A long road, but Valkyries headed to state

The clock ticked down to less than 10 seconds and Bigfork assistant girls basketball coach Jim Epperly clapped his hands and began to chant, "We're going to state," and the bench followed, soon to be joined by the crowd.

The buzzer sounded and the Valkyries on the court errupted and began dancing to the beat and leaping into each other's arms. It may have taken an extra game to prove they deserved it, but the Bigfork girls accepted the challenge and defeated Polson to take second place in the Northwest Class A Divisional Tournament.

With the win the Vals earned a trip to the Montana High School Association State Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament for the third consecutive year. Bigfork narrowly missed taking the championship for the third year in a row in a 55-53 overtime loss to Columbia Falls Saturday night. The Vals had to play Polson, who won the consolation bracket championship, in a challenge game since they had not already faced them in the tournament. Bigfork proved with ease that they were worthy of the second spot at state from the Northwest Division in a 50-42 victory over Polson.

"It would've been nice for the girls to win divisionals three years in a row, but it was our goal to go to state," said Bigfork head girls basketball coach Mark Hansen. "The girls played hard Monday night, but they were tired. They played three games back-to-back this weekend."

The Vals didn't let that get in their way though.

"We didn't come out as strong as we usually do, but it was a good game," said Bigfork sophomore guard Mallery Knoll. "We had enough momentum. It wasn't as exciting as Saturday's game but it was still great."

They were the first to score Monday night against Polson, and only relinquished the lead once. Bigfork posted 10 points in each of the first two quarters with senior Roxy Thurman leading the way with 10 points, while Polson put up nine and seven, respectively. After the half Bigfork had six players put the ball in to outscore the Lady Pirates 16-12 in the third.

"I felt like we could definitely win if we played hard and got in their face," Thurman said. "We kept it pretty close for awhile, but I was pretty confident with our chances."

Polson had their best quarter in the final period scoring 14 points and nearly caught the Vals a few times. Thurman didn't let that happen, though, as she scored 10 of Bigfork's 14 fourth quarter points to help the Vals secure the win and the trip to state.

"Roxy was a stud for us out there tonight," Epperly said. "She played so well. She really put the ball away for us in the fourth and kept the game for us."

Thurman had a game high 22 points and was seven-of-nine from the free-throw line.

"For as banged up as she was she gutted it up and played hard," Hansen said of Thurman, who suffered a back injury during Saturday night's championship game. "There were a few times I saw her limping on the court, but she just kept going."

Thurman also made five steals, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.

"I definitely didn't think I had that many points," Thurman said. "I was really surprised."

As for her injuries from the weekend, she said, "I'm really sore, but it was worth it."

Knoll and junior Kailey Fierro each contributed seven points. Fierro was three-of-six from the line and led the team with nine rebounds.

"I'm really proud of the girls for fighting the way they did," Epperly said. "We didn't play our best game. We played just good enough to win, but that was all we needed to do. It feels good to have some success."

Not all of the Valkyries were able to play like they usually do.

"We got in some foul trouble and had to withstand a little bit," Hansen said. "We had some good players sitting on the bench. We had some girls go in and do some good things though."

Junior Lila Cenis, who added five points, was one of those players.

"Lila Cenis went in and gave us some great minutes," Hansen said. "She played really well."

Some of the Vals had a score to settle with Polson that made the victory a little sweeter. In the fall Bigfork's volleyball team was unable to defeat the Lady Pirates in the divisional tournament and narrowly missed going to state.

"It was nice to beat them," said Thurman, who was a standout on the Bigfork volleyball team. "I was afraid they were going to try to take it from us again."

The Vals played a solid game of basketball all around when they faced their rivals Monday on the basketball court shooting 63 percent from the line and committing just seven turnovers. They held Polson's highest scorer, Breanne Kelley, to 14 points.

Saturday night's championship game was the big show though. The regular season division champions, Columbia Falls, outscored Bigfork 13-10 in the first quarter.

"We started out a little slow," Thurman said. "I think if we would've gotten off to a better start that we would've won."

The Vals scored just five points in the second quarter to the Wildkats' 10.

