Eagles earn District 7-B win over Darby
by STACEY LISHOK - Ravalli Republic
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Darby senior Missy DeWalt drives to the basket surrounded by Eagles in the Tigers home game against Valley Christian Thursday.
STACEY LISHOK n Ravalli Republic |
DARBY n The Tigers tussled and hustled but couldn’t claim the District 7-B win over Valley Christian Thursday.
Instead, the Eagles turned a three-point deficit at the start of the fourth into a three-point conference win over Darby.
“We missed a lot of bunnies,” Darby head coach Caroline Ehmann said. “We’ve just got to finish shots.”
After going down early in the first quarter, the Tigers chipped away at the Eagles lead bit by bit and tied the game at 15 with a basket by Mariah Cress.
Valley quickly answered with a basket of its own but Cress’ trip to the charity stripe made it an even 17-17.
Cress went on to sink two free throws to give the Tigers a short-lived 19-18 and teammate Lindsey Trowbridge gave Darby a slight 21-20 advantage as the lead bounced back and forth between the two teams.
Valley Christian ended up with a 22-21 edge headed into the third quarter.
“I liked that they never quit and they fought hard,” Ehmann said. “We need to play better defense.”
The Tigers held their lengthiest lead in the third quarter after Missy DeWalt, Kayla Schallenberger and company put Darby up 28-24. The Tigers stayed just ahead of the Eagles until Valley Christian tied it up at 32-32 and took the lead from the free throw line.
Fifteen seconds left in the quarter, DeWalt’s basket gave the Tigers the advantage and Cress’s shot at the buzzer put Darby up 36-33 headed into the final frame.
Riding momentum in the final quarter, Darby stayed ahead of the Eagles until a Valley Christian 3-pointer closed the gap to one.
Schallenberger stole the ball from the Eagles offense but couldn’t convert the turnover and Valley Christian once again claimed the lead on its next possession.
With under three minutes to go, the Tigers had trouble finding the basket as missed shots and rebounds did anything but fall through the net.
Down 47-43, Schallenberger hit one of her free throws with under a minute left to pull the game within three.
Another Darby defensive steal but missed basket helped the Eagles maintain their lead.
Rachel Wetzsteon came up big for the Tigers with a 3-pointer with under 30 seconds left on the clock for a 47-46 game.
During the ensuing Eagle possession, Cress managed a steal but a costly traveling call left the Tigers unable to score.
Valley Christian sealed its win at the foul line for a 49-46 conference win.
“Hopefully, we’ll start finishing shots before tournament time,” Ehmann said.
Cress led Darby (0-9, 3-13) with 17 points while DeWalt chipped in 14.
Darby has nonconference Victor and fellow District 7-B team Florence left on the schedule before the district tournament Feb. 14-18.
On the boys side of the ball, the Tigers traveled to Missoula for a conference contest with the Eagles.
Darby had a big first half pulling ahead 34-18 but Valley Christian rallied back and took the lead in the second.
Tiger Kyle Rider’s trip to the charity stripe with seven seconds left sent the game into an extra frame.
In overtime, Darby went 4-for-7 from the free-throw line and earned its first conference win.
Rider finished with 22 points and teammate Dillon Oliver chipped in 16 for the Tigers (1-8, 3-12).
GIRLS
Valley 12 10 11 16 n 49
Darby 5 16 15 10 n 46
VALLEY CHRISTIAN n Lauren Cross 6, Meaghan Moore 2, Monica Hartzell 14, Becca Truitt 8, Beth Kesler 18, Heidi Cross 1.
DARBY n Kayla Schallenberger 6, Missy DeWalt 14, Lindsey Trowbridge 4, Mariah Cress 17, Rachel Wetzsteon 5.
BOYS
Darby 14 20 12 11 10 - 67
Valley 8 10 17 22 7 - 64
DARBY - Kyle Rider 22, Dillon Oliver 16, RJ Hill 2, Jake Lindquist 8, Jerry Trueaux 7, Tyler Bergren 6, Mike Stanford 4, Ben Robbins 2.
VALLEY CHRISTIAN - Morgan Parsons 13, Stephen Kasun 6, Hans Lange 29, Cody Parsons 8, Matthew Bolken 2, Ben Kesler 6.
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