Headlines
Subscribe to our Newsletter
GIRLS Rez roundball rivalry wrangle review: Mission Mountain mascot mayhem at Maidens
January 29, 2025
GIRLS Rez roundball rivalry wrangle review: Mission Mountain mascot mayhem at Maidens
by John Heglie
Girls varsity: 4:15pm, Lady Pirates at Maidens on Saturday, February 01, 2025 at Ronan Events Center
Polson Frosh/JV at Ronan Frosh/JV on Saturday, February 01, 2025 at High School gym 12pm/1:30pm
2025 wrangle round one nightcap: Lady Pirates at Maidens
Last year the two regular season clashes between the Maidens and Lady Pirates were arrythmia amplified nail biters as the outcomes hung in the balance until the waning seconds. Polson emerged with the edge on the scoreboard on both those occasions, but the Maidens soon recalibrated as they extracted their revenge by capturing the play-in clash to eliminate the Lady Pirates from the postseason. It is anticipated that these upcoming rivalry rounds will play out in similar fashion.
Polson Lady Pirates (3-1, 5-5) pending outcome of @C-Falls
The Lady Pirates are paced by all-conference (hm) sophomore guard Rylee Taylor-Jefferson, who has already surpassed century club credentials for season scoring with a low-teen average per game that includes a pair of pinnacles among the 20s. A trio of other Lady Pirate starters who include senior Sam Rensvold and sophomores Aleysia Black along with Hinkley Moss are on pace to crest the century point plateau by the end of the season based upon maintaining their current scoring averages.
The lead rebounder for Polson has been Ahri Rushing with a pair of outings that averaged just under double digits, followed closely by Moss, Black and Josie Henriksen, each averaging a handful of boards per game and who have collectively collaborated on over a hundred boards.
Taylor-Jefferson and Black lead the team in dispensing assists, averaging just under a couple per game despite often being the intended beneficiaries themselves.
The lead pick pockets of prized possessions have been Taylor-Jefferson and Moss, who have collectively collaborated on over 50 steals at this juncture of the schedule.
Other periodic contributors in a more supplemental capacity include Olivia Ramirez, Jaja Nichols, Opal Nash and Ravea Tenas.
Ronan Maidens (3-1, 6-4) pending outcome of @Bigfork
The Maiden half of the ledger gravitates more toward a balanced attack, though sophomore guard Kailyn Marengo leads the pack with close to a 9-ish ppg average, followed by seniors Lauryn Buhr and Arianna Zepeda with per game averages of a point and change back. The trio have collectively generated over 900 career points between them thus far. Buhr is liable to cross the quadruple century point plateau and Zepeda the triple century threshold for varsity career scoring during the rivalry wrangle.
Lead rebounders among the Maidens include junior post Nevaeh Perez along with Buhr, Marengo and fellow senior Kylee Kelch, each averaging close to five boards per game.
Zepeda, who merits a christening with the nickname "Zip" due to her penchant for zigging and zagging her way around the court, leads the team in dishing out assists as well as picking pockets for steals with three dozen or better in each category thus far into the season. Fellow seniors Buhr and Ally Luedtke follow Zepeda's lead as they have accrued among the teens in both categories.
Strategic reserves when not occasional starters include Zailee Hewankorn and transfer Natalee Adams. Other periodic contributors in a more supplemental capacity include Dallas St.Goddard and Bailee Woll, reflecting their depth at the guard position.
In making a cursory comparison between both teams, Ronan holds an edge in bench depth experience in the event either team is plagued with foul troubles. But injury and/or illness tend to be mitigating factors as well as the inspirational nature of the rivalry wrangle itself that can either transcend ordinary expectations or curtail averages stiffled by overexhuberance. One need look no further than last season when these two teams met. In the postseason qualifier, then freshman Kailyn Marengo erupted for a varsity career high 21 during the play-in, a better than fourfold increase over her regular schedule points per game average. On the flip side during the first meeting in Ronan, the visiting Lady Pirates lit up the scoreboard from beyond the arc by splashing nine triples, several times strategically countering carefully crafted Maiden leads in the process.
Looking back at the history between the interactions between both squads, for an extensive stretch the Ronan Maidens held a decade of dominance over the series, compiling a 19 game win streak. Two seasons ago, the Lady Pirates not only managed to snap that streak, but proceeded to sweep all three clashes. Prior to that, one had to trace back to when Ronan competed among the Class B ranks back in 2012 to find the last time Polson had won a game over the Maidens.
Currently, the Maidens are averaging among the low-50s with a quartet dipping into the low-60s, while the Lady Pirates are averaging among the low-40s with a handful of games among the high 40s with a pinnacle stretching into the mid-50s. While on the surface the scoring differential appears to favor Ronan, it merits some qualification in that Polson recently edged Browning, a opponent who held a multiple decade of dominance over the series. The key for Polson will be to play solid defense while maximizing the quality level of their shooting opportunities to level the court.
With so many variables that come into play with this Mission Valley rivalry, making a prediction one way or another is fraught with uncertainty. If one were to go against the grain of conventional wisdom and climb out on a limb, multiple indicators already mentioned point in the direction that both squads are relatively evenly matched, suggesting that the result of this contest is likely to hinge upon a few strategic possessions much like last season. Both sides feature players who are capable of erupting beyond the average, a rogue variable which could tilt the balance of the outcome one way or another dependent upon optimal performances by individual ingredients. The rematch round will take place in Polson on February 22nd.
