Girls Basketball Start of Season
By Bryn Van Orden
January 3, 2024
The Lady Lions basketball team stands with a 2-3 overall record and a 1-0 conference record.
The team traveled to Shelby for their first games of the season in the Coyote Classic. The Lady Lions took on the Chinook Sugarbeaters and lost by 50 points to add their first loss to the record. Senior Bryn Van Orden had the most rebounds with a total of five and tied with Senior Dylan Sharp for most points with seven each. The Sugarbeaters have a very talented team that was physically tough and ran the floor. The Lady Lions defense struggled against the good offense they had against them.
The second game the Lady Lions played in the Coyote Classic was versus the Shelby Coyotes. The Lions put up a battle but lost momentum in the second half leading to another loss for the Lady Lions. With a 20 point deficit, the Lions record is now 0-2 at the time. Sharp led the team in rebounds with 10 and Junior Kara Stanger was the high scorer with 12 points.
The Lions hosted the Battle of the Kootenai on December 14th. The ladies game took place at one o’clock. The Lions scored on Libby right off the bat which set the tone for the game. The final score of the game was 46-38. Sophomore Brynn Miller and Stanger tied for most rebounds with seven and most points with 14. The Lady Lions took their first victory of the season.
The same day, the wrestlers tied for the Battle of the Kootenai and the Lions came out on top of the boys basketball game. The trophy ended up staying in Libby because the score for the Battle of the Kootenai this year was 4-5 in Libby's favor.
The Eureka Lions hosted the Whitefish Bulldogs on Tuesday, December 19th. The Bulldogs brought toughness to the court and the Lady Lions answered back with intensity. It was quite the battle. Whitefish was up by seven points at half-time. 12-19. The second half consisted of 20 points scored for Whitefish and 23 points scored for Eureka. The final score was 35-39 with Eureka falling just five points short of a victory.
Stanger led in points with 14 and tied with Sharp for most rebounds of eight. The Lady Lions record is now 1-3.
The Eureka Lions traveled down to Superior for their first conference matchup just three days before Christmas. A lot of hustle was contributed by both teams. Eureka led at halftime with a score of 35-27. The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Bobcats by five points in the second half. The final score was 70-57 in the Lady Lions favor. Sophomore Aubrey Casazza led in the scoring category with 15 points and Senior Taylor Truman had the most rebounds with 10. The win improved the Ladies record to 2-3 and 1-0 in conference play.
“I was ready to work hard and improve over Christmas break and prepare for our upcoming games,” said Stanger and her feelings about the long break.
The Lady Lions had two weeks until their next game against Stillwater Christian on January 4th at home.