Lady Bulldogs drop two at Tip Off tourney

The Lady Bulldog basketball team dropped both their games at the Tip Off Tournament Dec. 11-12, in Polson and Ronan.

In the first game against Hamilton, the Broncs put up 24 points on Whitefish in the second quarter to jump out to a 35-10 halftime lead.

The squads played close in the second half, with Whitefish holding Hamilton to just 14 points, but the early deficit was too much to overcome for the young Bulldog team as Hamilton rolled to a 49-23 win.

"Hamilton is a big, strong, physical team," Lady Bulldog coach Sean Duff said. "They pushed us around. Our inexperience is still showing, but we nearly beat them in the second half and confused them a bunch with our defense."

Sophomore Shelby Backer led Whitefish with 10 points while Jessica Slaybaugh added seven.

The following day, Whitefish was held to just 17 points against a tough Dillon squad and was scoreless in the fourth quarter as the 'Dogs lost 39-17.

"They (Dillon) are very athletic and tall, and are coached very well," Duff said. "We were only down by four at halftime, but our inexperience showed up again at end."

Slaybaugh dropped in 11 points and snagged six rebounds in the game.

Duff said his team wasn't disappointed in the outcome of the tourney, but rather, they are starting to believe in themselves.

"They realize with hard work, they can be pretty good," Duff said. "They see that there is a light. I've never seen a group of kids that support each other so much. We are taking little steps."

Whitefish plays their first conference game against Polson this Friday at home at 4:15 p.m.

Duff says Polson's athleticism will be a challenge for the 'Dogs.

"If we switch some things up and try to confuse them, and we can handle their pressure, we have an opportunity to come out with a win," Duff said. "Of course, we have to focus on Breanne Kelley."

Kelley is averaging 14.5 points per game, third in the league.

Whitefish 17, Dillon 39

Wfish 5 4 8 0 — 17

Dillon 10 3 10 16 — 39

WHITEFISH — Jessica Slaybaugh 11, Taylor Havens 4, Jessica Poe 2.

Whitefish 23, Hamilton 49

Whitefish 4 6 8 5 — 23

Hamilton 11 24 5 9 — 49

WHITEFISH — Olivia Nagler 2, Jessica Slaybaugh 7, Shelby Backer 10, Danielle McCully 4