Vals stay on top of Northwest A conference

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork High School Valkyrie varsity basketball team held both of its Northwest A opponents at bay last week, as the Vals moved their record to 8-0 in the conference and 13-1 overall.

The Vals beat Polson 53-27 and Columbia Falls 57-38.

Bigfork was outscored in the second quarter against the Polson Lady Pirates on Jan. 22 after gaining a nine-point lead in the first. The Vals went into the second half leading 19-15 — not their usual large halftime lead.

"We got into a little foul trouble," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said. "We sat Alyssa (Fierro) most of the second quarter. We figured if we could maintain the lead we'd save her until the third quarter."

Fierro was one of three Valkyries to add to Bigfork's balanced scoring in the first quarter. She scored two of her six points in the first, while teammates Roxy Thurman and Hattie Bowen scored seven and six points apiece to give the Vals a 15-6 lead. Thurman ended the night with 15 points.

Thurman and Bowen continued scoring in the third quarter, aiding the Vals in stretching the lead to 11. Bowen sank one of her two 3-point field goals in the third. Her basket made the score 24-17 and was the start of a short, seven-point Bigfork scoring run. She finished the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The third ended with the Vals ahead 34-22.

Six straight points at the start of the fourth quarter extended the Vals' lead to 40-22 with 6:54 remaining in the game. A little more than a minute later Bowen sank her second 3-pointer of the game assisted by Avery Vogel. Vogel recorded seven assists in the game while scoring five points.

Kailey Fierro tallied 10 blocks in the game, as the Vals committed 19 turnovers and the Pirates were 8-for-41 from the field. Fierro scored five points for the Vals.

Bigfork welcomed back Jaylee Haveman to its lineup against the Wildkats Friday. She scored her seven points in the first three quarters of the Valkyrie victory.

"It was nice to get her back," Hammond said of Haveman's return after an injury adding that with Haveman back, the Vals had more options.

Three Vals scored in double figures — Bowen, Thurman and Alyssa Fierro. They finished with 13, 12 and 13 points respectively. Fierro also grabbed 10 rebounds. Her sister, Kailey, scored eight points.

The Vals led 19-6 after the first quarter and held the Kats scoreless for nearly five-and-a-half minutes in the second quarter. Columbia Falls finally broke past the 12-point mark, scoring three points the hard way with nine seconds remaining in the second quarter. Bigfork went into halftime leading 31-15.

Bigfork nearly doubled up on the Kats again in the third quarter. The Vals continued to lead 44-24 at the end of the third quarter. Columbia Falls, though, had a short scoring run in the fourth to cut into Bigfork's 20-point lead. The Kats scored seven points to make the score 48-31 with 4:45 on the clock. The Vals scored nine points after that, trading baskets with the Kats, to hold onto the lead.

Hammond said he was pleased with how well the Vals executed their offense against the Kats and hopes that their good play continues as Bigfork faces non-conference opponents Plains and Mission this week.

"It will be a good opportunity to work on our execution and hopefully we can win," Hammond said. "We're going to try some new plays and keep things new."

Bigfork travels to Plains to face the Trotters today, Jan. 31, and hosts Mission Saturday.