Familiar foes await Valkyries at State Class A Tournament

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

Whitefish's Lady Bulldogs won't be the only familiar faces the Valkyries see at the State Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament in Hamilton this weekend. Seven of the eight teams making a showing this year are returning from last year's state tournament.

"I don't think it really matters," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said of the depth returning to this year's tournament. "It'll be competitive."

Bigfork begins the tournament today, Thursday, against the Havre Blue Ponies at 2 p.m. while the Anaconda Copperheads take on the Custer County Cowgirls at 12:30 p.m. in the other half of the Vals' bracket.

Hammond said that although the Vals play in the tougher half of the state brackets, the other teams will have just as hard of a time.

"They have to play each other too," Hammond said of the top eight teams.

The Blue Ponies, who took second at the Central Divisional Tournament, were trampled by the Vals last year at state 55-35. Havre sports a 15-6 record going in. The Ponies beat Lewistown in a challenge game 40-28 for the right to go to state. This is Havre's second straight year competing at state, as well as Central A's first-place team Livingston. Last year the ponies defeated Anaconda, a heavily-favored team, in the first round but lost to Miles City and the Vals. Bigfork lost to Livingston in the third/fourth-place game 54-53.

Whitefish faces Livingston in the first round today at 6:30 p.m. in the other set of state brackets. There was nary an offensive or defensive statistical category that the Lady Bulldogs and the Vals failed to rank among the top 10 at the end of the season. As teams, the Vals and Lady Bulldogs ranked one and two in 2-point field goals and combined field goal percentage. Both teams shot just over 43 percent from 2-point range and 41 percent combined. Whitefish narrowly edged out the Vals in points per game with 54.94 to the Vals' 51.28. Where the Lady Bulldogs faired better from the free-throw line (63.93 percent to 53.38 percent) the Vals averaged nearly six more blocks per game than Whitefish. Bigfork finished the regular season with 7.39 blocks per game to Whitefish's 1.50.

Anaconda and Dillon return as the Southwestern A state representatives this year. Anaconda handed the Vals their only loss of the season in the Vals' first game of the season. The Vals opened the Northwest/Southwest Tipoff Tournament Dec. 7 with a 56-41 loss to Anaconda.

"We were very sloppy with the ball," Hammond said. "We were seeing more defensive pressure than we're used to. They (Anaconda) were more aggressive."

Dillon topped the Southwestern A Divisional host team Hamilton in divisional semifinal action 50-49 in overtime. Bigfork beat the Lady Beavers of Dillon last year at state 47-37.

The Lady Red Devils of Dawson County High School beat the Miles City Cowgirls 45-37, claiming their first Eastern A Divisional championship since 1996. The teams had split their two regular season games. DCHS defeated the Cowgirls, who have been at the top of state polls nearly all season, by stifling the Cowgirls' explosive offense in the second half. Miles City scored 70 to 80 points in many of its games throughout the season, but could only muster 16 points in the second half against the Lady Red Devils. DCHS, who the Vals lost to 58-48 last year at state, plays Dillon in first-round action at 8 p.m.

Recent Montana Newspaper Association Power Polls ranked the Cowgirls first in the state, with Anaconda coming in second, Bigfork third and Glendive (DCHS) fourth.