Lady Mountain Cats collect win, but boys lose two

The Clark Fork Mountain Cats high school boys and girls basketball season got off to a 1-3 start last weekend at the Ronan Tip-off Tournament.

The lone victory came on the opening day of the two-day, 32-team tournament when the Lady Mountain Cats overcame a slow start and rallied behind an impressive defensive effort in a 44-29 win over the Frenchtown JV squad.

After being held to just four points in the opening quarter the Clark Fork girls ratcheted up the defense and a trio of 3-point baskets by freshman Darby

Haskins to establish a 20-15 halftime lead.

Their aggressive approach on both ends of the court led to a bevy of free throw attempts throughout the game where they hit 16 of 23 from the charity stripe.

Key to their defense was a ball hawking, disciplined effort to disrupt the Frenchtown offense. They held the Bronc girls to six points in the second quarter and four points in the third. Clark Fork also held their own rebounding against the taller Frenchtown team.

Hoskins and senior Emma Baughman led the Mountain Cats offense with nine points each, while sophomore Cassie Green pitched in eight points.

Saturday afternoon the Lady Cats took on Plains, a tall, talented team that finished the tournament 2-0. In that game the Clark Fork girls played well and stayed with the Lady Trotters most of the way, thanks to their defensive attack.

In the end, they did not have enough to match Plains, falling 45-34.

The Mountain Cat boys kicked off the tournament’s opening game against the Frenchtown JV, a team featuring seven players measuring 6-feet or taller,

including 6-foot-6-inch junior Carson Shepard. The Mountain Cats, who have no seniors on the team, put up a good fight but ended up dropping their first game of the season by a 40-29 margin.

Junior Bryan Mask scored Clark Fork’s only first quarter points when he dropped in a pair of free throws in what was a foul-plagued opening eight minutes.

Frenchtown led 6-2 at the end of the first. With both teams playing aggressive defense, neither could muster much offense in the first half, which concluded with Frenchtown leading 14-8.

The second half was a slightly different story, with Clark Fork outscoring Frenchtown 16-9 in the third quarter thanks to a series of steals that led to Mountain Cat fast break points. That role was reversed in the final quarter as Frenchtown outscored Clark Fork 16-6 to secure the win.

Carson Callison, a 6-2 junior led the Mountain Cats with 11 points for the game while Aaron Waddle added nine to the Cats cause.

Saturday night against Plains, like their girl counterparts, the Mountain Cats went up against a taller, more seasoned team and fell to the Horsemen by a 55-28 margin. The Mountain Cats have no seniors on this year’s roster.

Plains finished the tournament with a 2-0 record and established itself as an early contender in the Western Conference.

Both Mountain Cats teams will be on the road against Charlo this Saturday night, then resume play Dec. 20 when they host St Regis in Superior.