This was a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions so far this year.

For the Superior Bobcats girls basketball team, their 61-19 win over host Noxon allowed them to square their season record at 2-2 and enter the Christmas break with a healthy dose of momentum.

The Lady Red Devils finished the week 1-2 after beating Troy on Tuesday and losing a heart-breaker to Arlee Thursday on the road.

The Noxon boys salvaged their week with the win over Superior after falling to both Troy and Arlee by large margins earlier in the week.

The Superior boys team’s struggles continued in Noxon as they fell to the host Red Devils by a 59-36 count in what has been a frustrating start to this season.

Meanwhile, Noxon held an early 4-2 lead in the girls contest, but it quickly evaporated under relentless defensive pressure applied by Coach Jeff Schultz’s style of swarming, smothering defense.

After taking the lead in the early minutes of the first quarter, the Lady Bobcats reeled off nine unanswered points on their way to a 21-7 lead at the end of the first eight minutes of play.

From there, things just got worse for the home-standing Lady Red Devils who had a frigid shooting night against the Superior defense. By halftime the score was 36-10 in Superior’s favor.

And it did not get any better for Noxon as the second half got underway.

By the mid-point of the third quarter, Superior had rolled to a 53-13 lead, triggering the Mercy Rule, which keeps the clock running if one team is ahead by 40 or more points.

The third quarter came to a merciful conclusion a short time later with the Lady Bobcats in firm control 57-13.

Junior guard Payton Milender lead a balanced Lady Bobcat scoring attack with 14 points. She was joined in double-figure scoring by post Cassie Green, who added 13 points, Darby Haskins’ 11 points and 10 points from Trinity Donaldson.

Noxon has one more game to play prior to the Christmas break, a game tonight (Tuesday) at home against unbeaten Thompson Falls.

Superior returns to action Thursday, January 6, when they host Mineral County rival St. Regis, then travel to Hot Springs January 8 for a game versus the Lady Savage Heat.

The Noxon boys, meanwhile, extracted a measure of revenge for the Lady Red Devils defeat by doing the same to the Superior boys.

In a reversal of the girls game, the Noxon boys came out strong by racing to a 9-1 lead in the opening minutes of play on their way to a 21-7 first quarter lead over the Superior boys.

The two teams played evenly the second quarter, which came to an end with Noxon ahead 37-22.

In the third quarter, Noxon used a pair of timely three pointers to help slow a Bobcat rally and preserve their lead at 47-31 with one quarter remaining to play.

Noxon outscored Superior 12-5 over the final eight minutes of play to expand their lead and preserve the victory.

Both boys teams play the same schedule ahead as do the girls, with Noxon hosting Thompson Falls tonight (Tuesday) prior to entering winter break.

Prior to their win over Superior, both Noxon teams traveled to Arlee Thursday and came away with losses, including a heart-breaking loss by the girls team in the final minutes of play.

In the girls vs Arlee Scarlets game, Noxon saw an early lead evaporate as the game came down to the final seconds of play.

Noxon held an 8-1 first quarter lead, then an 18-6 lead at the half before Arlee rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter, 40-39. Lady Red Devil guard Emily Brown was fouled with two seconds remaining and had a chance to pull out the victory but missed both free throw attempts and time ran out as Noxon fell in a heart-breaker.

The Noxon boys game versus Arlee was never close as the host Warriors stormed to a 24-7 first quarter lead and never looked back.

By halftime the Warriors lead was 45-15 and the Red Devils could not trim the massive lead the rest of the way.

The Lady Red Devils loss came on the heels of a Tuesday game in which they held off a determined Troy team in Noxon to preserve a two-point victory.

The two teams had traded baskets and the lead throughout the game, with neither able to build a substantial lead. Troy had the ball out of bounds with two seconds to play but was unable to get off a shot and Noxon held on for the win.

Troy’s boys meanwhile, had an easier time against the Red Devils boys, taking control of the game early and never being threatened.

Troy led 17-6 after one and had a 33-15 halftime advantage.

The Red Devils were playing all week without power forward Cade VanVleet, who suffered a leg injury the week before in a loss to St. Regis.