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At Bentley, the Rams turned in a solid defensive effort, but couldn't seem to find the basket at the offensive end of the floor in a 40-18 loss to the host Bulldogs.

Despite their shooting woes, the Rams trailed just 26-16 heading into the final eight minutes of play. Montrose stayed close most of the way, thanks in large part to its sturdy defense and a 39-27 rebounding edge.

Beth Hall scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds for the Rams, supported by Chelsea Demura's 11 boards. Taryn Handyside recorded four points, nine rebounds and four steals while Freshman Kayla Setzke came up with five steals.

Byron's size and strong inside game caused problems for Montrose at home last Monday as the Rams succumbed to the Eagles, 53-26. Once again, the Rams stayed within striking distance for most of the game before a big fourth quarter by Byron finally put the game out of reach.

Setzke sparked the offense for Montrose, sinking 14 points while grabbing three rebounds and three steals. Demura tallied seven points and four steals while pulling down 13 rebounds against the much-bigger Eagle front line. Handyside turned in a strong floor game with six rebounds and six steals.

The losses dropped Montrose to 1-8 on the season.

Lady Indians hold off Marauders, 44-32

OVID -- Chesaning's varsity cagegals held on for a rugged 44-32 win over host Ovid-Elsie Friday night.

"This was a really improved Ovid-Elsie team," said Chesaning coach Wayne Scanlon. "They made us make more mistakes than we were used to making."

The Indians led 8-4 after the first quarter, then out-scored the Marauders 13-6 in the second for a 21-10 margin at the intermission. They added a 14-10 advantage in the third. Ovid-Elsie came back with a 12-10 edge in the fourth.

"We took control in the third quarter and then held on for the win," Scanlon said.

Katie Vincke led the Indians with 16 points. Brooke Jastrzembowski chipped in 14 points on the night.

The Indians took advantage of the Marauders at the line, shooting 9 of 15 compared to O-E's 2 of 5.

With the victory, the Tribe gals improve to 6-1 in the Tri-Valley Conference Central Division, 9-1 overall.

Chesaning plays host to Swan Valley on Tuesday, then hosts a TVC West team in the crossover game.

Cold-shooting second dooms 'Dawgs

ST. CHARLES -- A frigid second quarter proved the undoing for the St. Charles varsity cagegals Friday night in a 51-43 loss to visiting Ithaca.

The Yellowjackets led 12-10 after the first quarter, then out-scored the Lady Bulldogs 11-6 in the second for a 23-16 margin at the half. St. Charles came out in the third with a 13-12 edge, but the 'Jackets came out in top in the fourth with a 16-14 margin.

Ithaca spent a lot of time in the free throw line in the fourth as the Bulldogs were forced to foul.

The Bulldogs shot 41 percent from two-point range, but were just 1 of 10 from behind the arc. They shot 63 percent at the line.

Jordan Mishler led the 'Dawgs with 12 points, eight boards and four steal for a good night. Nicole Apsey added six points with four boards and two steals. Brooke Braley chipped in five points.

Lexy Burch and Jessy Gonzales had four points apiece. Gonzales also had two steals and three assists. Megan McSweyn hauled in a team-high nine rebounds with three assists and four points.

"It's kind of frustrating," admitted St. Charles coach Larry Mishler. "We'd won two of our last three, and I thought we would get on a roll and pick up a couple of more. Ithaca tonight, Merrill on Tuesday and the crossover next Friday should all be winnable games for us."

The Bulldogs also learned this week that Heidi Rohde won't be re-joining the team this season. Their top returning player from last year, Rohde has been sidelined this season with an injury, and re-aggrevated that injury this week. She is done for the season.

"That was a blow for us and for her," Mishler said. "We were really looking forward to getting her back."

The St. Charles gals are 2-8 on the year, 1-6 in the Tri-Valley Conference West Division.

Hornets survive scare at LakeVille

OTISVILLE -- New Lothrop's varsity cagers started off hot Friday night, but then went into a slump and barely escaped with a victory at LakeVille.

The Hornets led 11-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the host Falcons out-scored the visitors 8-7 in the second and 10-8 in the third to make a game of it. New Lothrop came back with a 15-14 edge in the fourth to preserve the victory.

"We jumped out in the first quarter and played with a lot of emotion and intensity," said New Lothrop coach Joe Corkran. "But we never came back with anywhere near that emotion in the rest of the game."

