New Year Wildcat Basketball

After Christmas break the Harrison Willow Creek Wildcats were ready for some court time. The first week after Christmas break brought the Wildcats to the hardwood three times. On Tuesday January 3, the Cats travelled to Sheridan to make up a game that was cancelled before the break. The Panthers and Wildcats played neck and neck the first half, but the Cats took a 22-17 lead into the locker room.

The Wildcats broke open the second half, scoring 19 of their 47 points in the 3rd quarter. Derik DeFrance and Lane Buus scored 15 and 14 respectively as the Wildcats found their first victory of the year beating the Panthers 47-33. Senior Tristan Horn from Sheridan led all scorers with 21 points, including six 3-pointers.

Game 2 of the week was the first home game for the Wildcats. The Lima Bears travelled to Harrison. Though they trailed at the end of the 1st the Wildcats outscored Lima 20-9 in the second quarter to take a lead they would not give up the rest of the game. Wildcats claimed their second victory with a 53-40 point win over the Bears. Derik DeFrance of the Cats and Dax Thornton of the Bears each dropped in 19 points for their respective teams. Lane Buus and Steve Hurtgen also came up with double figures for the Wildcats with 13 and 11.

The next night, January 7 the Wildcats hit the road to snowy West Yellowstone to face the Wolverines. The Wildcats were plagued by turnovers and a tough Wolverine defense and found themselves in a hole they couldn't quite dig out themselves out of before time ran out. Despite outscoring the Wolverines 26-4 in the 4th quarter the Wildcats ran out of time and lost the contest by a mere four points 52-48. Junior Derik DeFrance scored 13 of his 21 points in the final period. Lane Buus also posted double figures with 20 points. The Wolverines were led by Bryce Loomis who scored a game high 24 points.

The Wildcats face District leaders Twin Bridges and Ennis next.

LADY WILDCATS

After being shut out in December, the Harrison-Willow Creek Lady Wildcats came out after the Christmas break ready to claim some victories, three to be exact. The first game after the break was a make-up game with Sheridan on January 3rd. Junior Josie Hokanson led the Wildcats with 23 points, including three beyond the arc, as the Cats claimed a 49-38 victory over the Lady Panthers. Playing stellar defense which resulted in turnovers and mistakes by the Panthers, the Lady Cats took a 12-7 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and never looked back.

Senior Nicole Satterwhite was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 13. Senior Janie Smart led the Panthers with 15 points.

The Lady Cats had their first home game on Friday January 6 versus the Lady Bears of Lima. The Wildcats put on a full court press and dominated the Lady Bears from the opening tip off. The Wildcats focused on defense and created opportunities with rebounds, steals and intercepting passes. The Wildcats came away with a 54-28 victory led by Junior point guard Josie Hokanson who had 27 points, 11 steals and five rebounds. Two other Lady Cats were in double figures, senior Nicole Satterwhite had 14, while Sophomore Stephanie Strong netted 10 points and 6 rebounds in the victory. Senior Kaycee Cox led the Bears with 17 points.

To round out the week of victories the Lady Cats road tripped to West Yellowstone to take on the Lady Wolverines. The Cats trailed the Wolverines until 40 sec mark of the 1st quarter when Josie Hokanson hit a 3 pointer to give the Wildcats a 2 point edge heading into the second period. Struggling at the free throw line, connecting with only 10 of 27 attempts on the night the Wildcats fought to hang on to the lead until outscoring the Wolverines 10-4 in the 3rd quarter, which ended in a 32-23 Lady Cat victory. Hokanson was the only Lady Cat in double figures with 15.

The Lady Cats take the momentum from their 3 game winning streak back home to face district leaders Twin Bridges and Ennis the week of January 9.