SEELEY LAKE — One down, two to go.
The Seeley-Swan girls basketball team achieved one of its season goals on Saturday as the Blackhawks defeated Philipsburg 61-45 to remain perfect on the season and win the District 13C title.
Bethany Hoag led Seeley-Swan with 18 points while Sariah Maughan added 14. Emily Maughan poured in 12 and Klaire Kovatch tallied 10 as the Blackhawks improved to 14-0 on the season.
Photos: Seeley-Swan, Philipsburg battle for girls District 13C title
Seeley-Swan didn't waste any time against Philipsburg, as the Blackhawks led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and 36-12 at halftime.
"I thought we did a great job of jumping on them right at the beginning and just being full of energy," Seeley-Swan coach David Cahoon said. "When we play with energy and play with pace, we’re really hard to beat. I think we match up well against almost anybody in that regard but sometimes we tend to get comfortable and the message to them would just be come with energy. We have to have energy and when we do, we score that many points that fast."
The Prospectors rallied in the second half as the offense began to find its rhythm after finding a way past Seeley-Swan's dynamic full-court press. But the Blackhawks clamped down in the final quarter to preserve the lead and earn the win to keep their perfect record intact.
"We just kind of settled down and worked on our defense and just keeping them in front of us," Sariah Maughan said about halting Philipsburg's run. "Just working on our stuff and just trying to stop their run of points."
Asha Comings led Philipsburg with 16 points while Reece Pitcher and Amelia Hill each added 11.
"You know this is just step one for us," Kovatch said. "When you come into it first seed, you have high expectations and you know what you need to work on and you just have to push through and give it your all because this is the last time we play in this gym and we can’t wait to go play (at the Western C Divisional) in Deer Lodge."
