Vals win two with teamwork

By FAITH MOLDAN Bigfork Eagle

Bigfork Valkyrie basketball team continued its winning ways

With one week remaining in the regular season, the Bigfork Valkyrie basketball team continued its winning ways against the Thompson Falls Lady Bluehawks and Polson Lady Pirates.

The Vals defeated non-conference opponent Thompson Falls 66-36 and beat Polson 55-45 in Northwest A action Friday and Saturday, improving their record to 14-2 overall.

Bigfork hosted Thompson Falls Friday night in Bigfork, jumping out to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter. The Vals dished out the assists all game long, starting with assists by Hattie Bowen and Carly Hilley to Alyssa Fierro and Charlene Miller for the Vals’ first four points. Bowen five points in the first quarter. Her three-point field goal gave the Vals an 11-2 lead with 3:46 on the clock. The Vals held the Bluehawks to one field-goal in the quarter. Bigfork shot 50.9 percent from the field, while the Bluehawks made 25 percent of their shots. Thompson Falls made three free throws to end the quarter.

The Vals stayed on top in the second quarter, quickly lengthening their lead to 10 points after a Thompson Falls turnover. Bowen scored five points in the first minute-and-a-half — two points after a steal and going coast to coast and three with a basket and foul. Fierro, who led the Vals with 25 points in the game, scored eight points in the second quarter. The Vals led 32-20 at halftime.

Fierro’s last basket of the second quarter and her next four were all assisted. Providing Fierro with the assists were Jamie Halliday, Miller, Hilley, Bowen and Vogel.

“That was the difference,” Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said of the Vals’ assists and 10-0 run. “She was posting up well and put them (shots) up in a hurry,” he said about Fierro.

She scored the first eight points for the Vals in the third quarter and had six rebounds and two blocks. The Bluehawks scored their first points of the second half on free throws from Jessie Zander. It was nearly three-and-a-half minutes until the Bluehawks scored again on another free throw. They made just one field goal in the quarter — a three-pointer by Rheanna Padden with 2:00 minutes remaining in the quarter.

The Vals, who committed just 12 turnovers and limited the Bluehawks to seven offensive rebounds, went into the final quarter ahead by 20 points — 46-26 — and came out ahead by 30 points and with a win. Hilley, who scored 10 points against the Bluehawks, made a three-point basket after Thompson falls scored four to begin the quarter. The three-pointer was her second in the game. Hilley also had four rebounds and four assists. Bowen, who finished the game with 17 points, and Fierro both scored in the fourth quarter as well. She also had five assists and five rebounds. Bowen had just two points in the quarter, assisting Fierro on one of her two field goals. Fierro got the basket and the foul on a putback after a miss by Halliday. Halliday scored two points a couple minutes later, assisted by Avery Vogel. Vogel also assisted Quindee Averill for her two points of the game, and finished with four assists and four rebounds and grabbed two steals. Roxy Thurman ended the game for the Vals with four straight points. She also had 10 rebounds against the Bluehawks.

Bigfork’s game against the Polson Lady Pirates Saturday night in Polson seemed to be headed the same direction as the Thompson Falls game the previous night. The Vals led 18-4 after the first quarter and doubled up on the Pirates 34-17 at halftime.

Polson bounced back though, outscoring the Vals 14-5 in the third quarter.

“We went real cold in the third quarter,” Hammond said. The Vals failed to make a basket from the middle of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter, allowing the Pirates to get back within six points at one time.

“We had a stretch where nothing would go down,” Hammond said. “They (Pirates) did the right thing. They made us take quick shots and miss. We were getting such good looks that we had to take them.”

The Vals’ scoring returned in the fourth quarter, just in time to fend the Pirates off and win 55-45. Bigfork once again committed a smaller number of turnovers — 18 — and allowed the Pirates to grab just seven offensive rebounds. With their win over the Pirates, the Vals move to 9-1 in the Northwest A conference.

Fierro led the Vals in scoring again with 18, while Bowen added 12 points. Fierro pulled down 14 rebounds for a double-double. She also recorded four blocks in the game. Miller and Hilley scored nine and six points, respectively. Miller pulled down seven rebounds and had three steals. Hilley and Vogel dished out the assists in the Polson game. Vogel led the Vals with five assists and Hilley had four. Vogel also had three steals. Jaylee Haveman recorded six rebounds for the Vals.

Bigfork ends its regular season this week with home games against conference opponents Whitefish and Ronan. The Vals hosted the Lady Bulldogs Tuesday and host the Maidens tonight — Feb. 8.

“If we win these two, we will be in good shape,” Hammond said. “We’re guaranteed first or second in the conference.”

Whitefish comes into its game with the Vals 5-5 in the conference. The Vals beat the Bulldogs 57-50 in the teams’ last meeting. The Maidens are 3-7 in the Northwest A.

Bigfork — 66

T. Falls — 36

BIGFORK — Quindee Averill 2, Jamie Halliday 2, Roxy Thurman 4, Hattie Bowen 17, Charlene Miller 4, Avery Vogel 2, Carly Hilley 10, Alyssa Fierro 25.

THOMPSON FALLS — Lisa Bache 2, Brenna Wakefield 5, Rheanna Padden 6, Lisa Padden10, Katelyn Jedlicka 4, Jessie Zander 4, Katie Tetteys 5.

Bigfork - 55

Polson - 45

BIGFORK - Hattie Bowen 12, Charlene Miller 9, Avery Vogel 2, Carley Hilley 6, Alyssa Fierro 18, Jaylee Haveman 4, Roxy Thurman 4.

POLSON - Brittany Gardner 4, Amanda James 10, Jaelin Vandeberg 2, Jessica Buckless 13, Lisa Mathias 14, Cali Hislop 2.