Headlines
Subscribe to our Newsletter
'A' GIRLS BBALL PREVIEW
December 11, 2023
Winter 2023-24 Girls Basketball Preview: NWA Polson Lady Pirates
by John Heglie
Preceding season recap
The Lady Pirates experienced exponential growth during the inaugural season of head coach Brandie Buckless. After languishing in the conference cellar just a handful of seasons ago that included back-to-back winless records, Polson built upon the foundation laid by previous coaches and leapfrogged to finish second in the Northwest A standings last season. Along the journey included a homecourt upset of the perennial contender WildKats of Columbia Falls in overtime along with a series sweep of Mission Valley rival Ronan that derailed a decade of dominance at the hands of both teams. The Lady Pirates came within a three-point triple of securing a berth to the State A tournament in a 57-59 loss to the WildKats during the fifth place divisional contest. Had Polson prevailed, it would have facilitated their return as part of the State A field after an absence for over a decade. Their overall record was the first time that the team posted more wins than losses in a dozen seasons spanning back to their last trip to state back in 2011-12.
Adaptations: Graduation and attrition
A quartet graduated from the 2022-23 Lady Pirate program. Foremost is Carroll College recruit, twice all-state (NWA, 14C) ambidextrous ball handler Mila Hawk, who made the transition from Class C to Class A competition look almost seamless. Another decorated veteran departure is twice all-conference honorable mention post Grace Simonich, who tallied dual century club credentials for both scoring as well as rebounding last season. Two others, Ilysia Adams and UM Lady Griz cross-country runner Ashtyn Wagner, collaborated to contribute just under a hundred points while reeling in over a hundred rebounds.
The Lady Pirates hardcourt will be further impacted by transfer. Addy Gallatin, who was sidelined by a knee injury early last season, returned to western Washington with the subsiding of the CoVid pandemic, while a pair of reserves migrated cross county to Rez rival Ronan.
Roster R's: returnees, resources and reconstruction
Though the LP roster is forced to recalibrate to compensate for numerous vacancies, the cupboard is far from bare with a handful of returning veterans.
Reprising the role of spoon that stirs the pot is all-conference second-team senior guard Julia Barnard, second leading team scorer last season who is anticipated to sparkle under the lights like many multi-faceted Jules.
Seasoned senior Mckenna Hanson returns to the hardcourt after a hiatus recovering from injury. Hanson has accrued over twelve dozen career points over the course of previous seasons and is anticipated to play in such a manner as to not only make up for lost time, but also aim for some level of athletic credential in her third sport.
Junior Samantha Rensvold, an accomplished pitcher over the course of many softball seasons who tends to hurl balls around the strike zone, will seek to refine comparable techniques so as to weave a larger version of similar sphericals through the confines of a net on the rim of a backboard. Rensvold competed in multiple seasons of Elks Hoop Shoot Free-Throw competitions, placing in many of the local events and advancing to regionals on other occasions.
Sophomore 5-8 forward Natalie Adams supplied valuable minutes off the bench as a strategic reserve last season, factoring into putting points on the scoreboard in multiple games of the divisional tournament.
Senior Zaylynn Morgan showed substantial improvement in developmental competition last season and is anticipated to fill in some of the gaps left by vacancies.
Junior Olivia Jore missed much of last season on account of concussion complications and will seek to make up for lost time.
After watching from the sidelines as part of the cheer squad last season, junior Sierra Perez reacquired that crucial itch that can only be scratched by taking part in play on the hardcourt, so will be seeking to make up for lost time in this regard.
Sophomore 5-10 post Josie Henriksen will be called upon to maximize her reach in a game of inches by picking up some of the slack on the boards created by vacancies.
Speedy freshman guard Rylee Taylor-Jefferson is anticipated to wreak some havoc on defense as she disrupts opponent ball handlers seeking to advance the ball.
Others are anticipated to emerge as the season progresses when acumen, aptitude and athleticism converge into A-game acquisition.
Prognosis P's: Prospects, penchants and potential
Former collegiate Montana State (MSU) guard Brandie Buckless embarks upon her second season at the helm of the Lady Pirates, assisted by Jami Hanson, Bill Buckless along with Ryan and Maribeth Thomas.
With the departure of substantial point productivity as well as board pounding last season, returnees as well as varsity newcomers will be called upon to take on expanded roles in both aspects. The Lady Pirates are in decent shape with a core of veteran returnees. Newer roles may feature aspects of works in progress until exposure to various levels of competition provides the necessary seasoning that will flavor the capabilities of players in development.
