Vals come out strong

The Valkyries (8-2) met up with some familiar faces last week, the Maidens and the Lady Bulldogs, and defeated them both with ease as if Bigfork had never left Class A competition.

The victory over Ronan resulted in a final score of 52-36 at home and the Vals beat Whitefish on the road Thursday night 55-38.

"The intensity level was a little higher than it was for the games before these," said Mark Hansen, Bigfork High School head girls basketball coach. "I thought it was a good experience for the girls. I hope that will help get us ready for districts."

The Vals played a steady game in Whitefish to earn themselves the win over their former conference rivals.

"We didn't have any huge quarters, but we were very balanced in our scoring and I was pleased with that," Hansen said.

Bigfork scored 13 points in each of the first three quarters, while holding the Lady Bulldogs to seven points in the first quarter and 11 in the next two.

"After four games in seven days, we didn't run the break as well as we have, but we found other ways to score," Hansen said.

The Vals extended their lead in the final period by outscoring Whitefish 16-9.

"We ran our man-offense," Hansen said. "I thought we executed really well in the fourth. Whitefish stepped up their man-defense trying to catchup, but we kept fighting hard."

Mallery Knoll and Quinci Paine led the Vals in the non-conference triumph with 19 points and 18 points, respectively.

"Mallery and Quinci carried us through the first half and that was mostly because of our offensive rebounding," Hansen said.

Paine and Knoll each scored 12 points in the first half, and accounted for all but two of Bigfork's points in the first two periods. They also had the most rebounds for Bigfork with eight apiece and Knoll also grabbed three steals.

Caitlin Charlebois contributed 10 points and five assists and she didn't have any turnovers. Taylor Peck grabbed six rebounds and helped out with two assists and three steals.

Against the Maidens, Bigfork led 13-7 after the first quarter.

"The girls all did a good job of working the floor and taking care of the ball," Hansen said. "Ronan is one of the few teams that can match-up with our quickness."

In the second quarter the Vals racked up 22 points and held Ronan to just eight.

"I thought the girls came out and really did a nice job the first half," Hansen said. "We played some of the best basketball we've played. The second half showed us that we need to do a better job of getting into our spots on the court and of executing. It also showed that I need to do a better job of making sure we're set up correctly."

Bigfork fell behind in the third quarter as Ronan outscored them 11-7, and in the fourth each team scored 10 points.

"We couldn't get shots to fall and couldn't execute so we got complacent, which we talk daily about not doing," Hansen said.

Knoll and Quinci Paine led the Vals with 14 points and 13 points, respectively, and Knoll scored all but two of her points in the first half. Paine didn't score in the first quarter, but she put up eight in the second. Both girls also shot well from the free-throw line. Knoll was 2-for-2 and Paine was 3-for-4. Knoll had seven rebounds, four assists, eight steals and no turnovers.

"That's a really nice night at the office," Hansen said of Knoll.

Paine grabbed six rebounds.

Charlebois had 11 points, which included a 3-point bucket and she was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. She also had five assists and five steals.

"Mallery and Caitlin did a great job of using our pressure defense to get steals, which they turned into some easy baskets for us," Hansen said.

The Bigfork girls travel to Eureka tonight, Jan. 21, which will be the varsity's only game this week. Look on the Eagle's Web site for results following the game, as well as in next week's newspaper.

"Our toughest game is coming up this weekend when we go up to Eureka," Hansen said.

The last time the Vals and the Lady Lions met Bigfork came out on top, 64-44, but that was the first game of the season. Hansen said that he suspects a lot has changed since then.