Scotty girls play tough in win at Scobey

The Glasgow girls' basketball team split its pair of games this weekend, defeating Scobey on the road before running into a brick wall in Glendive.

On Friday, playing at Scobey, the Scotties used their stellar defense to take control of the game in the first half. Near the end of the first quarter Glasgow switched into a full-court press, a move that forced the young Scobey team into mistakes. The Scotties held the Spartans to only two field goals through the first two quarters, to take the lead into the half.

The press stifled the Scobey offense until about halfway through the third, when the Spartan offense finally began to open up. However, by that time the Scotties had enough of a lead that they were able to hold off any push from the home team.

Glasgow entered the fourth quarter with a 27-18 lead and was able to keep a steady lead by hitting free throws. The Scotties got into the double-bonus with 3:30 in the game and used the foul line to their advantage.

“I was real impressed with how we shot free throws and we defended pretty well, especially for early in the season,” head coach Willie Thibeault said.

The Scotties closed out the game strong, winning the game 43-29.

Yet for as well as they played on Friday, Saturday's trip to Glendive exposed some of the Scotties' weaknesses.

The girls hung with the Red Devils for most of the first quarter, only trailing 18-10 after one, but were unable to put any points on the board in the second quarter, putting them into a deep hole. Glendive outscored Glasgow 17-0 in the second quarter putting the game out of reach for the undersized Scotties.

Glendive's Carly Selvig, who will play with the Montana Lady Griz next season, used her 6-foot-3 frame to the fullest, causing the Scotties to be timid around the basket. Selvig finished 8-for-13 with 17 points, four rebounds and three blocks.

“You're going to get some shot blocks when you have a bigger player, but (Selvig) wasn't the only one down there,” Thibeault said. “We could've taken it to people but we played passive. We can't play passive.”

The Red Devils continued to frustrate Glasgow in the second half, outscoring the Scotties in each of the final two quarters. Glendive ended up winning the game handily, 57-20.

This weekend the Scotties head to the Luzenac Classic in Three Forks to take on some teams from outside of the region. Friday morning the Scotties take on Red Lodge and will play Whitehall later in the tournament.

“They're going to be very athletic,” Thibeault said. “We'll see where they're at on Friday.”