Vals finish regular season with Northwest A title

By FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

With their 37-25 and 61-25 wins over the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs and Ronan Maidens last week, the Bigfork Valkyrie basketball team maintained its position at the top of the Northwest A conference and secured the regular-season conference title.

The Vals, 11-1 in conference and 16-2 overall, did so with good defense and balanced scoring that started against the Lady Bulldogs last Tuesday in Bigfork.

Bigfork led 13-5 at the end of the first quarter, taking the lead midway through the quarter with a jump shot from Charlene Miller, assisted by Avery Vogel. Miller tallied four steals against Whitefish, while Vogel had one steal, three assists and five rebounds. A three-pointer from Hattie Bowen and putback from Jaylee Haveman increased the Vals’ lead over the Dogs, who did not score the last three minutes of the quarter.

Whitefish got no closer than nine points in the second quarter, as the Vals barely outscored the Bulldogs 6-5. Bigfork’s field goals came courtesy of Miller and Alyssa Fierro, with Vogel and Bowen dishing out the assists. Bowen finished the game with seven points and Vogel scored three in the game. Bowen also had seven rebounds, two steals and one block. The Vals led 19-10 at halftime.

It was all Fierro and Haveman in the third quarter. Fierro scored four of her 11 points in the third quarter. She also grabbed 11 rebounds against the Dogs and blocked four shots. Haveman scored five of her seven, getting three the hard way with a basket and the foul shot. She finished the game with five rebounds and three steals.

The Vals continued to lead in the fourth quarter, holding off the Bulldogs with two field goals and going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final quarter. Carly Hilley scored her four points in the fourth quarter. She put the Vals up by 10 points with 1:21 on the clock and made both the front and back ends of a one-and-one trip to the free-throw line a little later to give the Vals the 37-25 victory.

Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said that he believes a difference in this season is the fact that the Vals grew stronger and more athletic during the off-season, allowing them to play better.

“It’s nice because we don’t have injuries like previous years,” Hammond said. “Jim (Epperly) and Sue (Loeffler) have done a great job with them in their speed and strength class.” Six of the Vals are currently, or have previously participated in the class. “It’s tough to get all of them in there because of our facility and their schedules,” Hammond said.

With one thing on their minds, and one game remaining in the regular season the Vals dominated the Ronan Maidens Saturday night in their last regular-season game. Bigfork held the Maidens to one field goal in the first quarter and one field goal and a free-throw in the second quarter. The Vals though, passed the ball and spread the scoring around on Bigfork’s Senior Night. Hilley, one of three Bigfork seniors, opened the game with a three-point basket and the Vals rolled from there. The Maidens’ only basket came from Ishan Wylie shortly before the buzzer sounded.

Ronan’s scoring in the second quarter made nice bookends for the Vals’ scoring. Wylie made one of two free throws early in the quarter and teammate Ashlee Cheff ended the quarter with a rebound and basket for the Maidens. Sandwiched in-between the Maidens’ three points were 19 points from the Vals. Six Valkyries — Vogel, Hilley, Kaemyn Meagher, Bowen, Haveman and Jamie Halliday — scored for Bigfork, increasing the Vals’ lead to 33-5 at halftime. Haveman recorded six rebounds, as well as one assist and one steal while Bowen added four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Vogel ended the game with three assists and one steal.

“Placing first in our conference was our biggest goal,” senior Meagher said. “We didn’t play down to the other team’s level. If we keep that attitude divisionals will be no problem.”

Although Bigfork continued to lead throughout the rest of the game, the Maidens did not simply rollover and quit. They scored 10 points in the third quarter, led by Wylie and Jordan Strozzi. Both scored four points for the Maidens in the third quarter. Strozzi brought the quarter to an end with a three-point field goal shortly before the end of the quarter. Halliday scored six of her eight points in the third quarter — the last six of Bigfork’s 18 that quarter. Miller tallied five of her eight in the quarter as well, assisted twice by Hilley. Miller pulled down four rebounds in the game and recorded three assists and two steals, as well.

Strozzi lit up the fourth quarter for Ronan with two three-pointer and one two-point field goal. The Vals kept the other Maidens in check, getting four points from Meagher in the final quarter en route to a 61-25 win. She also had four rebounds.

“It was a great night for those seniors,” Hammond said of Hilley, Halliday and Meagher. The seniors finished with 11, eight and six points, respectively. Hilley tallied three assists in the game, along with six steals. Halliday grabbed eight rebounds against the Maidens.

The game was capped off by freshman Emily Hardman draining a three-point basket at the buzzer for her first varsity points.

“I knew it was going to go in,” Hammond said. “It was pretty exciting. That was the first time she’s checked in (to a varsity game).”

Roxy Thurman grabbed five rebounds and also had three assists and three steals for the Vals who have a first-round bye in the Northwest A Divisional Tournament in Eureka this week.

“We’re happy with that,” Hammond said of the conference title and first-round bye. “Records don’t matter anymore. There’s still more work to do.”

Meagher agreed, adding that the Vals have to take baby steps if they want to accomplish their next goal of capturing first at the divisional tournament.

Bigfork faces the winner of the Polson vs. Eureka game Friday at 8 p.m.

Whitefish 5 5 7 8 - 25

Bigfork 13 6 9 9 - 37

WHITEFISH - Kirsten Blackburn 3, Kaitlin O'Leary 2, Ashley Ferda 14, Dana Labuda 6.

BIGFORK - Roxy Thurman 1, Hattie Bowen 7, Charlene Miller 4, Avery Vogel 3, Carly Hilley 4, Alyssa Fierro 11, Jaylee Haveman 7.

Ronan 2 3 10 10 — 25

Bigfork 14 19 18 10 — 61

RONAN — Ashlee Cheff 4, Jordan Strozzi 12, Ishan Wylie 7, Carli Starkel 2.

BIGFORK — Charlene Miller 8, Jamie Halliday 8, Roxy Thurman 2, Hattie Bowen 6, Avery Vogel 5, Carly Hilley 11, Alyssa Fierro 6, Jaylee Haveman 6, Kaemyn Meagher 6, Emily Hardman 3.