Polson boys, girls fall short of state
Melea Burke
Pirate head coach Brad Pluff rallies the troops during Polson’s game against Columbia Falls Friday. The Pirates all sported shaved heads for the divisional tournament.
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Polson’s Heidi Rausch heads for the hoop in Friday’s opener.
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Jessica Bagnell rounds the corner toward the bucket Friday against Frenchtown.
Linda Sappington
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Senior Hayden Congdon shoots for two as Will Davey watches during Polson’s game against Columbia Falls Friday.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — After coming in third at the Northwestern A divisional tourney last weekend in Ronan, Polson’s Lady Pirates played a challenge game against Columbia Falls Monday night in hopes of extending their postseason run to state. It wasn't to be, as Polson couldn’t seem to puncture the Wildkat defense.
Behind 20 points from Haley Belgarde, Columbia Falls outscored Polson in every quarter but the third, winning 48-38. Mackenzie Banner put up 14 points for the Lady Pirates, and senior Heidi Rausch grabbed six rebounds and added nine points.
The Lady Pirates lost to eventual divisional champs Frenchtown, 46-33, in their first game at divisionals Friday night but rallied against Whitefish for a convincing 27-48 win Saturday morning. Polson continued to roll against the Lady Loggers in the consolation round, led by Rausch with a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. Boosted by a 31-6 first-half scoring run, the Lady Pirates won 48-27 to take third place in the tournament.
Saturday night, No. 1 seed Columbia Falls fell to Frenchtown, setting up the Lady Pirates for a challenge game against the Wildkats Monday in Ronan.
The Pirates opened divisional play last Thursday with a 47-40 win over Libby, led by Will Davey with 16 points, followed by Cedrick Smith and Riley Sampson with nine apiece. Smith led the team in boards with six, while Sampson grabbed five.
Friday proved tougher for the Polson boys, who lost to No. 1-seeded Columbia Falls 51-40 but still got a bye before the third-place game on Saturday. Smith had 14 points, and Congdon wasn’t far behind with 11.
On Saturday, the Pirates faced off against the Whitefish Bulldogs for third place and another chance to make the state tournament. Despite out-boarding the Bulldogs 24-16, with 11 of those rebounds coming on offense, the Pirates were plagued by turnovers and couldn’t hold back the Bulldogs, ending their season with a 59-40 loss.
In his final game for Polson, senior Sampson tallied 16 points, while fellow senior Davey and Smith, a junior, each had seven. Davey also grabbed seven rebounds and Sampson six. The Pirates finished the year 7-14.
All told, Polson will graduate four seniors: Davey, Sampson, Congdon and Dylan Kelley.
Girls challenge game Feb. 25
Columbia Falls 48, Polson 38
C. Falls 10 10 8 20 — 48
Polson 8 4 13 13 — 38
C. FALLS — Haley Belgarde 20; Winter Kemppainen 9; Hope Burlage 7; Ciera Finber 5; Shannon Hay 4; Andrea Getts 3.
POLSON — Mackenzie Banner 14; Heidi Rausch 9; Malia Hamel 6; Tegan Bauer 5; Hallie Hovenkotter 2; Anna DiGiallonardo, Monika Frame 1.
Northwestern A Divisional
Girls
Consolation
Polson 48, Libby 27
Polson 15 16 7 10 — 48
Libby 2 4 8 13 — 27
POLSON — Mackenzie Banner 15; Heidi Rausch 12; Anna DiGiallonardo 8; Tegan Bauer 5; Hallie Hovenkotter, Monika Frame, Dylan Quinn 2; Malia Hamel, Kaelen Wall 1.
LIBBY — Hailey Craig 12; Hannah England 9; Dayln Germany, Gavy Oliver 2; Kaitlyn Gilde, Hailey Moe 1.
Loser out
Polson 58, Whitefish 26
Polson 12 15 15 16 — 58
Whitefish 5 5 6 10 — 26
POLSON — Anna DiGiallonardo 17; Heidi Rausch 11; Mackenzie Banner 10; Malia Hamel 9; Hallie Hovenkotter 6; Dylan Quinn 3; Tegan Bauer 2.
Semifinal
Frenchtown 46, Polson 33
Frenchtown 14 10 10 12 — 46
Polson 8 4 12 9 — 33
POLSON — Heidi Rausch 10; Mackenzie Banner 9; Anna DiGiallonardo 4; Malia Hamel, Hallie Hovenkotter 3; Jessican Bagnell, Tegan Bauer 2.
Boys
Loser out
Whitefish 59, Polson 40
Whitefish 14 8 20 17 — 59
Polson 9 4 15 12 — 40
WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 13; Logan Harwood 11; Cooper Olson 10; Jace Kalbfleisch 9; Art Doorn 8; E.J. Havans 4; Jake May, Brandon Maassau 2.
POLSON — Riley Sampson 16; Will Davey, Cedrick Smith 7; Andrew Weltz 4; Hayden Congdon, Derek Peel 3.
Semifinal
Columbia Falls 51, Polson 40
C. Falls 4 18 17 12 — 51
Polson 7 14 9 10 — 40
POLSON — Cedrick Smith 14; Hayden Congdon 11; Riley Sampson 7; Derek Peel 4; Andrew Weltz, Will Davey 2.
Round 1
Polson 47, Libby 40
Polson 14 8 12 13 — 47
Libby 11 9 12 8 — 40
POLSON — Will Davey 16; Cedrick Smith, Riley Sampson 9; Derek Peel 6; Hayden Congdon 3; Andrew Weltz, Chris McDonald 2.
