Lady Prospectors roll past Eagles; Boys falter down the stretch

PHILIPSBURG – The Granite Girls got out fast and put the game away early, while the Boys faltered mid-game and fell short in an attempted rally late.

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Girls Varsity

Granite 57, Valley Christian 23

The Lady Prospectors hit the court running, opening up a massive 24-point lead in the first quarter on their way to an easy victory over visiting Valley Christian Friday night.

“Last time we played them it was actually pretty close in the first quarter,” said GHS Head Coach Brandon Piazolla. “I’m proud of how our girls came out, played patiently on offense and yet still attacked. They made really smart baskets.

“We had a good week of practice and it was good to see that translate to the game.”

The locals saw three players double figures, led by Asha Comings with 17 and Rachel Ward and Reece Pitcher each adding 15.

As the season heads into the home stretch, Granite’s three cancellations early have now backed up their schedule into several 3-game weeks heading into the District Tournament starting Feb. 17.

“It’s not ideal to be playing three games a week,” added Piazolla, “but we’ve just got to deal with it. It’s kind of tournament-like, so that’s how we’re going to look at it.”

SCORING

Valley Christian – 2/4/9/8 – 23

Granite – 26/10/15/6 – 57

Valley Christian – Kelly 5, Coughlin 7, DeGroot 2, Gedney 2, MaHarvey 7

Granite – Cotton 2, Ward 15, Pitcher 15, Lilyquist 2, Hill 2, Comings 17, Piar 4

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Girls Junior Varsity

Granite 20, Valley Christian 4

In a shortened game, Mia Sowders, Gretchen Hill and Kinzey Clark each had five points to lead the Lady Prospector JV to an easy win. Rounding out the scoring were Chaelyn Cotton with four and Allison Benson with a free throw.

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Boys Varsity

Valley Christian 62, Granite 53

Valley Christian withstood a late run by the Prospectors for the second time in a month, winning in Philipsburg to take the season series 2-0.

“We played hard,” said GHS Guard Eric Pitcher. “We've gotta find a way to turn that effort into wins."

At one point in the second period Granite had worked hard enough to tie the game at 18-18 with 3:57 to play. But just 1:27 later the Eagles finished a 9-0 run that put them ahead for good, 27-18.

Senior Hayden Mason led the locals with 19 points with Andrew Tallon adding 12 and Cayhel White 10.

SCORING

Valley Christian 16/13/18/15 – 62

Granite – 12/12/15/14 – 53

Valley Christian – Becker 13, Beaudin 10, Streit 7, RReimer 24, Lorenz 4, Centifanto 3, Sweet 1

Granite – Pitcher 3, Babbitt 7, Tallon 12, Mason 19, White 10, Langton 2