RONAN – Deer Lodge pulled off a big upset in the Western B girls semifinals Friday night, topping Florence 36-32. But the tournament favorite Bigfork girls avoided the same result against Missoula Loyola, advancing 62-49.
Florence had not been beaten by a 6B team all year. But the third place team in the conference led all night. Deer Lodge held leads of 10-7 after the first quarter, 19-16 at halftime, and 27-21 after the third. And while it looked like Florence would make a comeback in the fourth, they never caught the Wardens.
Darcy Walker scored 12 points to lead the Wardens in the upset. Danielle Zahn scored 15 in a loss for the Falcons.
7B champion Bigfork had beaten 6B runner-up Missoula Loyola twice in the regular season. And they made it three in a row Friday night.
Loyola led at the end of the first quarter, and the Vals only held a 23-18 lead at halftime. Then Bigfork made a big run to take a 40-26 lead going into the 4th. The Breakers sped up the tempo in the fourth to try and make a comeback. But Bigfork kept pace on their way to a 62-49 win.
Jamie Berg led the way once again for the Vals, scoring 21 points. Sam Clevenger topped Loyola’s scoring list with 14 points.
Deer Lodge and Bigfork will now meet in the championship, scheduled to tipoff at 8:30 Saturday night.
Earlier in loser-out games, Eureka clipped Thompson Falls 50-48. Anaconda held off Troy 48-43.
Anaconda will now meet Florence at 10:40 AM Saturday. Eureka and Loyola will play another loser-out at the same time.
