It was a tough way to start a week for the St. Regis girls basketball team, which was whacked by Charlo, 60-19 last Tuesday night in Charlo.

But it ended with a 51-45 home court win over the Two Eagle River girls Saturday night, a victory that left the Lady Tigers with a 3-3 overall record and a 2-2 District 14C mark, good for third place in the league.

In between those games, the Lady Tigers picked up a 52-26 road win over Noxon this past Friday night.

The Lady Tigers fell behind early in the game against the Lady Vikings in Charlo, creating a large deficit they could not overcome. The loss put the Tigers’ conference record at 0-2 on the year as the regular season rolls toward its conclusion next month and District tournament action in Polson.

But they bounced back this past Friday night when they defeated Noxon’s Lady Devils in another 14C contest.

Against Noxon, St. Regis came out strong in the first quarter and built a 15-7 lead after the first eight minutes of play. Junior guard Shylah Dalka, who finished with a game-best 26 points for the Lady Tigers, had a hot hand most of the night.

By halftime, the Lady Tigers held a 27-15 lead and never trailed again.

St. Regis increased its halftime lead to 43-23 after the third quarter and cruised to the win, boosting their league record to 1-2.

Noxon, which fell to 0-2 in league play with the loss, got 13 points from Abby Yoder and 12 from Seanna Ritcher.

Saturday night the Lady Eagles from Two Eagle River High came to town looking for their first conference win of the year, and left St. Regis still looking for a 14C victory.

St. Regis jumped out to a 16-12 lead after the first quarter of play as Dalka and fellow guard Shannon Todd sliced and diced the Eagles defense and wreaked havoc in its offensive ambitions.

By the halftime intermission, St. Regis had built a 28-18 lead. But Two Eagles showed it had fight left and played even-up with the Lady Tigers throughout the third quarter.

With St. Regis leading 38-27 heading into the final quarter of play, the Lady Eagles kept attacking and outscored the Lady Tigers 18-13 over the final eight minutes of play.

But the early lead held up for St. Regis, thanks to their swarming defense and the overall guard play from Dalka and Todd.

Todd led all scorers with 17 points for St. Regis, while Dalka chipped in 14.

Dayani Piapot paced Two Eagle River with 14 points.

The Lady Tigers host Frenchtown JV this Tuesday (Jan 23), then travel to Hot Springs for a conference game versus the Lady Savage Heat Thursday night.

Noxon, which plays Wednesday night in Clark Fork, Idaho, has a road game versus Troy this Friday night.