Lady Tigers make run at 13C tourney

One team won the District 13C championship, the other came close, pulling off a big upset but falling one game short of the next round of playoffs.

The St. Regis boys won the district tournament title, winning three games along the way this past weekend in Frenchtown. 

The Lady Tigers opened the tournament with a major win over one of the pre-tourney favorites, Lincoln, knocking off the Lady Lynx 44-43 on Thursday at Frenchtown High. 

That moved them on to a winner’s bracket game versus eventual girls runner-up Charlo, which beat the Lady Tigers 57-34.  Saturday, they matched up with Hot Springs, which knocked them out of the double-elimination tournament 51-46, ending their season with a 9-13 overall record. 

Thursday’s game against Lincoln, which came in with a 16-3 overall record and an 11-1 13C regular season mark, was a hard-fought battle from the opening whistle, with the Lady Lynx taking a 9-3 early game lead after the first quarter. 

St. Regis regrouped and outscored Lincoln 14-12, trimming the halftime lead to 23-15.  Throughout the game, Lady Tigers’ guard Shylah Dalka and Shannon Todd kept St. Regis in the game with timely baskets and defensive plays. 

In the fourth quarter, Dalka converted four free throws, and Todd buried a three-pointer to help the Lady Tigers chisel five more points off the Lincoln lead, sending the game into the final quarter with the score 29-24 in favor of the Lady Lynx.  

St. Regis rallied to tie the score at 37-37 tie, sending the game into overtime.  Todd sank another three-pointer and Jamie Cleveland had four points, including two crucial free throws, allowing the Lady Tigers to take and hold a one-point lead as time ran out. 

Dalka paced St. Regis with 14 points, while Todd tallied 13 for the victors. 

Jordy Zalske had 11 points to lead Lincoln. 

The win pushed St. Regis into a game versus Charlo Friday evening, with the Lady Vikings taking an early lead and holding it enroute to a 57-34 win. 

Next up was a game versus Hot Springs, which the Lady Heat won 51-46, ending their tournament run. 

Meanwhile, the St. Regis boys opened their tourney Thursday with a 75-48 win over Two Eagle River.  Friday St. Regis took on Noxon and beat the Red Devils 57-49, sending the Tigers to the championship match versus Seeley-Swan, which they beat 42-40 in a down-to-the-wire thriller for the 13C championship.