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COLTON–A strong first half propelled the Colton Lady Wildcats to a comfortable lead and they never looked back to put a 46-24 league win over the Lady Pirates into the books here December 22.

Pomeroy is now 3-3 overall, 1-2 in league play as the rest of the season resumes in January. The Lady Buccaneers forge their way into 2022 with a Tuesday, January 4 non-league home matchup with DeSales followed by weekend games at Oakesdale Friday and versus Prescott on Saturday. The Junior Varsity travels to Lapwai on January 3 for a jayvee-only game at 6 p.m.

In the loss to Colton, Jillian Herres sparked the Pirates' offense with 11 points, made three rebounds, and hustled on defense with three steals. Keely Maves got a lot of looks inside but hit only four buckets to score 10 in the game.

"We didn't have the right mindset going into tonight's game," observed Head Coach Tai Bye. "We played timidly offensively and didn't have the aggressive nature on defense that we really needed."

Bye credited Herres for her efforts for the Lady Pirates. "Jillian kept us in the game in the first half, but we struggled on the offensive end," Bye said. "We couldn't get our shots to fall and gave up too many lay-ins defensively."

Herres's 11 points were off of 17 attempts, four of them from the field and one from the three-point arc, making 30% of her shots. Maves had a cool night, scoring four baskets and two free throws. Chase Caruso drained a three pointer.

The Lady Bucs trailed by eight points at the end of the first quarter, but iced up in the second period where they were outscored by the Lady Wildcats 15-3 and a 32-12 half time lead. After the break, both teams were even in the third with 10 points each, and the fourth quarter was won by Colton, 4-2 for a 46-24 final.

"I imagine we will have a few more shots with Colton this season, so we will have some adjustments to make," Bye commented.

Colton 46, Pomeroy 24 (12-22)

Colt 17 15 10 4-46

Pom 9 3 10 2-24

Pomeroy (24) Jillian Herres 5-17 0-2 11, Chase Caruso 1-7 0-0 3, Keely Maves 4-18 2-6 10, Kiersten Bartles 0-0 0-0 0, Jadence Gingerich 0-4 0-0 0, Haliee Brewer 0-0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Ruchert 0-1 0-0 0, Izzy Field 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Gilbert, 0-0 0-0 0, Kendall Dixon 0-0 0-0 0.

Colton (46) Holly Heitstuman 0-0 0-0 0, Maggie Meyer 11-20 0-0 24, Mary Pluid 5-10 0-0 10, Kyndra Stout 0-4 0-0 0, Grace Demeerleer 0-0 0-0 0, Kayde Heitstuman 0-0 0-0 0, Clair Moehrle 0-0 0-0 0, Sidni Whitcomb 3-5 1-2 8, Lola Baerlocher 2-8 0-0 4.

Three-point Goals -- Colton: Meyer 2, Whitcomb. Pomeroy: Herres, Caruso.

Fouls-Colton: 10, Pomeroy 6. Fouled Out: None. Technical Fouls: None. Rebounds: Gingerich 7. Pomeroy Rebounds: Team 28. Turnovers: Pomeroy 16. Assists: Pomeroy 4.

At Liberty Christian on December 20, the Lady Buccaneers rolled over the Lady Patriots by a convincing 46-19.

"We had another good team win tonight," Bye noted. "Keely Maves had a strong night in the key," she said, "and Chase Caruso came alive from behind the line tonight.

Maves took the ball up for 28 points, snared seven rebounds and made three steals. Caruso hit two three pointers and scored nine, rebounded seven and also stole three from Liberty Christian.

"We have continued to share the ball well and end every game with a significant amount of assists," Bye said. "We held their offense to seven points in the second half, so I was able to get my younger players in for some time on the floor tonight."

Pomeroy 46, Liberty Christian 19 (12-20)

Lib 4 8 2 5-19

Pom 13 16 8 9-46

Pomeroy (46) Jillian Herres 2-14 3-6 7, Chase Caruso 2-10 3-4 9, Keely Maves 11-23 5-6 28, Kiersten Bartles 0-1 0-0 0, Jadence Gingerich 0-2 0-0 0, Elizabeth Ruchert 1-1 0-0 2,.

Liberty Christian (19) Savannah Armiso 0-2 1-2 1, Lauren Reed 4-13 0-0 8, Annalise Drinkard 0-1 0-0 0, Kerrigan Bishop 0-1 0-0 0, Ali Bush 4-12 0-0 8, Catherine Lindsay 1-11 0-4 2.

Three-Point Goals: LC-0. Pomeroy-Caruso 2, Maves. Fouls: Liberty Christian 9, Pomeroy 8. Fouled Out: None. Technical Fouls: None. Rebounds: Maves 7, Caruso 7 Pomeroy Rebounds: Team 33. Turnovers: Pomeroy 13. Assists: Pomeroy 13.