Despite some unknowns at such a nascent juncture of the schedule, there are a few components that are identifiable about what to anticipate to emerge during the course of the upcoming season. Though the Lady Pirates might not feature a lot in terms of height, their roster is plentiful when it comes to both speed and quickness. Opponents can expect to encounter difficulties attempting to advance the ball up the court with the application of a stiffling defensive pressure.
Head coach Buckless reset the school assist record twice when she played for Whitefish. Consequently, one can expect an emphasis upon the execution of crisp passing to facilitate optimal scoring scenarios. Since a passer doesn't notch an assist unless the recipient of their pass puts the ball through the hoop, focus will feature an emphasis upon shooting fundamentals to maximize such opportunities.
Given the Bobcat background of Brandie Buckless, one can anticipate a Binford-esque flavor to coaching emphases as she seeks to instill into the Lady Pirate roster various aspects of a successful collegiate program.
Assistant coaches Thomas infuse further ambience to an atmosphere endeavoring to elevate a heightening of expectations for the program. Maribeth (nee San Pedro) was part of the 1992-93 Lady Pirates that advanced to the State A championship and placed runnerup that season. Ryan is the son of the late former girls basketball coach Bruce Thomas, who guided the Lady Pirates for numerous seasons up through 2007.
Polson inaugurates their season at the Western A Tip-Off in Frenchtown the weekend of December 8-9, where they will face 6B Loyola and Corvallis. Their first home stand commences Tuesday, December 12, whene they will host State B champion Bigfork in the first round of their annual battle of the bays on Flathead Lake.
Wtr2022-23 Polson Lady Pirates NWA(7-3), nonconf (4-4), WesternA(1-3)6th
2022-23gbbPolson (22g) LP(951p,745r,228a,194s,44b) – Mila Hawk (231p,154r,78a,72s,5b), Julia Barnard (176p,62r,30a,24s), Grace Simonich (154p,116r,23a,17s,6b), Nikki Kendall (106p,114r,13a,19s,18b), Sam Rensvold (88p,71r,15a,14s), Addy Gallatin (85p,82r,23a,18s,6b), Ilysia Adams (51p,76r,31a,7s,10b), Ashtyn Wagner (38p,45r,5a,14s,1b), Natalie Adams (13p,5r,2a,1s,1b), Nevaeh Perez (7p,4r,1a,2s), Teyjah Beeks (1p,7r,1a,2s).
Accrued athletic accolade acknowledgements
Mckenna Hanson (VB a-s, 2x a-c: 1st-tm 2023, 2nd-tm 2021; SB 3x a-s, 3x a-c 1st-tm 2023-21), Julia Barnard (GBB a-c 2nd-tm 2023-22; VB 2x a-c: 1st-tm 2023, hm 2022; TN a-c: D3rd 2023div), Sam Rensvold (VB 2x a-c hm 2023-22; SB a-c 1st-tm 2023, USA MT JO State 14U champion 2022), Mila Hawk (GBB 2x a-s, 2x a-c 1st-tm NWA 2022-23, 14C 2021-22), Grace Simonich (GBB 2x a-c hm; VB 2x a-c hm 2022-21), Addy Gallatin (GSC a-c hm), Ashtyn Wagner (XC 2x a-s: 13th 2022, 10th 2021; 2x a-c: 2nd 2022, 3rd 2021, 16th 2020)
CFALLS WILDKATS
With almost all of the team returning and a host of young talent, Columbia Falls girls basketball should be right in the mix come tournament time this season.
Last season the girls just missed a state tourney berth as they lost a play-in game to Laurel. They ended with a 13-9 record. This season they return top scorers senior Hope McAtee and junior Taryn Borgen. McAtee and Emalee Alton also led the team in rebounds.
The girls will need to be road warriors this first half of the season, as they don’t have a home game until Jan. 13, when they play Whitefish.
They opened the season against Hamilton Tuesday after presstime.
“It’s the type of schedule we want,” said coach Cary Finberg, now in his 13th season coaching the girls. “It will be fun to see how they meet the challenge. I think our potential is pretty good. We want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season.”
The squad also returns Kierra Kemppainen, Ellie Stutsman, Demye Rensel, Anj LaChance and Addy Bowler. Maddie Moultray, who played as a freshman, will see some time as a senior. Moultray is an excellent athlete and will play college softball in Indiana after graduation.
The early schedule will be a great test. In addition to Hamilton, they face Dillon, Loyola, Ronan, Frenchtown and Bigfork on the road.
This is Finberg’s 13th season coaching the girls program, where he has a 229-53 record. He coached the boys for 19 years with a 298-138 record. He is assisted by daughters Cydney and Ciera Finberg, Zach Levitt and Steve Kracher.
Ciera coaches the JV squad and Levitt the freshmen
