PABLO — St. Ignatius, Anaconda, Missoula Loyola and Florence all played into the semifinal round of the Western B girls basketball divisional tournament with first-round wins Thursday at Salish Kootenai College.
St. Ignatius started the day with a 53-12 victory over Deer Lodge, and Anaconda pulled away from Eureka for a 69-43 win. Missoula Loyola surged to a 67-26 win over Plains, and Florence pulled away from Thompson Falls 62-47 in the night cap.
St. Ignatius 53, Deer Lodge 12
Cora Matt helped lead a deep St. Ignatius effort in the Bulldogs' 53-12 win over Deer Lodge at the Western B divisional tournament.
Matt scored a game-high 17 points, as 10 Bulldogs found their way into the scorebook. But it was St. Ignatius' defensive effort that keyed the victory. Deer Lodge made only three field goals the entire game. St. Ignatius led 10-2 after the first quarter, 27-7 at halftime and 40-10 after three quarters.
With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the semifinal round, where they will play Anaconda at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Deer Lodge will play Eureka in a loser-out game at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Anaconda 69, Eureka 43
Anaconda scored 23 points in the third quarter to blow open a five-point game and pull away for a 69-43 win over Eureka at the Western B divisional tournament.
The Copperheads outscored Eureka 23-9 in the third quarter and 17-10 in the fourth to secure their place in the semifinal round. They'll play St. Ignatius at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Three players keyed the win for Anaconda — Meela Mitchell with 25 points, Makena Patrick with 19 and Maniyah Lunceford with 18 — while Dylan Sharp carried the scoring load for Eureka with 16 points.
Eureka falls into loser-out play and will meet Deer Lodge at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Missoula Loyola 67, Plains 26
Nine Missoula Loyola players found the scoring column, led by Spencer Laird’s 20 points, in a 67-26 victory over Plains.
Missoula Loyola advanced to Friday’s semifinals where the Breakers will play either Florence at 8:15 p.m. Plains takes on Thompson Falls in a loser-out contest Friday at 1:15 p.m.
Loyola held a 26-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Laird had all 20 of her points in the first half, and Gio Horner, the only other Breaker in double digits, scored all 12 of her points in the first half, as well.
Plains was led by Aubree Butcher, who finished with six points.
Florence 62, Thompson Falls 47
Maggie Schneither and Kenzy Pickering each scored 19 points to help Florence get past Thompson Falls with a 62-47 win in the final game of the day at the Western B divisional tournament.
The Falcons built an 18-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and methodically gained separation the rest of the way. Florence, which also got 10 points from Kendyl Meinhold, will play Missoula Loyola in the semifinal round at 8:15 p.m. Friday.
Thompson Falls got 18 points from Gabi Hannum. The Blue Hawks will play Plains in a loser-out game at 1:15 p.m. Friday.
