Ronan had a strong first half on its way to a 71-50 victory over Lake County rival Polson on Saturday, Feb. 1. Kailyn Marengo led the Maidens with 18 points while Nevaeh Perez had 17.

"We seem to be getting better cohesively and our sense of urgency is higher, but we still need to work extremely hard on team defense and continuity," Ronan Head Coach Steve Woll said.

The win improved Ronan to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

The Maidens took a 20-12 first-quarter lead and made it a 44-20 halftime lead.

"It is always good to get a win in any game, especially a conference win no matter who it may be," Woll said. "A win is a win.”

He also praised the Lady Pirates as “an extremely talented team. We just feel fortunate to come out on top this time."

Polson’s Rylee Taylor-Jefferson scored 18 points, while Sam Rensvold notched 14. Polson fell to 5-7 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.

Taylor-Jefferson crossed the 300-point career milestone, as did Rensvold for the Lady Pirates. Ronan’s Arianna Zepeda topped the 300-point career total as well.

Hinkley Moss scored nine points for the Pirates, while Zepeda added nine points for the Maidens.

"This conference is totally up for grabs coming into the second half of conference play," Woll said. "Any given night seems to be the standard.”

“I thought our team bonded and came together through some tough adversity with injuries, sickness, and unforeseen circumstances,” he added. “We are still climbing the hill. The second half of the season will be crazy and interesting as this conference is so tight, and should be fun.”

The Maidens “just want to get a little better every day."

At Ronan

RONAN 71, POLSON 50

Polson - 12 - 8 - 18 - 12 - 50

Ronan - 20 - 24 - 15 - 12 - 71

POLSON SCORING: Rylee Taylor-Jefferson 17, Sam Rensvold 14, Hinkley Moss 9, Aleysia Black 2, Ahri Rushing 2, Olivia Ramirez 2, Jaja Nichols 2, Josie Henriksen 2

RONAN SCORING: Kailyn Marengo 18, Nevaeh Perez 17, Arianna Zepeda 9, Lauryn Buhr 6, Ally Luedtke 6, Natalie Adams 6, Maddy Illig 5, Kylee Kelch 3, Bailee Woll 1

Lady Pirates fall to Columbia Falls

Hinkley Moss scored in double-digits for the first time, but Polson fell 56-39 in Northwestern A Conference action on Thursday, Jan. 30. Moss scored 13 and Rylee Taylor-Jefferson notched 10 points, however Polson still couldn’t overcome a 28-15 halftime disadvantage.

Onnika Lawrence led the Wildcats with 12 points.

Columbia Falls improved to 3-2 in conference play and 5-6 overall.

At Columbia Falls

COLUMBIA FALLS 56, POLSON 39

Polson - 7 - 8 - 13 - 11 - 39

C-Falls - 19 - 19 - 6 - 12 - 56

POLSON SCORING: Hinkley Moss 13, Rylee Taylor-Jefferson 10, Aleysia Black 5, Sam Rensvold 4, Ahri Rushing 3, Embree Bird 2, Josie Henriksen 2

Valkyries take down Ronan Maidens

Bigfork continued to show why it's a power in girls' basketball, defeating Ronan 59-30 in Northwestern A Conference action on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Ronan trailed 10-9 in the first quarter, but Bigfork expanded its halftime lead to 24-14. The Valkyries opened up the second half on a 20-8 run.

Nevaeh Perez led Ronan with nine points and seven rebounds, while Arianna Zepeda scored eight points and hauled in six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Braeden Gunlock led Bigfork with 24 points, eight rebounds, and six steals.

Bigfork improved to 5-0 in conference play and 9-2 overall.

At Bigfork

BIGFORK 59, RONAN 30

Ronan - 9 - 5 - 8 - 8 - 30

Bigfork - 10 - 14 - 20 -15 - 59

RONAN SCORING: Nevaeh Perez 9, Arianna Zepeda 8, Kailyn Marengo 5, Maddy Illig 2, Lauryn Buhr 2, Bailee Woll 2, Natalie Adams 2

Page scores 1,000 for career in Mission vs. Anaconda

The Lady Bulldogs picked up their 10th victory of the season with a 59-50 nonleague win over Anaconda on Friday, Jan. 31. Kason Page crossed the 1,000-point career scoring mark with 15 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Mission improved to 10-4, while Anaconda dropped to 8-5.

