Still slumping
Maidens drop to 0-4 with losses to Mission, Hamilton
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RONAN - The Maidens were able to keep things close for a half Saturday but could not come back in the second half as they fell to visiting Mission, 43-26.
Ronan had a 12-6 lead in the closing moments of the opening quarter against the Lady Bulldogs but turnovers and easy baskets allowed Mission to cut the Maiden lead to 12-10 heading into the second frame.
“Defensively, I think we are playing as well as anybody. Our woes are on the offensive end because we are turning the ball over and teams are taking advantage of that,” Ronan coach Doug Fisher said. “Also, when we do get shots up, we have been one-and-done.”
Mission seemed to figure out the Ronan press in the second half, sending a cutter to the basket behind the defense for several easy baskets. The Maidens were slow to adjust as Mission built a 29-18 halftime advantage.
“Sometimes we just get away from what we want to do. We get a little frazzled at times and let people take us out of our game,” Fisher said.
The Maidens had trouble finding the basket in the third quarter as Mission outscored Ronan 13-1 in the frame to push its lead to 42-19 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
“We were flat in the third quarter and that really hurt us,” Fisher said. “But it is just another sign of us having such a young team.”
The Maidens did not give up, though, and outscored Mission 7-1 in the final frame.
“That’s one thing that is great about this group of girls,” Fisher said. “They are a scrappy bunch that never gives up.”
Tailyr Irvine, Ashley Grandchamp and Alice VanGunten led the way in the loss for the Maidens with seven points each while Courtney Clairmont added three points and Taylor Lynch had 2.
The Maidens fell behind early on the road at Hamilton Friday and were never able to recover as they fell to the Lady Broncs, 43-11.
Ronan struggled against Hamilton’s pressure defense in the opening quarter as turnovers led to easy scoring opportunities for Hamilton.
“They were a very quick team and we didn’t handle that very well.,” Fisher said. “They beat us for probably 18 or 20 easy fast-break points off their defense.”
Hamilton scored 26 points in the opening quarter and held Ronan to just two to build an early commanding lead.
Rebounding continued to hurt the Maidens in the contest as Hamilton used offensive boards to routinely get second and third shots at the basket.
“Boxing out is just huge for us right now and we are still having trouble doing it,” Fisher said. “There are times when we have good box out, though, but we are so small that girls just go up over the top of us to get the ball.”
The Maidens were able to stay with the Lady Broncs through the final three quarters but could not cut into the lead as Hamilton got the win.
Only three Ronan players scored in the contest as VanGunten led the way with six points while Clairmont added three and Lynch had two.
The Maidens were in action at Frenchtown Tuesday and will resume play after the Christmas break as they play at Polson Jan. 7.
Summary
Mission 43, Ronan 26
Mission 10 19 13 1 - 43
Ronan 12 6 1 7 - 26
RONAN - Irvine 7, Grandchamp 7, VanGunten 7, Clairmont 3, Lynch 2.
MISSION - Erickson 16, K. Mitchell 8, Steele 7, Lewandowski 6, L. Mitchell 3, Koskela 3.
Hamilton 43, Ronan 11
Ronan 2 6 1 2 - 11
Hamilton 26 6 4 7 - 43
RONAN - VanGunten 6, Clairmont 3, Lynch 2.
HAMILTON - Albert 10, Conwell 9, Wetzsteon 7, Hood 7, Kratofil 4, Chadwick 4, Shifflet 2.
