How do you ensure a successful basketball season? It helps to win all your games.
Jefferson High’s girls and boys hoopsters had a jammed week: Choteau at home on Tuesday, at Powell County on Thursday, and back home for Pack the House Night with Broadwater on Saturday. The Panthers won all six of those games — putting them in strong position midway through the conference schedule.
The girls’ match-up against Choteau was never close. Izzy Morris hit a three to start the scoring, Arena Faler and Austie May added twos, and the Panthers were off. MacKenzie Layng stole the ball and scored, and Jessie Harris’ basket made it 27-4. Cameron Toney made an old-fashioned three, then stole the ball and scored for a 33-4 lead. And Hanna Stevens’ pair of baskets left the Panthers in front by 42-8 at the half.
Michaela Morris gave Jefferson a 54-9 lead at the end of the third, and Haleigh Henschel finished out the scoring with a 3-pointer. Final: 59-17. Layng led the Panthers with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while May and Stevens scored 8 each.
The boys’ game was not quite as unbalanced — but the Panthers took command early and stayed in control throughout. The Panthers led 12-7 after one period, and then Dylan Root started the second with a two. Kael Hesford, Zach Zody and Hunter Stevens added baskets of their own, putting the Panthers up 28-12 at the half.
Dalton Noble started the third with a pair of free throws and the Panthers went into the fourth with a 37-19 lead. With lots of subs on the court, the Panthers cruised to a 47-28 win. Zody had 10 points, Root and Mike Emter 8 each, Hesford 7, Noble 6, and Luke Oxarart, Stevens, Tyler McGady and Caleb Smartnick 2.
Then the Panthers traveled to Deer Lodge for another non-conference match-up. In the girls’ game, Izzy Morris provided much of the early firepower. Down by three at the start, the Panthers roared back to take an 18-12 lead – and then held on as Powell County came storming back to tie the game at 20.
Then, it was the Panthers’ turn to surge. Morris kept her hot hand, Layng hit a three and McCauley ended the half with a basket to give the Panthers a 52-25 lead. Faler hit a two to start the third, Toney stole the ball and scored, May connected on a three pointer, Morris stole and scored and Jessie Harris finished the third with a basket to make it 68-27.
The subs took over in the fourth, with Stevens and Clara Genger scoring as the Panthers went on to win, 75-30. Morris led with 26 points, while Toney added 13, Layng 11, and May 9, Stevens 4, and Avery Popp and Faler 3.
The Panther boys started their game on fire, with Noble, Root, Hesford, Emter and Zody putting on a show to build an 18-0 lead at the end of one. The Panthers stayed hot in the second quarter, building a 38-12 lead at the half.
The scoring cooled in the third, but the Panthers kept up their tight defense, and went into the final period up 48-21. In the fourth, Colt Tietje swished a three to make it 56-30, and the Panthers took the win 58-46. Root had 19, Emter 11, and Zody 7.
Then it was back home for the JHS Booster Club’s Pack the House Night, where fans were treated to a great pair of games. The Lady Panthers wasted no time in showing they had come to play: Layng hit a long three to start the scoring, then May followed with a two, and Jefferson sprinted to a 25-9 lead at the end of one.
A steal and score by Emma McCauley in the second period, followed by a three by May, made it 34-11. Broadwater inched back a little to pull to 39-21 at the half. But the Panthers started the third with a 6-0 run and were up 54-31 heading into the final 8 minutes of play. At the final buzzer, it was 63-37. May led the Panthers with 18 points, while Layng had 14, Izzy Morris 11, Toney 7, and McCauley 6.
The boys’ game was a battle from start to finish. Noble started the scoring, Hesford hit a three, and Noble added a basket to put the Panthers up 7-0. Broadwater fought back to go up 8-7, and the teams stayed close, with the Panthers up 13-12 after one.
Broadwater led 28-22 at the half. But the Panthers clamped down on defense in the third, holding Broadwater to 6 points, and they started finding their big man, Dalton Noble, in the paint; he responded with 7 points in the quarter to give Jefferson a 35-34 lead heading into the final 8 minutes.
Both teams found the range in the fourth quarter. They were tied five times in the period, with the lead switching back and forth. Broadwater had a 53-52 lead with under a minute to play, but Zody hit two free throws to put the Panthers up 54-53 and Emter added another pair to give the Panthers a 56-53 win. Noble led the Panthers with 22 points, while Zody 11, and Hesford and Emter had 9 each.
This week, the basketball teams play at Whitehall on Friday and at Manhattan on Saturday.