He added, "We played flat. We didn't move the ball around. We're just not playing well right now."

The Hornets shot 10 of 28 from the floor in the first half, and 7 of 20 in the second half, for a combined 17 of 48, or 35 percent. They were a stellar 10 of 13 from the line, however.

Tyler Henige paced the Hornets with 14 points. Brian Sheridan chipped in eight points with four blocks. Ryan Praski had a solid night with eight points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

"The opportunities are, we're not taking care of the ball," Corkran admitted. "We still got a lot of work to do."

The Hornets are 8-1 on the season, 7-1 in the Genesee Area Conference.

Ballhawking Hamady downs Ram cagers, 79-31

MONTROSE - Hamady's aggressive defense and overall team speed caused problems for Montrose's varsity boys basketball team last Friday as the Rams fell to a tough Hawks squad, 79-31.

The quick-hands defense by Hamady forced Montrose into 32 turnovers as the visiting Hawks raced to a 33-16 halftime lead before kicking into an even higher gear in the second half.

"They were very aggressive, especially on defense, and they anticipated the passing lanes extremely well," commented Ram mentor Rick Ustishen after the game. "Give them credit-they're going to be a tough team to beat the rest of the way."

The Rams shot well from the floor in the first half, making 7 of their 15 shots, but simply couldn't get enough shots off against the tenacious Hawk defense. The Rams cooled off considerably after intermission and finished with just 13 of 41 shooting for a 31% field goal average.

Cody Groulx led Montrose with 10 points and 8 rebounds, supported by Preston Taylor and Cory Hargraves, who notched eight points apiece. Taylor dragged down eight rebounds while Hargraves corralled five caroms. Freshman Keith Boswell finished with two points and five boards.

The loss drops Montrose to 3-4 in the GAC and to 4-5 overall.

Quick start propels Tribe guys to hardcourt win, 64-46

ELSIE - Chesaning's varsity boys basketball team broke out of the starting gate fast en route to a convincing 64-46 victory at Ovid-Elsie last Friday, giving the impression that the Indians are beginning to play their best basketball of the season as they approach the mid-point of the campaign.

Jason Danek's squad raced out to a 13-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and expanded the gap to 32-12 at intermission before coasting to the easy conference win.

"We got off to a good start, especially on defense, and we moved the ball well on offense against their zone," praised Danek. "We clicked well tonight and it looks like things are beginning to come together nicely."

A balanced scoring attack and a commitment to playing hard-nosed team defense gives plenty of reason for optimism. On Friday, four Indians reached double figures in the scoring column while the Tribe defense came up with 17 steals and 40 rebounds in the contest.

Joe Devota sank three triples as part of his 15-point night while Joe Bitterman and Cal Bishop each scored 13 points. Bitterman also tallied a dozen rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Bishop grabbed 10 rebounds. Chuck Harris recorded 10 points, 6 boards and 4 steals for the Tribe while Andrew Guzdial enjoyed a solid floor game with three points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Chesaning shot a respectable 40% from the floor and made 13 of 21 free throws. The Indians committed 18 turnovers, but many of those came late in the game, when the final outcome was no longer in doubt.

The conference win over O-E, which was 3-2 in TVC play entering the contest, improves the Tribe to 2-4 in the league and to 5-4, overall.

NL gals steamroll LV, 61-9

NEW LOTHROP - The Hornets raced out to a 25-0 lead at the end of the opening quarter and sank nine treys in the first half en route to a 61-9 drubbing of visiting LakeVille last Thursday, stretching New Lothrop's varsity girls basketball team's winning streak to nine in a row.

"We were able to get off to a very good start tonight and I thought we moved the ball very well," commented Hornet mentor Tom Kohlmann. "I was really happy with the balance we had tonight."

Kayla Gross led the offensive onslaught by scoring 15 of her game-high 17 points before intermission. She also had four steals and four assists. Kayla Knieper contributed 11 points while Monica Confer and Krista Moore chipped in with seven markers apiece. Kayla Henige added six points and Amber Sammons scored five points and grabbed five rebounds.

The Hornets connected on 23 of 48 shots from the floor, including 10 of 21 shooting from three-point land.

The win gives New Lothrop a 9-1 record in the league and a perfect 8-0 ledger in league play.