The first game of the year for the Superior girls basketball team was a nail-biter, as they fell 38-34 to Drummond in a game that came down to the wire.

The next day against Philipsburg was not even close as the Lady Bobcats were routed 37-13 in a game that was decided in the early going.

Against Drummond, one of the opening games of the annual Ronan Tip-off event, Superior’s youthful line-up proved to be a handful for the Lady Trojans from Granite County.

With just two seniors on their roster, the Lady Bobcats showed they may have a bright future ahead as they scrapped their way to an 8-7 lead at the end of the first quarter of play.

The Bobcats got solid play from a pair of guards, speedy junior Isabella Perieira and fellow junior Payton Milender, who held their own against the Lady Trojans. Drummond began to use it’s experience to gain a 9-4 scoring advantage in the second quarter as they built a slim 16-12 halftime lead.

With a swarming defense the rule of the day from both teams, the third quarter became a seesaw battle that saw Drummond extend its halftime lead thanks to a 9-6 scoring advantage in the period.

Heading into the final eight minutes of the game, Drummond was up 25-18.

The Lady Bobcats showed they were not giving up as the final quarter got underway and kept things close with aggressive defense and some timely baskets from a variety of players. They outscored Drummond 16-13 over the final eight minutes, but it was not enough as the Lady Trojans held off a late charge to secure the four-point win.

Drummond’s Holly Hauptman scored eight points to lead the victors. She tied for game-high scoring honors with Superior’s Perierira

Milender added six points for the Lady Bobcats.

Saturday afternoon in their second game of the Ronan event, which attracted 16 girls and 16 boys teams from throughout the region, the Lady Bobcats could not find the range as they fell behind early in the 37-13 Philipsburg win.

In fact, they were blanked 17-0 in the first quarter and never recovered from the big early deficit.

Neither team was exactly a scoring machine after the 17-point first quarter outburst by the Lady Prospectors, with the second quarter seeing a total of six points scored by both teams combined. Heading into the halftime break, Philipsburg held a 21-2 advantage.

They battled even-up during quarter number three, with each team scoring nine points.

With eight minutes left in the game, the Lady Prospectors were up 30-11.

Once again, the Lady Bobcats could not get their offense on track as they were outscored 7-2 during the final quarter as Philipsburg chalked up the win.

Philipsburg got 10 points each from a pair of players, Asha Comings and Lucia Lee, while Trinity Donaldson led the Lady Bobcats with five points.

Next up for the Lady Bobcats, now 0-2 on the young season, is a home match-up with Darby this Thursday.

Superior is then scheduled to travel to Seeley the next evening, Friday the 10th, for a meeting with the always tough lady Blackhawks.