Bigfork's Twin Towers

by FAITH MOLDAN - Bigfork Eagle

Two tall figures stand amidst the crowd at the Bigfork High School gymnasium on any given game night. These figures are not menacing or shadowy. They are teenage girls.

They are Alyssa and Kailey Fierro.

At six-foot-two-inches and six-foot-one

inch tall, the Fierros are a dominating

factor in the Northwest A Conference.

Alyssa, known by many as the "Seven-Footer," said Kailey's always been tall, where as she didn't start growing

taller until the seventh grade.

"They call me the 'Six-Eighter,'" Kailey said. The sisters are also referred

to as the north (Alyssa, left) and

south (Kailey, right) towers.

The sisters don't shy away from their nicknames or their height. That pride isn't a recent acquirement, as their mother Doreen said their grandmother has told the girls since they were young to, "Stand tall and be proud of your height."

The 2007-2008 season is the first true season that the sisters have played together. The sisters, as well as their mother, recall Alyssa's fourth-grade year in which she played Rotary basketball. Kailey was just in second grade, but was given a t-shirt and played.

"I fit in with everyone," Kailey said of her stint on the Rotary team.

Many of the same girls that played on the Rotary team, seniors this year, are still teammates of the Fierros. Although Alyssa is two years older than her sister, she and Kailey are not just sisters and teammates, they are friends. Kailey started her second varsity game of this season at home against Polson last week. Her first start of the season was on the road in Polson.

"That's my sister. Be jealous," Alyssa said of her sister's start and accomplishment.

Alyssa currently averages 8.8 rebounds per game, which is second in the conference. She also averages 11.2 points per game, while recording 3.5 blocks per game as well. Kailey, a sophomore tallies 4.1 rebounds, four points and one block per game.

"I really don't think of them as sisters," Bigfork varsity coach Nate Hammond said. "They are both good players and have eerie similarities, like being left-handed, but they don't act differently toward each other and the other kids don't treat them differently."

The girls agreed that it's no different playing basketball with each other than playing with any other teammate. Alyssa said practicing against her sister and playing with her makes her better offensively and defensively.

"It's a lot of fun playing with her. I show her who's best," she said. Kailey smiled after her sister's teasing. "She started to get cool last year. We used to fight a lot when we were younger."

Alyssa added that she and Kailey connect easier, although she has a strong connection with the rest of the team as well.

"It's the team that keeps me in it," Alyssa said. "We've played so long together. We don't care who gets the credit."

The Fierros' parents knew that their two youngest children would most likely play varsity basketball together their senior and sophomore years.

"I was waiting for this day," Alyssa and Kailey quoted their mother as saying.

Kailey said she would have played basketball whether Alyssa did or not.

"I'd die without basketball. It's my life," she said.

Apparently, she'd suffer without her sister as well.

"I don't want her to leave," Kailey said of her sister's impending graduation.

Their parents are excited about the possibility of watching Alyssa compete at the collegiate level.

"It's way sad," Doreen said of Alyssa ending her athletic career as a Valkyrie. "We hope we get to watch her at the next level."

Although the similarities between the sisters are many - their height and dominant hand - both Hammond and Doreen said they believed Kailey won't find any added pressure on the court next year after her sister is gone.

"She'll be able to do her own thing," Hammond said. "Kailey has come so far. There is a big difference between dominating JV games like she did last year and being a factor on the varsity."

With the Fierros adding to the Valkyries' balanced scoring and defense, the Vals have a return trip to the state tournament in mind.

"It is so nice to have that size," Hammond said. "There is no doubt the kind of player Alyssa is, but having Kailey now to give Jaylee (Haveman) and Alyssa break, or even start sometimes is something we didn't have last year."

For all their on-court success the sisters' friendship impresses their mom.

"The friendship between the two of them is one that sisters don't have. They're not competitive," she said. She added that she enjoys seeing them walk out of the locker room after a game together or hug each other on the court. "It makes a parent proud."

Hammond agreed that Alyssa and Kailey play more as teammates than sisters.

"In a team game like this, you appreciate the kids who help you win, whoever they are," he said. "They can be the sister you love or the girl you have disliked since junior high. On the floor you're teammates with the same goal. Winning trumps blood."