Lady Pirates edge Columbia Falls, Loyola
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POLSON – The Polson Lady Pirate basketball team rose to the occasion last week when they defeated Loyola in a non-league road victory. The Lady Pirates then edged Northwest A rival Columbia Falls in overtime on the road Saturday. With the pair of wins, Polson improved to 5-1 on the season.
Polson senior Riley Kenney led the way against Loyola, scoring a game-high 20 points. With her recent game play, Kenney is averaging a double-double, with an average of 21 points a game and 10 rebounds a game.
If the senior continues putting up large numbers each game, she is on track to finish her career at Polson with 1,000 points.
The Lady Pirates got off to a hot start, leading 26-17 at the half. Loyola hung tight in the third, outscoring Polson 13-11, pulling within seven points. Polson contained Loyola during the final eight minutes of play, holding the Breakers to 10, securing Polson’s 48-40 win.
Kenney led Polson with 20, while Mariah Hamel contributed 10.
Loyola was led by Maddy Malsam, who had nine points, while Sam Manley finished with seven.
Against Columbia Falls, Anna DiGiallonardo nailed a five-foot jumper at the end of regulation to send the Lady Pirates to overtime, where they held on to edge the Wildkats 59-57.
Kenney continues to be a force on the court, piling on a career-high 31 points to lead all scorers.
Things went well early on as Polson kept themselves in the game to only be down one point at the half. In the third, Polson used a 16-4 run to lead 38-27 at the beginning of the fourth. Columbia Falls then rallied back, scoring 23 in the final quarter to take the lead. That was before DiGiallonardo’s last-second jumper that sent the game into an extra period.
In overtime, Polson outscored Columbia Falls 9-7 to pick up the 59-57 conference win.
Hamel scored 10 points for the second game in a row, while DiGiallonardo finished with six.
Polson will travel to Corvallis Jan. 12 and host Libby Jan. 14.
SUMMARY
Polson 9 13 16 12 9 - 59
C. Falls 12 11 4 23 7 - 57
POLSON - Mackenzie Banner 5, Macall Banner 4, Mariah Hamel 10, Anna DiGiallonardo 6, Riley Kenney 31, Heidi Rausch 3.
COLUMBIA FALLS - Ciera Finberg 4, Tori Price 6, Kathryn Jetty 2, Hope Burlage 18, Madison Sandefer 7, Courtney White 5, Andrea Getts 5, Haley Belgarde 10.
Loyola 9 8 13 10 - 40
Polson 7 19 11 11 - 48
LOYOLA - Maggie Crippen 2, Kari Tirrell 8, Heather Hauguet 1, Sam Manley 7, Maddy Malsam 9, Kenzie Reid 8, Kiernan Haggarty 5.
POLSON - Mackenzie Banner 5, Macall Banner 4, Mariah Hamel 10, Anna DiGiallonardo 4, Riley Kenney 20, Heidi Rausch 5
