerstin Cooper 1 0-0 2, Kelsie Gray 2 8-14 12, Jessalynn Crighton 2 0-0 4. Totals: 13 13-22 43.
MISSOULA LOYOLA — Olina Round 1 2-4 4, Mikayla Schneider 2 0-0 4, Kelcey Daily 1 0-0 3, Taylor Short 1 0-1 2, Tessa Burke 2 0-0 5, Kelsey Twite 1 0-0 2, Sami Worster 2 0-0 5, Brook Kolar 2 1-3 5, Kaya Resner 2 1-4 5. Totals: 14 4-12 35.
Ronan 65,
Thompson Falls 61, OT
Lee Camel went 4 for 6 and Macalann McCrea was 3 for 4 from the free-throw line in overtime as Ronan eliminated Thompson Falls.
Ronan outscored Thompson Falls in the extra session 11-7.
Lee Camel and Alicia Camel both finished with 18 points.
McCrea was next with 12.
Shey Hannum led Thompson Falls, and all scorers, with 25 points. Logan Beckman netted 18.
The win put Ronan in the consolation final versus Deer Lodge.
Thompson Falls 15 13 10 16 7 — 61
Ronan 8 12 10 24 11 — 65
THOMPSON FALLS — Lindsay Laws 3 1-6 9, Shey Hannum 8 9-17 25, Sierra Sorlie 0 2-2 2, Maddie Fitchett 0 1-2 1, Autrey Hannum 2 2-2 6, Logan Beckman 4 10-10 18. Totals: 17 25-39 61.
RONAN — Macalann McCrea 3 6-8 12, Jordyn Clairmont 0 1-4 1, Aspen Jore 3 2-5 8, Haley Otten 2 1-2 5, Alicia Camel 8 2-2 18, Kendra Starkel 0 1-2 1, Ahsley Peterson 1 0-0 2, Lee Camel 4 8-12 18. Totals: 25 21-25 65.
Boys
Semifinals
Bigfork 61, Florence 50
Bigfork held the scoring edge in all four quarters as the Vikings beat Florence for the third time this season.
Isaac Martel led a balanced Bigfork attack with 19 points. Josh Sandry was next with 15 and Jonathan Landon added 12.
Landon had team highs of six assists and six rebounds. He also blocked a shot and had two steals.
Jake Christopherson scored 18 points for Florence and Jess Grabowska had 13.
Bigfork led 27-20 at the intermission.
Bigfork was 24 of 49 shooting from the field to Florence’s 16 of 40.
Florence held a slight edge on the boards, 25-23.
The win advances the defending divisional champions to the title game tonight at 8:45 versus Missoula Loyola.
Florence drops into a loser-out contest today at 9:30 a.m. with Thompson Falls.
Florence 6 14 12 18 — 50
Bigfork 11 16 14 20 — 61
FLORENCE — Brandon Johnson 2 2-2 6, Levi Clagett 2 0-0 5, Travern Smith 4 0-0 8, Jake Christopherson 4 10-12 18, Dan Mickelson 4 5-5 13. Totals: 16 17-19 50.
BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 1 0-0 2, Joseph Potkonjak 1 0-0 3, Isaac Martel 8 1-2 19, Tyler Piazzola 2 1-1 5, Jonathan Landon 4 4-4 12, Josh Sandry 7 1-2 15, Ryder Trent 1 2-4 5.
Missoula Loyola 73, Deer Lodge 57
Kevin Swanson tallied 32 points, six rebounds and four assists to guide Missoula Loyola past Deer Lodge in semifinal play.
Swanson was 11 of 19 shooting from the field and hit 6 of 9 foul shots.
He nailed two 3s in the second and third quarters.
Loyola led 35-16 at the half.
Jacob Sampson had 19 points and Kade Benjamin 14 for Deer Lodge.
Loyola will face Bigfork in the championship game tonight at 8:45.
Deer Lodge will play Ronan at 11:15 a.m. in a loser-out contest.
Missoula Loyola 14 21 18 20 — 73
Deer Lodge 4 12 27 14 — 57
MISSOULA LOYOLA — Braden Burke 1 0-0 2, Kevin Swanson 11 6-9 32, Stephen Sellman 4 0-3 8, Carson Christian 0 1-2 1, Michael Vancanagan 3 0-1 6, M. Ryan 0 2-2 2, Danner Linhart 3 2-2 9, Strother Cooper 2 3-4 7, Sam Johnston 2 2-2 6. Totals: 26 16-25 73.
DEER LODGE — Derek Walker 2 1-2 5, Kade Benjamin 6 2-3 14, Quade McQueary 1 4-4 6, Ethan Johnson 0 0-1 0, Kaehl Lowry 1 0-0 2, Jacob Sampson 7 5-9 19, Brandon Porter 1 0-0 2, Andrew Pierson 3 3-4 9. Totals: 21 15-23 54.
Loser Out
Ronan 54, Eureka 51
Jeremiah North Peigan scored 13 of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Ronan slip by Eureka.
North Peigan hit 7 of 8 free throws in the last eight minutes and knocked down three field goals.
Cedric Earthboy added 11 points to go with eight rebounds.
Ronan outscored Eureka 21-15 in the fourth quarter to pull it out.
Eureka’s Trey Bohne had four 3s, four field goals and was 5 of 5 in free throws to finish with 25 points.
Chase Bohne was next with 13 points.
Braden Thier had eight rebounds for Eureka.
Ronan 11 11 11 21 — 54
Eureka 11 16 9 15 — 51
RONAN — Cedric Earthboy 5 1-2 11, Colton McCrea 2 3-6 7, Bryce Cullen 2 0-0 4, Justin Krahn 2 2-2 8, Aaron Misa 1 2-3 4, Jeremiah North Peigan 4 6-7 14, Rhett Duffey 2 0-0 6. Totals: 18 14-20 54.
EUREKA — Brandon Conard 0 1-2 1, Trey Bohne 8 5-8 25, RJ Glover 1 2-4 4, Michael Peterson 1 1-2 3, Chase Bohne 5 3-4 13, Braden Thier 2 1-2 5. Totals: 17 13-22 51.
Thompson Falls 60, Plains 54, 2OT
Tanner Laws scored 7 of Thompson Falls’ 14 points in the two overtimes as the Blue Hawks eliminated Plains in a District 7B matchup.
Laws hit five of six free throws in the extra sessions and added a field goal. He finished with 18 points.
Teammate Dylan Vaught had 15 points and Dalton Hooten tallied 12.
Laws and Vaught both had eight rebounds.
Kyle Revier’s 17 points and nine rebounds paced Plains. Ryan Ouitt had 14.
Plains 8 8 16 14 6 2 — 54
Thompson Falls 4 7 17 18 6 8 — 60
PLAINS — Ryan Ouitt 6 2-7 14, Aaren Vonheeden 0 0-2 0, Trent Brouillette 2 2-4 7, Alec Cole 2 1-2 5, Kyle Revier 7 1-2 17, Cole Benson 1 0-0 2, Aaron Baker 1 7-9 9. Totals: 19 13-26 54.
THOMPSON FALLS — Tanner Laws 4 8-9 18, Dylan Vaught 7 1-4 15, Joe Lundberg 2 0-0 4, Greg Wadsworth 1 1-4 3, Joe Fields 2 0-1 6, Dalton Hooten 4 0-0 12, Tyler Rifle 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20 12-20 60.