LIBBY - Mission is accomplished.

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Plains, 41-32, on Friday in the 7-B

district tournament to earn a berth to Western B divisional

tournament this weekend in Pablo.

LIBBY - Mission is accomplished.

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Plains, 41-32, on Friday in the 7-B district tournament to earn a berth to Western B divisional tournament this weekend in Pablo.

"Our No. 1 goal was to advance to divisionals," Mission head

coach Les Rice said.

It wasn't easy though. Mission had to overcome foul trouble against the Trotters to pull out the win.

"At one point we have four starters out on the floor in foul trouble," Rice said.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-5 lead after one quarter and a 28-19 lead at halftime. In the second half, it was a completely defensive battle for both teams.

"We were lucky they didn't shoot their free throws very well," Rice said.

Both teams scored 13 points in the second half, and Mission was able to hold on and advance to the championship game against Bigfork.

"We kind of got ourselves out there with a little too much energy," Rice said.

Senior Kyla Mitchell was the usual suspect for the Lady Bulldogs' offensive firepower, scoring 15 while sophomore Stephanie Lewandowski added eight.

However, in the championship game against Bigfork, Mitchell had her knee hit the floor hard and Rice held his star player out for the rest of the game. By that time Bigfork had amassed a lead with their dead-eye shooting and guard play.

"They just shot the ball so well," Rice said. "At one point, we're down by four then you look up at the scoreboard and they're up by 20."

Bigfork, ranked No. 4 in the entire state, grabbed a 29-11 lead by halftime, and held Mission to eight second-half points en route to a 53-19 victory. Bryanna Steele picked up the slack for the Lady Bulldogs on the offensive side, scoring seven. Considering the season that Lady Bulldogs have had so far, there's tons of optimism going into the divisional tournament.

"We certainly didn't want to go home defeated," Rice said. "We're going to let this loss roll off and move on, we have been very good about that."

They'll play in Pablo this weekend with hopes of advancing to the state tournament.

Mission 41, Plains 32

Mission - 11 - 17 - 4 - 9 - 41

Plains - 5 - 14 - 6 - 7 - 32

Lady Bulldogs scoring - Kyla Mitchell 15, Stephanie Lewandowski 8, Loren Erickson 5, Ashley Courville 4, Bryanna Steele 4, LaGlenn Mitchell 3, Mackenzie Trudeau 2

Bigfork 53, Mission 19

Mission - 6 - 5 - 4 - 4 - 19

Bigfork - 15 - 14 - 11 - 13 - 53

Lady Bulldogs scoring - Bryanna Steele 7, Kyla Mitchell 4, LaGlenn Mitchell 4, Loren Erickson 2, Stephanie Lewandowski 1,

MacKenzie Trudeau 1