Lady Dogs show flashes of talent at Tip Off

Despite beginning the season on a three game losing skid, first-year Whitefish girls basketball coach Clint Peters knows his team will eventually figure out how to win.

“I saw flashes of us being able to compete with anyone in the state,” Peters said about his young team. “And I say that with all seriousness. This team has the ability to win, we just have to believe in ourselves.”

“As they get more comfortable and mature, we’ll see more success on the floor.”

Whitefish opened the season with a 60-12 loss at home to Class AA Flathead. The Lady Dogs then went 0-2 at the Northwest / Southwest Tip Off Tournament in Polson.

In a 48-point loss to top-rated Hamilton, Peters said the Lady Dogs’ 2-3 zone defense was working well.

“We played pretty good defense against a talented team,” he said. “The points just didn’t come.”

Whitefish also had way too many turnovers to be competitive — 37 total in the game.

“That’s way too many for us to be successful,” Peters said. “We need to handle pressure better. We’re a young team that’s not used to the speed of varsity.”

Peters said the match up with Corvallis on Saturday was more evenly played. The Dogs even held a slight lead after the first quarter.

“That opened our eyes that we’ll be able to compete,” Peters said.

He noted the play of sophomore Allie Schulz who scored nine points in the tournament.

“She’s dynamic, rebounds well, and hustles on defense,” Peters said. “And she took care of the ball.”

Whitefish hosts Class AA Glacier on Friday at 6 p.m., then travels to Libby on Saturday for their first conference game of the season. Peters says the Libby game is an opportunity to put a notch in the win column.

“We had some tight games with Libby last year,” Peters said. “We match up well.”

Flathead 20 24 5 11 — 60

Whitefish 2 1 7 2 — 12

FLATHEAD — Emma Andrews 13, Jessica Simmons 12, Tiana Johnson 9, Kelsey Noland-Gillespie 6, Janae Moon 6, Jenessa Heine 4, Zoe Loudermilk 3, Bri Smith 3, Tana Fountain 2, Lizzie Sherwood 2.

WHITEFISH — Victoria Buls 3, Haley Nicholson 2, Allie Schulz 2, Katie Fyall 2, Mariah Drown 2, Anna Peterson 1.

Hamilton 15 22 22 3 – 62

Whitefish 0 2 10 2 – 14

HAMILTON – Taylor Goligoski 26, Brianna Huggins 13, Jaylee Albert 10, Sami Kratofil 6, Kali Hayes 4, Kloie Nye 3,

WHITEFISH – Allie Schulz 6, Katie Fyall 4, Mariah Drown 2, Allix Larsen 2

Corvallis 4 15 18 5 – 42

Whitefish 6 5 7 3 – 21

CORVALLIS – Jessica Lewis 6, Corinne Sanderson 19, Chelsi Clarke 4, Kayla Lewis 4, Kira Doyle 2, Courtney Albright 7.

WHITEFISH – Allie Schulz 3, Katie Fyall 4, Haley Nicholson 6, Mariah Drown 1, Simone Craft 1, Anna Peterson 4, MaKenna Benbrook 2.