Lady Dogs' tourney run cut short by Devils

The Lady Dogs started off hot at the Western A Divisional Tournament, but couldn’t pull through to advance to state.

On Thursday the team opened the tournament against Dillon and held their own for the 41-37 win.

After a tight 8-7 opening quarter, Whitefish opened its one-point lead to 18-12 by the half.

Two threes from Gracie Smyley in the second half helped put the Beavers away for good, sealing a big victory for Whitefish.

Smyley scored 10 total, while Jadi Walburn led the team with 12.

Head coach Bob Bolam said he was happy to see such a strong start for his team.

“We came out and played well. We were aggressive and got ahead, we tried to give it away there in the third with turnovers, but we persevered,” Bolam said.

The team’s luck turned the following night, however, when they couldn’t get things going against a hot Corvallis team, falling 41-23.

The Blue Devils turned a five-point first quarter lead into a 16-point lead at the half after a fast-paced second quarter, and from there Whitefish couldn’t catch up.

The Lady Dogs didn’t manage a single quarter of more than seven points in the game.

Hope Brown led the team with eight points, while Walburn scored seven.

That game set Whitefish up for a loser-out battle with Browning on Saturday, which they lost 49-33.

A white-hot 19-pointfirst quarter for Browning put the Lady Indians up early, and from there the Lady Dogs couldn’t make up any ground.

Smyley led with 10 points in that game, while Brown added eight.

In both games, early offensive struggles set the Lady Dogs back, Bolam said.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the basket really well and got behind. We had two good second halves in each of the games against Browning and Corvallis. Considering we played six games in 10 days, the girls hung in there really good,” he said.

It was a tough end to a season that saw the team picking up momentum late in the season, with two straight wins over Libby and the early tournament win over Dillon.

Overall, they finish 8-14, a big improvement over last year’s 4-16 record.

Bolam said while there was the obvious disappointment that comes with ending a season on a loss, there was also a sense of pride.

“We talked about where we started the year and where we finished and how things changed in between. We finished on a high note. Even though we lost the last game, everyone realized how far we had come and what we’d managed to do, especially late in the season,” he said. “Skill wise we just need to get better, offensively for sure. We played pretty good defense, and we are understanding our off concepts better, it’s just the skill it takes to really make those concepts work and become threats offensively. That’ll be something we’ll work on to push us ahead.”

The team graduates Brown, Payton Kastella and Kali Brubaker, all of which played big roles on the team.

“This year’s seniors were awesome. We’ve had two of this kids for four years, Payton and Hope were there with me when I started as a freshman coach and they hung with me for all four years,” Bolam said. “It was a pleasure also having Kali Brubaker come over this season, she brought a lot of grit and toughness. I’ll be sad to see them go.”

However, the team does return a promising core of juniors and underclassmen for next year.

“We’ve got the main core of our group coming back that’s led us this year with underclassmen and a few sophomores that could make a big splash this year,” Bolam noted. “That’s encouraging.”

Dillon 7 5 10 15 — 37

Whitefish 8 10 9 14 — 41

WHITEFISH (8-12) – Jadi Walburn 12, Payton Kastella 3, Mikenna Ells 5, Gracie Smyley 10, Hope Brown 4, Taylor Means 7.

Corvallis 12 15 5 9 — 41

Whitefish 7 4 7 5 — 23

WHITEFISH — Hope Brown 8, Jadi Walburn 7, Erin Wilde 3, Kali Brubaker 2, Gracie Smyley 2, Mikenna Ells 1.

Whitefish 7 8 10 8 — 33

Browning 19 14 7 9 — 49

WHITEFISH — Gracie Smyley 10, Hope Brown 8, Erin Wilde 4, Taylor Means 4, Jadi Walburn 2, Kali Brubaker 2, Ashley Gunsel 2, Payton Kastella 1.