Polson, Ronan girls open season at NWA/SWA Tip-Off Tournament
By BRANDON HANSEN For the Leader | Lake County Leader | UPDATED 2 hours, 32 minutes AGO
Ronan Maiden Aizjah Sherwood attempts a block during the Frenchtown tournament. (Seth Anderson Photo)
Polson and Ronan girls basketball teams opened the season last weekend at the NWA/SWA Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown. While early-season action means these teams will improve throughout the season, it does give the two Western conferences a chance to look at one another.
Ronan went 0–2 at the tournament, falling to Frenchtown and Hamilton, but saw strong individual efforts throughout the weekend.
In a 73–46 loss to Frenchtown, Natalie Adams reached a major career milestone, surpassing 200 career varsity points with a three-point play in the third quarter. Nefertiti Stewart led Ronan with 16 points, adding seven field goals and going 2-for-4 at the free-throw line. Maddy Illig followed with 12 points, while Adams finished with nine points.
Frenchtown was led by Mason Quinn, who poured in 37 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the Broncs built a 21–11 first-quarter lead.
Ronan returned to the court against Hamilton in a tightly contested game before falling 36–33. Adams led the Maidens with eight points, while Stewart added eight and Illig scored seven.
Hamilton held Ronan scoreless for stretches in the third quarter and leaned on Kassidee McKern’s 14 points to secure the win.
Polson split its two games at the tournament, opening with a dominant 55–19 win over Stevensville before falling 57–36 to Fergus.
Against Stevensville, the Lady Pirates used balanced scoring and strong perimeter shooting to pull away early. Rylee Taylor Jefferson led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Hinkley Moss finished with seven points, while Olivia Ramirez and Eternity RunningRabbit each scored six. Polson knocked down six 3-pointers and held Stevensville to just two points in the first quarter.
In its second game, Polson fell to Fergus despite solid efforts from Koko Scott and Olivia Ramirez, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Aleysia Black added six points and reached a career milestone, surpassing 200 varsity points with her final free throw of the game.
Fergus was led by Peyton French with 19 points and Kenadee Simac with 10 as the Golden Eagles pulled away in the second half.