Those interested in attending this event should doublecheck postings from the venue to confirm whether the event will commence as scheduled.
Opponents in common:
Hamilton (P42-38H/R44-26H), Browning (P45-44B/B62-50R), Libby (P49-36L/R61-28L), Whitefish (P44-31W/R45-38W)
Girls career highs
POLSON – Rylee Taylor-Jefferson 29, Samantha Rensvold 16, Aleysia Black 14, Ahri Rushing 12, Hinkley Moss 9
RONAN – Kailyn Marengo 21, Lauryn Buhr 17, Zailee Hewankorn 17, Natalee Adams 16, Arianna Zepeda 15, Maddy Illig 15, Nevaeh Perez 14, Ally Luedtke 11, Kylee Kelch 9
Accrued athletic accolade acknowledgements
POLSON: Sam Rensvold (VB 3x a-c: 1st-tm 2024, hm 2023-22; SB a-s, 2x a-c 1st-tm 2023-24, USA MT JO State 14U champion 2022), Rylee Taylor-Jefferson (GBB a-c hm 2023-24; VB a-c hm 2024); RONAN: Arianna Zepeda (GBB a-c hm 2023-24), Lauryn Buhr (VB a-c hm 2023), Ally Luedtke (SB 3x a-c 2nd-tm 2022-24), Kailyn Marengo (SB a-c 2nd-tm 2024), Nevaeh Perez (SB a-c 2nd-tm 2024), Zailee Hewankorn (TF div sp 5th 2024)
Wtr2023-24gbb Maidens (908p,>697r,209a,277s,30b,3FG:
returnees: Zailee Hewankorn (142p,112r,23a,23s,3b), Maddy Illig (142p,76r,11a,27s,2b,3FG:22), Kailyn Marengo (122p,49r,13a,26s,3b, 3FG:10), Lauryn Buhr (118p,>96r,22a,30s,5b), Arianna Zepeda (95p,87r,72a,95s), Nevaeh Perez (91p,57r,7a,9s,7b), Natalee Adams (86p,52r,6a,12s,4b), Kylee Kelch (50p,37r,13a,8s), Ally Luedtke (44p,48r,15a,28s), Dallas St.Goddard (15p,19r,8a,5s), Bailee Woll (0p,2r,1a),
Wtr2023-24gbb (10-10) Lady Pirates (727p,562r,139a,157s,24b), Wtr2022-23gbb (12-10) Lady Pirates (951p,745r,228a,194s,44b) –
returnees: Rylee Taylor-Jefferson (139p,65r,33a,35s), Samantha Rensvold (129p,85r,17a,25s,2b), Aleysia Black (74p,48r,13a,12s,2b), Hinkley Moss (56p,58r,9a,12s,4b), Ahri Rushing (34p,52r,8a,9s,2b), Josie Henriksen (4p,4r), Jaja Nichols (3p,10r),
Maiden vs Lady Pirate series through the years:
(Sa17Feb24play-in) R46-36P, (Sa10Feb24) P37-36R, (Tu16Jan24) P45-41;
(Fr24Feb23gm10div) P35-28R, (Sa11Feb23) P43-41R, (Sa14Jan23) P52-49R;
(Fr04Feb22) R51-30P, (Fr07Jan22) R65-41P;
(Sa20Feb21) R50-34P, (Fr29Jan21) R70-29P; Class of 2021 Jaylea Lunceford career(3yr)719p
(M24Feb20play-in) R57-17P, (Fr31Jan20) R68-18P, (Fr10Jan20) R61-11P;
(Th14Feb19gm4nwa) R72-34P, (Fr25Jan19) R55-13P, (Fr04Jan19) R57-27P;
(Sa17Feb18gm10nwa) R45-23P, (Fr26Jan18) R70-52P, (Fr05Jan18) R56-36P; class of 2018 Micalann McCrea career 1266p
(Tu20Dec16) R64-50P; Lee Camel 23, class of 2017 Lee Camel career 1287p/Alicia Camel career 1202p
(Tu02Feb16) R64-48P;
(Th12Feb15) R54-37P, (Sa03Jan15) R49-32P; Class of 2015 Aspen Jore career(3yr)523p
(Fr03Jan14) R41-30P; Class of 2014 “Ragin” Raymi Clairmont career(3yr+)557p
(Fr21Dec12) R36-32P;
(Tu24Jan12) P43-10R; Class of 2012 Riley Kenney career 1000p
(26Feb11div) P56-24R (MaxP), (04Feb11) P49-14R, (07Jan11) P59-44R
(Sa20Feb10) P50-32R, (Tu05Jan10) P51-26R MaxP
(Fr06Feb09) P52-46R, (Fr09Jan09) P47-38R MaxP
(Th21Feb08div) P54-37R, (Fr01Feb08) P54-43R, (Tu08Jan08) P58-32R
(Tu23Jan07) R32-31P, (Th21Dec06) P52-33R
(Th16Feb06) P60-38R, (Th22Dec05) P67-28R;
(Th17Feb05) , (Tu25Jan05)
