The Polson Lady Pirates dropped a tough one to Missoula Hellgate in Tuesday night's season opener, 48-43, after leading for the first three quarters of play.

Polson was outscored 17-2 in the final frame, in what was otherwise a good showing against what should have been a more dominant AA squad.

"I'm still pleased with how well they played, but all of the sudden we couldn't make a basket," head coach Bruce Thomas said.

The Lady Pirates led 10-8 after the first and 29-16 at the half, after easily controlling the tempo early on. Hellgate at times looked downright sloppy, as Polson's press forced several turnovers.

The girls were shooting well in the first half, too, with nine different players putting up points, including a nice 3-pointer by Jessica Bucklesss in the second.

Lisa Mathias led the team with eight points, while Jaelin Vandeberg had seven. The rest of the individual results were unavailable before the Leader's deadline.

But good fortune, ball movement and defensive pressure in the first wasn't enough to get the win, as Hellgate surged back in the final frame. Whereas the Lady Pirates could do no wrong in the first half, Hellgate had the momentum in the final minutes, Thomas noted.

"We just couldn't make a shot in the second half. The baskets would just bounce around but wouldn't drop," he said.

But he still had a lot to be pleased with. The team hasn't had a chance to work on "situation" plays — including finding that go-to person late in the game that can pull a team out of the doldrums, Thomas said.

"We haven't had a chance to learn any set plays, or deal with specific situations. We just focused on the basics the first couple weeks of practice," he said.

But the girls did a great job of putting pressure on Missoula early on, and their full-court press led to several turnovers. They moved the ball around well, and worked both the inside and outside shots in the first half, but they just didn't fall in the second.

The team will travel to the Hamilton Tip-Off tourney this weekend, where they will face powerhouses Anaconda and Browning, which were two of the top A schools in the state last year.

It will be good experience to face those tough teams, Thomas said, especially early in the season. They are non-conference games, so it will give the Lady Pirates an idea of areas to focus on, he noted, to prepare for conference action starting later this month.