Lady Pirates open conference play with 51-23 win over Whitefish
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POLSON - The Lady Pirates finally broke their early season losing streak and opened Northwest A Conference play with a win Saturday as Polson downed visiting Whitefish, 57-23.
The duo of Breanne Kelley and Riley Kenney proved to be too much for the Lady Bulldogs to answer as the pair combined to pour in 27 points for the win.
Polson’s full-court pressure got the Lady Bulldogs early in the game and continued to plague them throughout the contest as Polson built a 15-4 lead after one quarter.
“We put a little pressure on their guards and it led to the turnovers that helped us out,” Polson coach Randy Kelley said. “I thought our girls played better than they have been. I thought we shot the ball better than we had been. We came out and put full-court pressure on them and took advantage of their young guards. We also rebounded well and didn’t give them a lot of second looks.”
Polson outscored Whitefish 14-7 in the second frame to build a 29-11 halftime advantage, but it was the third quarter where the Lady Pirates really shined.
After switching from a full-court man-to-man defense to a pressing zone, the Lady Pirates held Whitefish scoreless in the third quarter while adding 17 points to go up 46-11.
Polson cruised in the final quarter to win by 34.
For the Lady Pirates, their first win of the season was also their first conference win of the year.
“We have been preaching to the girls that the conference games are the big ones,” Kelley said. “The non-conference ones are just where we need to learn and get better. I thought the girls came out pretty focused for Whitefish.”
Breanne Kelley led the way in the win with 15 points while Kenney added 12, Marlee Berry had 7, Nina Orozco-Charlo scored 6, Mackenzie Banner had 5, Heidi Rausch and Jessica Bagnell each scored four and Jonna Grant and Jordan Quinn added two points each.
The Lady Pirates came up short on the road Thursday as they fell at Missoula Big Sky, 51-23. The loss comes a year after Polson shocked Eagles 50-45.
“Last year, I thought we were more athletic than them. This year, they have a good group coming back and they took advantage of that,” Kelley said.
Polson was able to keep the game close in the opening quarter as the Eagles took a 15-9 lead into the second frame. Big Sky began to pull away in the second quarter, though, outscoring Polson 17-5 to build a 32-14 halftime lead.
“I thought we played well in the first period,” Kelley said. “Then they had some runouts on us, which is a big no-no for me. They outscored us in the second quarter and it was too much for us to overcome.”
The Eagles went on to outscore Polson by 10 in the second half to pull away for the win.
Kelley led the Lady Pirates with seven points in the loss while Kenney added five, Banner scored four, Grant had three and Orozco-Charlo and Berry each scored two points.
The Lady Pirates played Stevensville Tuesday and will continue their season Jan. 7 against Ronan.
Summary
Polson 57, Whitefish 23
Whitefish 4 7 0 12 - 23
Polson 15 14 17 11 - 57
POLSON - Kelley 15, Kenney 12, Berry 7, Orozco-Charlo 6, Banner 5, Rausch 4, Bagnell 4, Grant 2, Quinn 2.
WHITEFISH - Nagler 6, Havens 3, Silliker 3, Curtiss 2, Craft 2, Poe 2, Bailey 2, Hanson 2, O’Dell 1.
Big Sky 51, Polson 23
Polson 9 5 4 5 - 23
Big Sky 15 17 13 6 - 51
POLSON - Kelley 7, Kenney 5, Banner 4, Grant 3, Berry 2, Orozco-Charlo 2.
BIG SKY - Tinkle 12, Sheridan 11, Daughrty 7, Dombrauski 6, Wemple 6, Rector 4, Moreau, Freeman 2.
