Five seniors enjoy a victory on their home courts for the last time before divisionals

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

It was the end of an era for Whitefish girls basketball on Saturday, as senior star Ashley Ferda and four other seniors closed out their last game in front of the home crowd with a victory.

There is still a divisional showdown to come in Kalispell starting Thursday (tonight), but the seniors are done at Whitefish High School gym.

Along with Ferda were fellow seniors Desiree Clarke, Dana Labuda, Chelsea Ray and Amanda Ormsby.

It was a meaningless game as far as conference standings go, but the Lady Bulldogs gained some much-needed momentum with a big 53-36 crushing of Frenchtown on their home court Saturday.

It was the last regular season game with the divisional tournament coming up this weekend, and the Whitefish girls erased the memory of their tough loss to Libby the night before.

Ferda stayed in for most of the game, chasing records, and she ignited for 26 points, one point less than all of her other teammates combined in the game.

Ray had 13 points, and seven other Lady Bulldogs scored two points apiece. The other Whitefish girls were focused on defense, as they held Frenchtown to only 12 points in the first half.

Once again, the Lady Bulldogs take on the Columbia Falls Wildkats in the opening round of the divisional tournament at 6 p.m. at Glacier High School in Kalispell.

Frenchtown 7 5 9 15 - 36

Whitefish 13 11 15 14 - 53

Frenchtown — Lacey Lovell 3, Jenny Morse 5, Courtney Hedrick 2, Laura Geis 10, Jen Brown 3, Shelby Russ 8, Courtney Hochhalter 5.

Whitefish — Torie Powell 2, Kate Klundt 2, Ashley Ferda 26, Dana Labuda 2, Chelsea Ray 13, McCara Cullen 2, Adele FauntLeRoy 2, Amanda Ormsby 2, Olivia Nagler 2.