Maidens fall to Eureka, Florence
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
Although the Ronan Maidens basketball team fell to 3-8 this week after dropping games to Eureka and Florence, head coach Clayton Curley is seeing a vast improvement in his girls.
“This week was not too bad,” Curley said. “At Eureka, we lost it by 12 points. It’s unfortunate because we beat them the first time.”
Positive improvements are most certainly coming from Courtney Clairmont, who finished the game with 20 points, shooting six of 12 from the three point line.
“Hopefully she’s found her touch,” Curley laughed. “She shot four of five from 3-point land in the fourth quarter. She’s been putting in the work, and it’s paying off.”
Eureka jumped out to a 14-8 lead after the first quarter of play, and built a comfortable 29-17 lead at the break.
Ronan looked better in the second half, holding Eureka to only 12 points in the third quarter. Ronan then outscored the Lady Lions 18-12 in the fourth quarter with the help of Clairmont’s 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as Eureka edged the Maidens 54-42.
Earlier in the week, Ronan got a second shot at No. 2 conference-ranked Florence at home, but the Lady Falcons proved to be too much once again, winning 67-39.
“Florence was a tough one,” Curley said. “They run man-to-man and press; if you don’t have the personnel to get the ball down the court, (it causes turnovers).”
Ronan ended up turning the ball over 44 times, as the Maidens fought an uphill battle against a quick Florence team.
“Even though we lost, we held them to 20 points less (than the last game) and also did a better job rebounding the ball. We also had almost as many possessions,” Curley said.
Florence led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter and 34-18 at halftime.
Ronan hung close in the third, as Florence outscored Ronan by only two points, but a 23-13 run in the fourth quarter helped pace the Lady Falcons to a 67-39 victory.
Ronan will continue to be tested from here on out, playing conference and non conference opponents. The Maidens played Polson at home Jan. 24 and host Loyola Jan. 28, before hosting Hamilton Jan. 31 and Deer Lodge Feb. 2.
“It’s a tough road ahead,” Curley noted. “We need to show we’ve improved like the other teams have.”
SUMMARY
Ronan 39, Florence 67
Florence 16 18 10 23 - 67
Ronan 8 10 8 13 – 39
FLORENCE - Megan Byrne 8, Paige Bodner 4, Ava Kollman 19, Cody Miller 2, Haley Hout 4, Carli O’Brien 9, Kyndall Hoff 12, Rosie O’Brien 9.
RONAN - Raymi Claimont 6, Brianna Frank 6, Courtney Clairmont 4, Ashleigh Lynch 6, Ashley Grandchamp 5, Kiana Howell 2, Angela North Piegan 2, Alaina Madsen 2, Courtney Taylor 2, Trinity Rosenbaum 4.
Ronan 42, Eureka 54
Ronan 8 9 7 18 - 42
Eureka 14 15 12 13 - 54
RONAN - Raymi Clairmont 8, Brianna Frank 5, Courtney Clairmont 20, Alaina Madsen 2, Ashleigh Lynch 2, Ashley Grandchamp 2, Trinity Rosenbaum 3.
EUREKA - Alex Holland 16, Makayla Grove 2, Alyssa White 4, Caitlin Larson 12, Cassidy Morgan 10, Carly Allen 10.
