ST. IGNATIUS — Over a weekend of basketball in their hometown, the Lady Bulldogs took a 55-44 win on Friday over Ronan, then went down 46-33 on Saturday to Charlo.

Against Ronan, the Bulldogs found a third quarter lead and let it ride, chewing up a Ronan team full of shooters with a preventive defense and sound offensive production throughout the night.

Tied at 23 at half, aggressive play in the zone gave the Lady Bulldogs enough to pull ahead in the third, largely due to the quick penetration and success on the scoreboard by sophomore Kyla Mitchell, who made enough from the field and the line to give her team the edge and finish with 13.

“We had troubles there for a minute but we came back,” Mitchell said of the team’s go-ahead run in the second half.     

Using a press against a Maidens team quick to get back on defense, the Bulldogs didn’t generate the steals for breakaways head coach Les Rice had hoped for but did manage to keep Ronan from finding its game in the second half.

“If we play with enough pressure, we hope that by the end of the game they aren’t shooting as well, aren’t getting enough shots, and they’re getting turnovers,” Rice said.

With Ronan scoring enough shots to hang around until the fourth, drawing fouls and making them count was key in bringing the Bulldogs the win.

Mitchell and junior Katie McDonald both found their stroke and the basket when the time was right, adding a few of the team’s stellar nine for 11 free throws in the fourth quarter. 

Free throws win close games, save leads and can put a team right back in it. Rice said he was very pleased with his girl’s performance at the line.

“I think that was the thing that sealed the deal,” he said.

Bull Dog practices had seen a lot of free throw time, Rice said.

“It’s been a focus of ours this year and we’re getting better,” he said.

Mitchell said the team defense played a big factor in the win, pointing to her teammates’ hard work in the execution of the press as a major factor in the win.

“We practice it a lot. We didn’t do it last year. All of our players worked on it this year and we were able to conquer it. We will be successful,” she said. 

Mission’s success was also born out of a strong team bond, Mitchell said.

“Everyone supports each other. We look out for each other on and off the court,” she said. “We never put each other down.”

Mission’s other top scorers were McDonald and junior Jonna Grant, who each scored 11, and senior Mattea Grant, who scored nine.

Against Charlo, it was another story. If the Bulldogs had come to play against Ronan, than the fast breaking Charlo came to play harder against Mission.

The Bulldog’s couldn’t hang on to their scoring drive from the night before, every player seeming to lose their tough over night.

Rice broke down the 46-33 loss simply.

“Here’s the crazy thing, Katie McDonald is the only player on our team that made two field goals,” he said. 

Splitting at home leaves the team a lot to work on, but Rice was happy with the performance overall.     

“I thought we played hard both games. I think we played better this weekend than we did the first weekend, so I’m happy about that,” he said. “We won a gm from the free throw line and last year we didn’t do that one time.”

The Lady Bulldogs play next on Saturday, Jan. 3., at Eureka.

Mission        5    14    4       10    F- 33

Charlo        10    10    12    14    F- 46

Mission         12    11    17     15    F- 55

Ronan         9    14    11    10    F- 44