Lady Tigers squeak through to Butte divisionals

ST. REGIS – The St. Regis Lady Tigers are set to move on to the Divisional Tournament despite their defeat against Arlee in the District Tournament in Ronan.

The girl’s first game of the tournament against Two Eagle River saw a final score of 69-33 as the Lady Tigers stomped the opposition.

The girls came out as a powerhouse and were able to break 20 points in the first quarter. They had a great game across the board and kept the Lady Eagles to single-digit points. The first quarter ended with a score or 24-7.

The second quarter had Two Eagle River start to pull back with more points but it was not enough to beat St. Regis as the Lady Tigers brought in another 24 points. The first half ended with a score of 48-18.

For the second half the girls came out slower and did not bring in the points they did at the beginning of the game. Their defense was still strong enough to keep the Lady Eagles back and their lead remained unchallenged. St. Regis took the third quarter with a score of 57-22.

The final quarter of the game had the teams playing evenly. The teams were close and while St. Regis came out ahead, they brought in nearly identical points. Even with the slower second half, the St. Regis girls were able to take the game with a strong 36-point lead.

Sophomore Pilar Cantrell-Field was the top scorer in the game as she brought in a game best of 24 points. Junior Gabby Moeller had a strong game as well and brought in 17 points, the second highest of the game.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Head Coach Tyler Hurley said.

He felt the game was a team effort where everyone contributed. He gave special praise to Cantrell-Field for her great game.

On Friday, Feb. 21, the girls played against Charlo. The Lady Tigers claimed another strong victory with a final score of 38-26.

The teams were on equal footing as they played a close game. The Lady Tigers had a stronger game and were able to edge out the opposition to end the half in the lead. The score for the first half was 17-11.

The third quarter was still close as the teams continued to battle it out. The quarter ended with a four-point difference.

The final quarter was where things suddenly changed. The Lady Tigers took off and quickly gained a more definite lead. The girls left the Lady Vikings in the dust as they pulled in eight more points than their opposition.

While the girls did not have as strong an offense as the coach would have liked, he felt it was their best defensive game of the year.

Senior Arianna Jones was the star of the team as she brought in 17 points singlehandedly. Cantrell-Field also had a strong game as she brought in 10 points.

The girl’s final game of the week was against Arlee on Saturday, Feb. 22. The game ended with a final score of 40-58.

The Lady Scarlet Warriors took an early lead in the first quarter and came close to taking a 10-point lead against St. Regis. The quarter ended with a score of 7-16. The girls made up for it in the second quarter as they brought in more points and ended the first half with a score of 20-40.

In the second half the girls fell further behind as they fought against one of the top teams in the district. While they were not able to pull ahead, the Lady Tigers were able to keep the game stalemated and prevented Arlee from pulling ahead.

Hurley felt this was the team’s worst game of the year. He said the girls were not themselves and turned the ball over an uncharacteristic number of times.

“We just had very low energy,” Hurley said. “I don’t know what our deal was.”

Cantrell-Field was the top scorer for the team again as she brought in 18 points. Jones was right behind her with 13 points.

The girls will move on to the Divisional Tournament in Butte. Their first game will be on Thursday, Feb. 27, against Gardiner. Hurley knew their first opponent had some tall players and would have a good height advantage.

“They’re a heck of a team at volleyball, so I’m sure they’re going to be pretty athletic,” Hurley said.