Saturday afternoon’s girls JV game at 2:30 p.m. started with a bright outlook for the Rangers in the first half of the match, but the Glendive Red Devils pulled ahead in the last half of the game, with a final score of 43-33. This game marks the JV team’s eleventh loss this season, making the Devils’ record for the season 4-9.
Park High started off strong in the first quarter, with sophomore Chase Vermillion scoring the first two points of the match. After a foul by junior Alivia Duffy, the Rangers scored another two points and the score became tied at 4-4 after Glendive’s Kyra Wahl scored a free throw and Bridget Litwiller scored a three-pointer for the Devils. Glendive made another three pointer and junior Landess O’dea fouled, allowing Glendive to score a free throw. Vermillion scored a free throw, junior Alissa Ruebusch scored a three-pointer, and Duffy scored two points for Park High before we fouled again, so Glendive made another free throw. By the end of the first quarter, Park was winning 15-12.
During the second quarter, a lot of fouls were called by the refs of the game. Duffy, one of the top scorers for the Rangers during this game, exclaimed that “The refs were making a lot of calls!” Sophomore Annie Keyes, a key player for the Rangers during this game, said that a lot of the calls felt like “ref’s preference.” Glendive was able to score seven points just from free throws in the second quarter of the game. By the end of the second quarter, Glendive had pulled ahead, 26-19.
Heading into the third quarter, Jane Harrison led Glendive in scoring, and Keyes scored two points for Park at the start of the quarter. The only other points scored by the Rangers outside of free throws were by O’dea, who scored another two points. Again, there were lots of fouls called by the refs this quarter. At the end of the quarter, Harrison scored two more points for Glendive, apart from the other four that the team scored near the end.
The Rangers played a strong fourth quarter. The Rangers were able to hammer out a few two and three-pointers, trying to close the gap between the now 39-25 score. The Devils did not relent, able to keep their score slightly higher than the Lady Rangers for the remainder of the game.
“We played well, but we could’ve played better,” said Keyes on behalf of the Rangers. Glendive walked away with a win this time, but the girls will face off against Hardin this Monday at 4 p.m., so they will have a chance to add another win to their season tally.