Tied 18-18 in the first quarter, Mission clawed into halftime with a 30-29 lead. In the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs outscored Anaconda 18-8 to take command of the game.

Cora Matt added 14 points, Brooklyn McClure scored 13 and Kieran Incashola had 11 as the fourth Mission player in double-digits.

At St. Ignatius

MISSION 59, ANACONDA 50

Anaconda - 18 - 11 - 8 - 13 - 50

Mission - 18 - 12 - 18 - 11 - 59

MISSION SCORING: Kason Page 15, Cora Matt 14, Brooklyn McClure 13, Kieran Incashola 11, Shaedon Kain 2, Maia Christopher 2, Mary Lamere 2

Mission gets past Thompson Falls

The Lady Bulldogs outscored Thompson Falls 15-6 in the final quarter for a 60-54 victory in District 7B basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Cora Matt hauled in her 100th rebound of the season, finishing the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks.

Mission trailed 31-26 at halftime but cut into the lead by two points in the third before exploding in the fourth quarter.

Kieran Incashola crossed the 500-point mark for her career, scoring 13 points and adding four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Shaedon Kain also added 10 points to the Lady Bulldogs’ total.

Thompson Falls suffered its first league loss of the year, falling to 5-1, while Mission improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in league play

At Thompson Falls

MISSION 60, THOMPSON FALLS 54

Mission - 15 - 16 - 14 - 15 - 60

T-Falls - 20 - 16 - 12 - 6 - 54

MISSION SCORING: Cora Matt 18, Kieran Incashola 13, Shaedon Kain 10, Brooklyn McClure 9, Kason Page 7, Leslia Stops 3

Charlo falls to Lincoln

Lincoln went on a 13-3 run in the second quarter en route to a 39-32 Western 13C victory over Charlo on Friday, Jan. 31. Seeley McDonald led the Lady Vikings with nine points, but Charlo fell to 9-3 overall and 5-2 in league play.

The Lady Lynx improved to 8-1 in league play.

Charlo led 8-4 after one quarter but went into halftime trailing 17-11 and couldn’t make up the difference in the second half.

Brielle Zempel added eight points to Charlo’s total. Lincoln’s Makena Copenhaver led her team with 11 points.

At Charlo

LINCOLN 39, CHARLO 32

Lincoln - 4 - 13 - 10 - 12 - 39

Charlo - 8 - 3 - 10 - 11 - 32

CHARLO SCORING: Seeley McDonald 9, Brielle Zempel 8, Maizey McDonald 5, Maddison Harris 5, Avery Coleman 4, GG Hawk 1

Two Eagle tumbles to Heart Butte

Two Eagle fell to Heart Butte 51-29 in nonleague basketball action on Friday, Jan. 31. The Eagles were led by Dayani Piapot’s 12 points in the loss, which dropped the Lady Eagles to 7-7 overall.

Heart Butte led 8-5 after one quarter and went into halftime with a 22-17 lead. The Lady Warriors took off on an 18-3 run in the third quarter.

Layla Tenas and Keke Tenas each had five points.

At Heart Butte

HEART BUTTE 51, TWO EAGLE 29

TERS - 5 - 12 - 3 - 9 - 29

HButte - 8 - 14 - 18 - 11 - 51

TWO EAGLE SCORING: Dayani Piapot 12, Layla Tenas 5, Keke Tenas 5, Arorah Madplume 4, Emma SpottedEagle 3

    Polson's Rylee Taylor-Jefferson, who crossed the 300-point career milestone in Saturday's game, tries to evade a double attack of Ronan Maidens. (Bob Gunderson photo)
  

    Mission's Kason Page celebrates her 1,000th point, surpassed during last Friday's triumphant game against Anaconda. (Christa Umphrey photo)
  

    Lady Bulldog Shaedon Kain angles for the basket during the Jan. 28 upset over Thompson Falls. (Christa Umphrey photo)