HAMILTON — The semifinal round of the Western B divisional tournament got underway Friday at Hamilton High School. Missoula Loyola and Florence will battle for the divisional crown after wins in the semis.
Missoula Loyola 69, Thompson Falls 32
Loyola jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first few minutes and never looked back as the Breakers defeated the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks 69-32 on Friday in the second semifinal of the Western B.
Spencer Laird put up 20 points and Addie Nault added 17 for the Breakers who led 23-1 at the end of the first quarter and rolled from there. Drew Lamb and Emme Laird each added nine points as well while Amya Lindauer chipped in six.
Loyola will take on Florence in the Western B championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. with a shot at clinching a spot at the Class B state tournament on the line.
It will be the fourth meeting of the season between Loyola and Florence, with the Breakers holding a 2-1 advantage, including most recently in the District 6B championship game where Loyola won 73-39.
Gabi Hannum led the way for Thompson Falls with 12 points. The Blue Hawks will play in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Florence 56, St. Ignatius 39
Florence took control of a back-and-forth affair and defeated St. Ignatius 56-39 to clinch their spot in the Western B title game against Loyola.
It was a group effort from the Falcons with balanced scoring. Ali Meinhold led the Falcons with nine, while Kendyl Meinhold, Jaden Fisher and Kenzy Pickering all added eight.
A tie game at 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Falcons began to take control in the latter half of the second quarter to go into the break up 28-19. Florence would balloon the lead up to 41-22 late in the third, before the Bulldogs found a spurt and got back within 43-33 at the start of the fourth.
The Falcons, however, settled in and would regain control to seal the game to advance to the championship.
Cora Matt was a big part of the comeback effort for St. Ignatius as she finished with 14 points and Sheadon Kain added nine. St. Ignatius will play in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
