The Corvallis Blue Devils topped Stevensville in Southwest A girls basketball action Thursday night in Corvallis. Corvallis pulled away in the last five minutes of the game to take the 50-41 victory.

Corvallis came out strong but Stevensville came back and took the lead when freshman Blaire Brookshire sank a short jumper. Corvallis’ Kirstin Bull retaliated and prompted an eight point rally at the end of the first quarter.

Stevi’s Allison Jones dropped in two quick buckets to get the momentum going for the Yellowjackets in the second quarter and Brookshire hit two more to pull her team back within one point of the Blue Devils. By halftime, only two points separated the two teams. Corvallis used a full court press to stymie the Lady Yellowjackets but had trouble converting the turnovers to points. Stevensville also had trouble finishing their plays with points.

According to coach Scott Marsh of Corvallis, his team has been forcing their shots so far this season. "The girls just want to score, score, score. We’re having trouble scoring this year, and I think maybe they have been forcing things. Good things are going to happen when you’re patient, you’re going to get a better look and shoot a higher percentage. We were real patient on offense for the first time in a long time."

With Corvallis defender at her shoulder, Stevensville's Sherry Walters heads for the basket during the Corvallis/Stevensville game. The Blue Devils defeated the Yellowjackets, 50-41. Jean Schurman photo.

The two teams were still neck and neck at the end of the third quarter but the Blue Devils picked up steam after a technical on the Corvallis bench. Stevensville couldn’t convert the free throws and then turned the ball over on the out-of-bounds play. Sherry Walters picked up her fifth foul which sent Kelsey Lemon to the line for Corvallis and the Blue Devil run was on.

"Foul trouble killed us," said coach Cody Omlid of his Stevensville team. "We told them Corvallis was going to drive the ball into the hoop and that’s what they did."

Corvallis was paced by Bull’s 13 points. Brookshire had 14 points for Stevensville.

Stevensville - Sherry Walters 6, Allison Jones 7, Izzy Miller 1, Brekka Johnson 7, Lindsey Thorstad 2, Alexa Omlid 4, Blaire Brookshire 14.

Corvallis - Kelsey Lemon 6, Sunni Bleibtrey 7, Kirstin Bull 13, Whitney Henderson 2, Clarissa Boyer 8, Megan Auch 9, Kim Gilder 5.

Hamilton picked up a huge win, topping Dillon to move into second place in the Southwestern A conference. The Lady Broncs edged past the Lady Beavers, 37-32. Ashley Albert had 21 points for the Lady Broncs including 13 free throws. She was 100 percent from the charity line. It was Dillon’s first conference loss.

Florence picked up two more wins over the weekend, defeating Valley Christian 61-40 and then topping Darby, 50-25.

Brooke Zeiler led the Lady Falcons against Valley Christian, dropping in 17 points. Rae Baerlocher and Kristina Kmetekova each added 10 points.

After a close first quarter, the Lady Falcons moved into the lead and never looked back against Darby. Florence was led by Zeiler and Kmetekova who each had 12 points. The Lady Falcons are now 4-1 in conference play and 8-2 overall.

Darby picked up a win over Victor on Thursday night. The Lady Tigers had a 20-point first quarter to power their way to a 59-34 victory. Mariah Cress had 16 points for Darby. Victor’s Elizabeth Taylor had 15 points to lead the Lady Pirates.

Darby's Dillon Oliver attempts a lay up during the Tigers' game against Florence. Although Oliver made the basket, Florence topped Darby, 61-56. Jean Schurman photo.

Falcons clip Tigers

The Battle of the Bitterroot, Class B style, was a battle in Darby. Florence and Darby fought back and forth for four quarters. For every Falcon shot attempted, a Tiger came right back to score. With the game tied at 3:24 in the fourth quarter and the neck and neck scoring, it looked as if overtime would be a given. But Florence was able to capitalize on the Tiger's foul trouble, and that made the difference in the 61-56 Falcon victory.

Florence’s super sophomore, Reid Baerlocher, hit the first three shots for the Falcons to put seven points on the board. But John Pyles and Kyle Rider came right back with two treys of their own. Florence finished the period with a one-point lead.

Darby kept the fast pace up and had a five-point lead midway through the second quarter but then got into some foul trouble and sent the Falcons to the line.

"It was a learning lesson," said Clyde Truax, coach of the Tigers. "Like learning not to foul, we had five offensive charges, we have to pass the ball or pull up and make the shot, not foul."