"We just weren't in sync coming out like we have been," Hansen said. "We told the girls at halftime that their shots would go in if they started shooting, and they did."

Bigfork began to turn things around in the third and outscored Columbia Falls 15-13.

The Vals kept it rolling from there and after a furious comeback in the final periods, including three steals by Thurman in the final two minutes, Bigfork held the lead over the Wildkats for the first time with less than a minute to play in regulation. Clutch shooting by Knoll and Thurman, who each had seven points in the fourth, helped the Vals tie it up 46-46 when the buzzer sounded, after outscoring the Wildkats 16-10 in the fourth.

The teams exchanged leads multiple times in the four-minute extra period, with Columbia Falls' center Kayla DeWit knocking down three of four late free throws to help her team to a 9-7 overtime advantage and ultimately the championship.

Knoll led the Valkyries with 16 points including four of the team's points in overtime. She also made six steals and grabbed five rebounds

"I thought we had it at the end," Knoll said. "We played with so much heart. You could tell we wanted it really bad. Everyone played really well."

Bigfork had to turn to their bench Saturday night as well with Thurman sitting out injured and Fierro facing foul trouble.

"The girls that came off the bench did a great job," Hansen said.

A total team effort was required for the Vals though, since they had lost both of their regular season games to Columbia Falls by sizable margins.

"You could tell by the way we were warming up and the way we were pumping each other up that we were going to play well against them," Knoll said.

Thurman contributed 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Charlebois scored 12, including the Vals other three points in overtime. Both Thurman and Charlebois sunk 3-pointers in the third and Knoll put one in during the second to help charge the Vals' momentum. Quinci Paine led Bigfork in rebounding with seven and she made three assists.

"I was really proud of the girls for how hard they played," Hansen said. "We were out-manned with their size, but we kept battling."

The Vals beat another team for the first time this season when they sent second seed Libby to the consolation bracket with a 56-33 victory Friday night.

"We shot well, which allowed us to get in our press and play the way we wanted to play," Hansen said. "It sounds silly, but it's amazing what you can do when you put the ball in the hole."

Bigfork scored 12 points in each of the first two quarters and held a seven point lead at the half.

Led by Charlebois, who scored 11 points in the second half, Bigfork outscored Libby 32-16 in the final two periods to take the win.

"We came ready to play and do what we had to do, and we did it," Charlebois said. "We went in as the underdog. We weren't supposed to win the game so it gave us extra momentum."

Charlebois had a game high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and she made five steals.

"Caitlin had a great floor game," Hansen said. "She was very composed out there."

Thurman added 12, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed six boards. Fierro scored 10, grabbed 10 rebounds and made three blocks. Knoll and Ariana Shults each contributed six points and Knoll made six assists.

The Vals beat Ronan in their first game of the tournament 58-32 Thursday night.

"The press worked really well for us," Hansen said. "We got out ahead early and just ran with it."

Bigfork dominated the Maidens from the start and by the end of the first half the Vals had a 25-11 lead. Bigfork kept racking up the points in the second half scoring 21 points in the third quarter while holding Ronan to 10. Bigfork let up in the fourth quarter and only outscored Ronan by one point.

Knoll and Thurman led the Vals with 14 points apiece. Knoll scored 12 of hers in the first half and also led the team with eight rebounds. Thurman was four-for-five from the free-throw line and made four steals and three assists. Charlebois had five steals. Paine scored 10 points and was four-for-four from the line. Taylor Peck was a perfect four-for-four from the line as well. Fierro scored all nine of her points in the third quarter and she grabbed seven rebounds and made four blocks.

"I'm excited for the kids," Hansen said. "I want the season to continue. I've really enjoyed coaching the girls and I've learned a lot from them."

Bigfork (15-7 overall) will face Anaconda, the number one seed from the Southwest division and defending state champs, in their first game of the tournament 8 p.m. Thursday at the Butte Civic Center. If they win they will play at 8 p.m. Friday and if they lose they will play at 2 p.m. Friday in the double-elimination tournament.

"It's a tough bracket, but if the girls are ready we'll do well," Hansen said.