Lady Dogs look to sting Stevi following tough week

Last week was a tough one for the Lady Dogs, who dropped a pair of close road games.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4 the team traveled down to Ronan to face the 9-5 Maidens, but fell 41-35.

Whitefish finished the first half down only two in that game, but a 15-point quarter for Ronan put them back 10 points heading into the fourth.

The Lady Dogs went on a run of their own in the final quarter, putting in 18 points — one more than the other three quarters combined — but it wasn’t enough to bring the lead down.

Jadi Walburn led Whitefish scorers with nine points, while Gracie Smyley added eight and Erin Wilde and Payton Kastella each added six.

Then on Friday the team traveled down to Corvallis, where they lost 39-31.

This week the team has just one game on Friday, a home battle against Stevensville. That game starts at 6 p.m.

Head coach Bob Bolam said despite the losses, his girls are playing better ball.

“I think we’re playing a lot better. We’re taking care of the ball better, playing good defense. In both games I thought we played really good defense,” he said. “We just went through some stretches where we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop.”

The game should be a battle, Bolam said, with Yellowjacket players returning to the court from injuries.

“They’re a scrappy team, they’re young, and they’re going to put up a fight against us. They’ve got an inside girl that’s there leading scorer and they can score from the three,” Bolam said. “Hopefully we play well both offensively and defensively and keep them off the foul line.”

Whitefish 5 5 7 18 — 35

Ronan 5 7 15 14 — 41

Whitefish: Jadi Walburn 9, Erin Wilde 6, Kali Brubaker 2, Payton Kastella 6, Mikenna Ells 4, Gracie Smyley 8.