Darby kept the pressure on the Falcons throughout the third quarter and took the lead when Rider picked off a Florence pass and made the easy lay up. But the savvy Falcons took a charge or picked off passes to make plays. Lorensen tied the game with a long trey but Darby didn’t quit. Rider and Dillon Oliver worked the boards and gave Damon Moe of Florence pressure on every rebound. Moe hit the front end of a bonus free throw to put Florence up by three but Oliver and Rider came right back with free throws of their own. Although Florence held the Tigers off for the 61-56 win, both teams knew they’d been in a ball game.

"We’re just working together as a team," said Florence senior Damon Moe. "We’ve been at every single game."

Moe’s coach, Sam Baerlocher, agreed. "Down the stretch, we’ve found a way to win. For us to be 4-6 right now, with the conference schedule we have, that’s great."

Baerlocher was quick to praise Darby. "They’ve improved a lot. They’re a good team."

Florence - Reid Baerlocher 27, Brandon Lorensen 12, Damon Moe 9, Alex Mitchell 9, Trevor Stoos 2, Wedge Warford 2.

Darby - John Pyles 8, Kyle Rider 15, Dillon Oliver 11, Jeremy Truax 3, Mike Stanford 10, Tyler Bergren 2, Jake Lindquist 7.

Florence defeated Valley Christian, 63-55, on Friday.

Darby played Victor in another inter valley match on Thursday. The Pirates came out strong and played tough defense throughout the game, holding Darby to only nine points in the first half.

Coach Jay Jagelski said the goal of this game was to concentrate on defense. "We wanted to keep that intensity high. The goal is to get better each game."

The Pirates, 8-2, came away with a non conference win, topping Darby 66-41. Mark Frye led all scorers with 21 points for the Pirates.

Victor defeated St. Regis, 71-28, on Friday.

"Our offense is starting to come together and the kids are beginning to understand the offense. They’ve turned into a very nice team," concluded Jagelski.

Stevensville picked up two wins over the weekend, defeating Corvallis on Thursday and then Frenchtown on Saturday.

Stevensville held Corvallis to only four points in the first quarter and that was the difference in the 55-50 win. Paced by Boone Chambers and Drew Zeiler who combined for 24 points, the Yellowjackets held off a fast charging Blue Devil team for the win.

Corvallis, who defeated Hamilton earlier in the week, was led by Dalton Sybrant’s 13 points.

The Yellowjackets played a tough, swarming defense to claim another Southwestern A conference win on Saturday against Frenchtown. With balanced scoring, the ‘Jackets cruised to a 55-42 win. Chambers had 12 points, Ethan Pateman added 11 and Nick Dahlquist led the scoring with 15 points.

Hamilton lost to Dillon, 56-30. Evan Green led the Bronc scoring with seven points.

Burch named Coach of the Year

Hamilton golf coach Owen Burch has been named as the Class A Boys Golf Coach of the Year for the Fall 2007 season. Burch's team won the Class A championship in October. Coaches from across Montana were selected by Montana Coaches Association members in all of the fall sports.

Wrestlers hit the mat in Missoula and Choteau

With divisional meets just three weeks away, the valley’s wrestling teams were at a couple of tournaments which featured tough competition. Hamilton and Corvallis took part in the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula which featured 29 teams including four teams from Spokane, Washington and three other out of state teams. Florence and Darby were at Choteau where their wrestlers had a preview of opponents they may face at the State All Class meet in Billings in February.

The Blue Devils had a very good showing, placing sixth in the large field. Havre was the only Class A school to finish higher. Corvallis had one champion in the two day event. Landon DellaSilva took a 5-0 decision over Flathead’s Brian Ham for the championship. Danny Gates took third at 171 and Andy Jessop and Dennis Jessop each finished fourth in their respective weight classes of 145 and 215.

Alex Martin of Hamilton finished third at 145 for Hamilton. Also garnering points for the Broncs were Brock Anderson at 171 and Wes Sherman in the heavyweight division.

Across the mountains in Choteau, Florence finished ninth. Craig Ashworth pinned Chris Hennrichs of Huntley Project for the championship at 189. Corbin Newbary finished second at 105. Brennan Lund (135) and Christian Skeers (HWT) finished in fifth place.

Rocky Mountain Classic

Team scores: Flathead 277.5; Havre 196; Central Valley, WA. 187; University High, Spokane 183; Mead High, Spokane 139; Corvallis 131.5; Coeur d’Alene High 129; Great Falls High 129; Frenchtown 127; CM Russell 111; Sentinel 104.5; Bozeman 84.5; Ronan 78.5; Butte 75; Polson 67; Ferris High, Spokane 64; Libby 64; Clarkson WA 63; Hamilton 63; Anaconda 56; Columbia Falls 55.5; Bonners Ferry, ID 49; Glacier 46; Big Sky 36; Whitefish 28; Hellgate 8; Superior 8, Loyola 6.

