A battle for one coveted item came to a head on Jan. 24 when the Ronan Chiefs and Maidens took a trip to Linderman Gym to face the Polson Pirates.

A long week featuring some surprising results, all came to a close with a highlight match-up for these two teams to see who won this iteration of the "Battle for the Paddle."

Ronan Boys 57, Polson Boys 54

The boys opened the rivalry doubleheader on Jan. 24 with a nailbiter. The Chiefs were coming off a much-needed win, while the Pirates were searching for another win in a tough conference slate.

For Ronan, it was going to be much tougher than anticipated. Despite the Chiefs' early lead, the Pirates never relented. A strong second quarter from Polson kept this game close, with the Chiefs only ahead by six points.

It was the second half that saw Polson recover. Another close quarter in the third meant it was all up to the crunch time plays for this one. The Chiefs had managed well all game but the Pirates were not going to let this one go. Polson needed magic as it closed the gap 52-51 with just 30 seconds left in the game.

Ronan’s Matiya Nenemay made a clutch layup, getting fouled and making his free throw to go up 55-51. The Pirates needed something and their leading scorer, Malakai Curley, put up a circus three-point shot to close the gap to just one.

Polson fouled Ronan’s leading scorer, Kolby Finley, who made both his free throws. Down just three points, the Pirates could tie it up. Kyson Michel’s last-second attempt was close but not enough as it banked off the rim. Michel had enough time to grab the ball but not enough to put the shot up as the Chiefs won 57-54.

“I mean, sharing the ball definitely gets us above other teams, pushing the pace when we can," Finley said. "We got some stops at the end that helped for sure. We just buckled down on defense when we needed to.”

Finley led Ronan with 20 points, while Nenemay followed up with 18 points. Curley led Polson with 13 points, with Maddox Bird following behind that total with 11 points.

Polson Girls 49, Ronan Girls 33

In the nightcap on Jan. 24, the Lady Pirates looked to take the Paddle back while the Maidens hoped to find just one conference win on their long roadtrip. 

For Polson, it was smooth sailing on the Lady Pirates’ ship. The defensive pressure from the Maidens has been strong all year but Polson didn’t let up. They had a strong first quarter with 17 points while keeping Ronan to just single digits in the first half.

While Ronan had its best offensive showing in the third quarter, the Lady Pirates continued to keep their lead. The Maidens did manage to outscore Polson in the fourth quarter, but the gap was too much. Polson took home the 49-33 win and reclaimed the Paddle.

“ It's like you feel powerful,” Polson’s Rylee Taylor-Jefferson said. “I mean, you feel like you really achieved something. I honestly think it's just such a cool thing to have Battle for the Paddle. I can't wait to think about this later on in life and just think how cool it is and what it felt like to have that power and to have that achievement in my high school career.”

Taylor-Jefferson had another strong outing with 17 points. Hinkley Moss followed her teammate up with 13 points. Ronan’s Nefertiti Stewart had another solid game for the Maidens with 11 points, hitting the 100-point mark for the season. Nevaeh Perez also scored well with 10 points of her own for Ronan.

Polson Girls 58, Columbia Falls Girls 56 (OT)

The rivalry win wasn’t the only exciting feat for the Lady Pirates who began their week with a historic win on the road Jan. 20 in Columbia Falls. 

It was a close first quarter where the Lady Pirates took an 18-16 lead. That lead increased going into the second quarter as Polson went up 10 points heading to halftime. This early lead was enough to help offset what turned into a tough second half.

The Wildkats were lights out in the third quarter with 16 points as the Lady Pirates struggled to replicate the same scoring numbers they had put up previously. Columbia Falls rallied in the fourth and, despite Polson keeping it close, the game went to overtime.

However, it was the Lady Pirates who bounced back as Polson’s Koko Scott notched a putback close shot to go up two points with just over 14 seconds on the clock. Columbia Falls had no response, leading to a 58-56 win. 

This was the first time the Lady Pirates had beaten the Wildkats in Columbia Falls since 2012. It was also their first win against Columbia Falls since 2023, which was an overtime victory but this time in Polson.

Rylee Taylor-Jefferson led the way in scoring with 18 points, while Hinkley Moss had 15 points. That game also put Moss over 100 points on the season.

Columbia Falls Boys 64, Polson Boys 51

The Polson boys also took a trip to Columbia Falls on Jan. 20 to face off against the Wildcats. For the Pirates, it was a tough night against a team fighting to get out of the middle of the pack.

The Pirates struggled to stop multiple players as Columbia Falls’ Jett Pitts dropped 20 points to help lead his team to the home win. The Pirates were ultimately too far behind too late in the game, losing out 64-51.

Bigfork Girls 52, Ronan Girls 33

The Maidens struggled to find their first conference win of the season on Jan. 20 against the Bigfork Valkyries.

It was another game that saw Ronan do what they do best: force turnovers. However, it was unable to contain Bigfork’s Paeten Gunlock. The Valkyrie went off for 30 points as the Maidens struggled to rein her in. The Valkyries went on to win 52-33.

Nefertiti Stewart led the Maidens in scoring with eight points.

Ronan Boys 74, Bigfork Boys 62

On Jan. 20, the Chiefs posted a statement road win over the Bigfork Vikings. As those two teams fight for a spot atop the Northwest A standings, it was a must-win for the Chiefs.

Again, Ronan’s offense was top-notch and Bigfork could not keep up. The Vikings desperately needed to win this in order to stay in the race for the first seed but the Chiefs were undeterred. They won out 74-62 to keep their second spot in the standings.

    Ronan junior Siouxpixm Qualtier goes up for a layup over Bigfork senior Tamret Savik on Jan. 20 at Bigfork High School. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Polson sophomore Olivia Ramirez takes a jumpshot against Columbia Falls on Jan. 20 at Columbia Falls High School. (River Blazejewski Photo)
  

    Polson junior Aleysia Black dribbles the ball up the court against Ronan on Jan. 24 at Linderman Gym in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)