The Ronan Maidens girls basketball team has maintained its unblemished record headed into the winter break. Prior to the break, the Maidens played four games in the last five days, and according to Maidens’ Coach Ron Hanson, the win streak was “pretty important.” “(It was important) that we won those last two games because we were tired, and getting those two games were crucial,” Hanson said. “Winning the Polson game was important just because it’s still a rivalry game. Against Loyola, we played really well right from the start and just kept it going. We had one of our better games all year.” Hanson said he felt his team demonstrated mental toughness during a difficult stretch of the Maidens’ schedule. “We have a pretty strong crew and as far as the mental part of basketball, they’ve got to understand the game pretty well and each other,” Hanson said. “There were a couple of big games they were coming back two weeks from the break. Going into the break, we were playing pretty good. It will help them to have this break and get (our players) mentally relaxed a little bit because this will be the last break we have until we get into the postseason.” With the success the Maidens have had in the first portion of the season, Hanson is already thinking about his team’s upcoming opponents in the second half of the season. The Maidens will play Deer Lodge in one of their first games back after the break. “We have a tough game against Deer Lodge and it’s always been a tough game up there,” Hanson said. “Deer Lodge has played well the last few week. They are always strong defensively. They do a lot of high pressure zone defense and we will have to take care of the basketball really well. They have an excellent coach. There isn’t much height to them but they are really quick, scrappy and they’ll get after you. We will have to hopefully shoot the ball well.” The Maidens will play two critical conference games against Florence and Anaconda. Hanson said he felt the two conference foes will be similar in style. “Florence will shoot the ball a lot, and they live and die by the 3-point shot,” Hanson said. “They have a lot of big play girls that are quick, and they pass and shoot the ball really well.” Last year, Hanson said his team struggled against Florence’s ability to shoot the 3-point shot in the first half, until his team adjusted. “It is the same way they played us last year and they really took it to us in the first half,” Hanson said. “They shot the ball well and our defense adjusted. Once we took that outside shot away, we were able to beat them by 10 points. However, if they get hot, they are tough to beat. They have already defeated Libby and they have beaten some really good teams handily just because they got hot. What we have to do is be able to contain their 3-point shot.” Against Anaconda the Maidens will face a similar-style team, according to Hanson. “Anaconda shoots the ball well and we will have two games against really good perimeter shooting teams,” Hanson said. “Against them, we will have to take care of the ball because they are going to have to stop us, too if we are able to stop one or two of their players. They are quite a fast break team. Anaconda likes to go slow and set up their outside shooters by a good passing game. (Both teams) are extremely good from the 3-point line.”

Ronan 65, Loyola Sacred Heart 39

At Ronan, the host Maidens opened up an escalating double digit lead through the first frame and never looked back. Alicia Camel played a huge role in the surge with the largest scoring binge of her prep career with a 27-point double-double that included seven for eight shooting from the charity stripe. The mischief making by this Maiden pushed Alicia past the century mark scoring plateau for the season while surpassing her varsity career 900th point while pilfering her hundredth varsity career steal. Both Micalann McCrea and Lee Camel also scored in double figures to bolster the Maiden scoring coffers with another two dozen.

Ronan (6-0) has been averaging over five dozen points per game and will have already concluded their rez roundball rivalry wrangle with Polson at press time. Per game averages project both Lee Camel and Micalann McCrea to crest the century plateau for seasonal scoring during the course of that game.

Loyola 5 9 10 15 – 39

Ronan 17 21 15 12 – 65

LOYOLA – Tessa Burke 17, Sydney Koppang 8, Carly Tipp 4, Kylie Esh 3, Emma Daniel 2, Payson Jacobson 2, McKenna Round 2, Kenna Guenther 1, Astin Libel 0.

RONAN – Alicia Camel 27, Micalann McCrea 14, Lee Camel 10, Tiana Ulutoa 4, Madison Clairmont 2, Jaelynn Askan 2, Louetta Conko-Camel 2, Hannah Moss 2, Kianna Finley 2.

3FG – L5-14 (Burke 2, Koppang 2, Esh), R5-9 (A.Camel 2, L.Camel 2, McCrea). REBOUNDS – Loyola 22 (Burke 7, Jacobson 5), Ronan 39 (A.Camel 11, L.Camel 8, McCrea 6, Conko-Camel 2, Askan 2, Ulutoa 2, Moss, Finley, M.Clairmont, noID5). STEALS – L>4 (Burke 3), R21 (A.Camel 6, McCrea 5, L.Camel 3, Conko-Camel 3, Askan 2, Finley, Moss). ASSISTS – L>5 (Burke 2), R18 (L.Camel 8, McCrea 3, Conko-Camel 2, Ulutoa 2, M.Clairmont 2, Moss). BLOCKS – L1 (Guenther), R1 (L.Camel). (M19Dec16)