Teams repeat wins in Arlee, Mission hoops rematch
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ARLEE – The second match-up of the season between the Arlee and Mission boys and girls basketball teams can be best characterized by the phrase “second verse, same as the first.”
Back on Tuesday, Jan. 8, Mission hosted Arlee in the season’s first rivalry matchup for the two schools. The Arlee Warriors walked away with a 74-59 victory over the Mission Bulldogs, while the Mission Lady Bulldogs won a close 68-65 hard-fought battle with the Arlee Scarlets.
In the Arlee hosted showdown, the Lady Bulldogs once again prevailed over the Scarlets 61-57 in overtime, while the Warriors outran the Bulldogs 100-67.
On Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs raced out to a dominating 14-2 first quarter lead against the Scarlets. In the second quarter, the offense for the Lady Bulldogs cooled down a bit as both teams headed into the locker room at the half with Mission up by 10 points, 26-16. Through the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs maintained their 10-point advantage.
Arlee took a 49-46 lead with less than a minute left after going on a 23-12 scoring run in the fourth quarter. Lady Bulldog Karolyna Buck made a three-point shot in the waning seconds to send the game into overtime. The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Scarlets 12-8 to take the 61-57 road win.
“I felt the girls knew the importance of being mentally prepared for this game,” said Lady Bulldogs head coach Jen Brander. “They practiced with intensity leading up to Thursday. We knew Arlee would be ready to play, and we would need to work together as a team in order to prevail, and they did.”
For the Lady Bulldogs, Buck scored a team-high 13 points followed by Azia Umphrey and Sydney Brander who both scored 11 points apiece. Alyssia Vanderburg, who led all players with 30 points, accounted for one-half of the Scarlets’ offense, while Nellie Desjarlais contributed 11 points.
In the boys matchup, the Warriors jumped out to a 21-13 lead after the first quarter and never looked back as they sprinted to a 100-67 win over the visiting Bulldogs. Greg Whitesell finished with a game-high 30 points for Arlee, while Isaac Fisher was second on the team with 21 points followed by Cody Tanner with 11 points.
For Mission, Flint McPherson had a team-high 19 points. Lucas Vanderburg ended the game with 13, while Jedi Christy chipped in with 11 points.
