WORDEN — Paige Lofing poured in 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 1 Huntley Project to a 20-point home win over defending State B champion and No. 2-ranked Baker, 84-64, Friday night.
The Red Devils put the pressure on Baker defensively, forcing several Spartan missed shots and unforced errors in the first half. Coupled with Lofing's 17 first-half points, Project carried a 12-point lead into the locker room.
Baker trimmed the lead inside double digits in the third quarter before Lofing had a flurry of buckets in the final three minutes of the period. Three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws and suddenly the lead had ballooned to 25, 71-46.
Lofing, who was recently nominated for the McDonald's All-American Game, had 16 of her points in that decisive third quarter, as she finished the game shooting 13 of 21 from the field and 7 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Lofing continues to ascend up Montana's all-time scoring list after passing 2,000 earlier this month. Lofing's career total stands at 2,087 points.
"It just brings us a ton of energy on offense and it makes us pick up the defense, too," Lofing said. "We knew we wanted to stay in our offense, but if the shots are falling keep shooting."
Avery O'Connor led Baker with 17 points and Montana State commit Madison O'Connor had 15.
The Spartans (7-2) will travel to Lodge Grass on Saturday, while Huntley Project (9-0) is off until Jan. 24 when the Red Devils visit Lame Deer.