98 - 2nd round - Levi Gingerich, Cor, pinned Spiewak, Ana :40

Quarterfinals - Stadel, Hav, pinned Gingerich, Cor, 5:40

105 - 1st round, Staub, CdA, pinned Vlade Joyner, Cor, :34

112 - 1st round - Teeples, CV, pinned Stephen DuBose, Cor, 4:40

119 - 1st round - Chatterley, Sup, dec. Troy Haacke, Ham 9-5; Steven Jessop, Cor, dec. Dickson, CMR, 6-2

2nd round - Love, Sent, dec. Jessop, Cor, 7-6

125 - 1st round - Lovshin, But, pinned Seth Pelkey, Cor, :36; Brandon FER, pinned Matt Skaw, Ham, :45

130 - 1st round - Taylor Allan, Cor, pinned Livingston, UH, 5:22; Anderson pinned Kalob Ledford, Ham, 2:57

2nd round - Allan, Cor, dec. Anderson, Mead 7-1

Quarterfinals - Allan, Cor, dec. Beaman, Flat, 10-8

Semifinals - Founty, Pol, pinned Allan, Cor, 5:04

5th-6th place - Beaman, Flat, dec. Allan, Cor, 9-4

135 - 1st round - Landon DellaSilva, Cor, pinned Cummings, GLA 2:22,

2nd round - Putman, CdA pinned Wood, Ham 2:37; DellaSilva, Cor, tech fall, Schmitz, BF, 15-0

Quarterfinals - DellaSilva, Cor, pinned Putman, 3:54

Semi finals - DellaSilva, Cor, dec. Rohback, CMR, 9-7

Finals - DellaSilva, Cor, dec. Ham, Flat, 5-0

140 - 1st round - Netz, CMR dec. Nathan DuBose, Cor, 13-7; Cook, Ana, pinned Leif Holm, Ham, 1:41

145 - 2nd round - Andy Jessop, Cor, pinned Grady, But, 3:07; Alex Martin, Ham, dec. LeiaMeyer, Clk, 5-4

Quarterfinals - A. Jessop, Cor, maj. dec. Lacy, Ron 13-3; Martin, Ham, maj. dec. Olson, 9-1

Semifinals - Stacy, Flat, pinned Andy Jessop, Cor, 3:51; Hallfrisch, CMR, dec. Martin, 8-5

Third-Fourth - Martin, Ham dec. Jessop, Cor, 8-3

152 - 1st round - Nick Hara, Cor, pinned Norris GFH, 2:28; Trevor Capp, Ham, pinned Avila, Sup 5:59

2nd round - Moore, Mead, pinned Hara, Cor, Hiniebauch, Hav, pinned Capp :19

160 - 1st round - Nielsen, CdA pinned Devon Jessop, Cor, 1:26

2nd round - Jordan, Uhi, pinned Wolton Weigle, Ham, 5:20

171 - 2nd round - Brock Anderson, Ham, pinned Duford, Pol, 1:40; Danny Gates, Cor, pinned Silva, Lib 3:08

Quarterfinals - Anderson, Ham, dec. Reed BS, 8-1; Gates, Cor, dec. Way, FTN 7-6

Semifinals - Widman, GFH, dec. Anderson, Ham 5-3; Fischer, Flat, maj. dec. Gates 15-1

Third-fourth - Gates, Cor, dec. Shandorf, Hav, 7-3;

Fifth-Sixth place - Anderson, Ham, default over Renz, But

189 - 1st round - Chris Jessop, Cor, pinned Criner, Gla 1:33

2nd Round - Brady Anderson, Ham, pinned Standley, BS 1:14; Fenner, CMR, maj. dec. C. Jessop, Cor, 19-7

Quarterfinals - Anderson, Ham, dec Graham, Lib 9-2

215 - 1st round - Rustad, Ana, pinned Jacob Reinschmidt, Ham, :59

2nd round - Kemkamp, Fer, dec. Dennis Jessop, Cor 11-6

Third-fourth place - Jensen, Hav, pinned Jessop, 2:48

Heavyweight - 2nd round - Wes Sherman, Ham, pinned Sandau, Sent, 1:12; Turner, CdA, pinned Jeff Markette, Cor, :34

Quarterfinals - Voorhees, CMR, pinned Sherman, Ham 1:09

Seventh-eighth place - Foote, Mead, pinned Sherman, Ham 3:16.

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