Lady Trojans blank Victor to earn D13C crown; Boys fate still in limbo
DRUMMOND – It can be a hard thing to watch, but the Drummond Lady Trojans kept the visiting Victor Lady Pirates from getting a basket Saturday night in a 59-4 rout at home.
The victory gives the Lady Trojans an 11-1 record and an undisputed District 13C title. Seeley Swan finished second at 10-2 after losing to third place Granite 60-42 Saturday night in Philipsburg. Granite is third at 9-3.
Drummond opened the game with its rather effective press, causing turnovers that lead to fast-break baskets. That pressure resulted in a 19-0 margin after eight minutes of play.
The closest the Lady Pirates would come to scoring a basket came in the second when Virginia Brown was fouled in the paint. She made both free throws but they proved to be the only points of the half.
Drummond continued its offensive assault, scoring 14 in the second, 12 in the third and 14 more in the fourth. Meanwhile, Victor’s Asia Parks and Brown each made the front end of a 1-and-1 the remainder of the contest.
Lexi Nelson led all scorers in the game with 19 for Drummond, Remington Cline adding 12 and Kimber Parsons 11.
The Lady Trojans have a pair of games remaining on their schedule as they tune up for the postseason, starting with a road trip to Powell County in Deer Lodge Thursday. They return home Friday for Senior Night against Hot Springs out of District 14C.
SCORING
Victor – 0/2/1/1 – 4
Drummond – 19/14/12/14 – 59
Victor – Brown 3, Parks 1
Drummond – Parsons 11, Nelson 19, ASawfer 3, Parke 2, Hicks 2, RCline 12, CCline 4, Graveley 2, Perry 4
Junior Varsity Girls
Drummond 36, Victor 16
In a game that had to be moved to a leak in Drummond’s main gymnasium, CyLeigh Langton poured in 18 points for the Lady Trojans in their 20-point victory.
Boy’s Varsity Basketball
Drummond 42, Victor 28
Drummond must wait to see what their fate is in the District 13C standings after beating Victor Saturday night.
They need a little help … from Granite.
The Trojans’ finished their district schedule with a record of 10-2, logging consecutive second-round losses to Darby and Seeley. That placed them in a tie with the Tigers who are 9-2 after losing to Seeley Friday. Darby hosts Granite Tuesday in the Bitteroot, with the Prospectors playing very good ball now that senior Cavan Babbitt is back in the lineup and without a cast on his right hand. Should Granite win, Darby would drop to 9-3 and the tiebreaker they hold over the Trojans would be nullified.
The first place team in the district will get a bye in the opening round of the District 13C tournament that starts Feb. 16 in Hamilton. The second place quad will take on Lincoln in the other half of the bracket.
Saturday night, Drummond again came out sluggish and unable to overcome the visiting Pirates. The locals trailed 12-9 at the end of the first quarter and 17-15 at intermission.
“I think what saved ourselves tonight was that we played pretty good defense throughout all four quarters,” observed DHS Head Coach Levi Parsons. “We had a few issues here and there, but defense is what won the game for us tonight.”
Whatever Parsons imparted to his players during halftime needs to be bottled and sold as the Trojans came out on fire in the third. For the second straight night they shut down the opposition awhile executing to near perfection offensively to outscore the Pirates 19-2. They had done almost the exact same thing Friday night when trailing Granite 26-22, exploding for a 17-3 third quarter run.
“Mostly all we’re doing is talking about what we’re doing and where our heads are at,” explained Parsons. “Tonight, we were so engaged in not getting the foul calls that they completely quit playing and that was all they were worried about. We addressed that by saying, ‘The refs are paid to call the game as they see it. Just play the game.’”
Brody Rasor and Colt Parsons led the locals with 13 points each.
After finding out their district tournament fate Tuesday, the Trojans will play at Powell County Thursday before hosting Senior Night Friday in their regular season finale against Hot Springs.
SCORING
Victor – 12/5/2/9 – 28
Drummond – 9/6/19/8 – 42
Victor – Rowlan 2, Nuttall 13, Berk 2, McLane 3, Drewien 8
Drummond – Rasor 13, Parke 5, Parsons 13, BeBradshaw 4, Graveley 1, Phillips 6
Junior Varsity Boys
Drummond 34, Victor 25
Balanced scoring by the Trojans led to a nine-point victory over the visiting Pirates. Aidan McNally led Drummond with nine points, followed by Isaac Loessberg and Chance Dunkerson with eight apiece and Dalton Suthers with seven.
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