Balanced scoring lifts Lady Dogs in win
Whitefish sophomore Dani Douglas netted 17 points and seven other Lady Dogs put their name on the scoresheet Friday in a victory over Stevensville at the annual Northwest Southwest Tip Off Tournament in Missoula.
Playing at the University of Montana Adams Center, Whitefish led wire-to-wire for the 44-30 nonconference win. A trio of seniors put in good work. Coral Schulz tallied eight points, Mariah Drown scored six and Allie Schulz finished with five.
Whitefish (2-2) dropped its second game of the tourney 39-27 to Corvallis. The Lady Dogs held a slim lead after one frame, but couldn’t find a bucket in the second quarter. Corvallis outscored Whitefish 25-17 in the second half.
Drown and Schulz each tallied seven points for Whitefish. Junior Haley Nicholson put in six.
“It’s been a huge learning curve for the girls and every night they seem to be getting better,” Whitefish coach Ben Johnson said of the team’s play in Missoula. “Especially with the team aspect. They’re learning to distribute the ball very well. It’s not one person scoring the ball. We’re keeping things balanced.”
On Dec. 8, Whitefish fell 67-41 to Bigfork at home. The Valkyries held Whitefish scoreless in third quarter, but Whitefish rattled off 26 points in the final frame to close the final margin. Nicholson and Anissa Brown each finished with seven points to lead the team.
Johnson said he challenged the team to run a full court press for the entire fourth quarter.
“I drew it up between quarters — we had nothing to lose — and they responded,” he said. “If we didn’t have such a big hole to climb out of, it might have been a different outcome.”
He said that momentum from the Bigfork game carried into the Tip Off tourney.
“There is always some positive, even in a loss,” Johnson said. “We did something right somewhere. That carried over into Friday at Missoula.”
Whitefish next plays at Flathead High School on Friday at 6 p.m.
Johnson wants to see his team compete with the Class AA school, and isn’t worried about the final score.
“We’ll do the best we can, and whatever happens, happens,” he said. “We’ll work on our game and see how things turn out. We’ll give it 110 percent, whatever the final score.”
Stevensville 5 9 5 11 — 30
Whitefish 8 10 14 12 — 44
STEVENSVILLE — D. Blair 3, M. Hinson 11, M. Pendergerts 3, A. Harrington 2, A. Richards 1, P. Tollofson 10.
WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 17, Coral Schulz 8, Allie Schulz 5, Diana Vasquez 2, Annisa Brown 1, Mariah Drown 6, Makenna Benbrook 2, Cailyn Ross 3.
Corvallis 9 5 10 15 — 39
Whitefish 10 0 10 7 — 27
CORVALLIS — Taia Tully 11, Kira Doyle 2, Corinne Sanderson 12, Brittney Pettenger 5, Penny Jessop 2, Calla Haldorson 4, Genesis Keith 1, Steffani Stoker 2.
WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 2, Coral Schulz 7, Allie Schulz 3, Diana Vasquez 2, Mariah Drown 7, Haley Nicholson 6.
Bigfork 24 15 15 13 — 67
Whitefish 5 10 0 26 — 41
BIGFORK — Haile Norred 2, Jamie Berg 12, Rakiah Grende 7, Emilee Park 4, Mattie McAnally 9, Katie Thomas 14, Lana Berg 6, Miranda Campbell 13.
WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 5, Coral Schulz 5, Allie Schulz 4, Anissa Brown 7, Mariah Drown 1, Haley Nicholson 7, Makenna Benbrook 4, Cailyn Ross 2, Becca Catina 6.