Lady Bulldogs outlast Park, fall to Frenchtown at tip-off tourney
Whitefish's Yoli Krastev pulls up for a jumper against Park during action at the Frenchtown Tip-Off Tournament Friday, Dec. 9. (Jeremy Weber/Daily Inter Lake)
Whitefish's Jude Perry pulls down a rebound against Park during action at the Frenchtown Tip-Off Tournament Friday, Dec. 9. (Jeremy Weber/Daily Inter Lake)
The Whitefish girls basketball team was back in action last weekend at the Western A Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown.
During the two-day tournament, Whitefish defeated Park 44-34 on Friday and then fell to Frenchtown on Saturday, 60-32. After the weekend of play, the Lady Bulldogs are 2-1 so far this season.
The tournament in Frenchtown gave the inexperienced varsity squad more court time and proved to be a learning experience.
“I thought the girls performed well, we’re still learning, we have a ways to go to be the team we want to be,” Whitefish coach Bob Bolam said. “These two games we had over the weekend showed us some flaws and weaknesses that we have, also some strengths, but we definitely have to get better to compete with some of the teams we saw down at the tournament.”
Against Park, both teams played at a similar intensity through the first quarter. Whitefish’s 20-point second quarter gave the Bulldogs the lead going into halftime. The offensive outburst from that quarter held up for the rest of the game as the Dogs went on to win by 10 points.
“They were pressing us and we figured that out a little bit better in the second quarter — got through the press and got some easy lay-ins because of it. That helped us have that big of a quarter,” Bolam recalled.
Whitefish junior point guard Hailey Ells led the team in several ways. She scored seven points, but also had seven rebounds, 12 assists and nine steals according to Bolam. Ainsley Scott led Whitefish in points with 13. Jude Perry put in 8 points and Bailey Smith had 7.
The next day was a different story and outcome. Whitefish faced an experienced and larger Frenchtown team. The Broncs poured in 23 points while the Bulldogs scored 4 in the first quarter, making a comeback nearly impossible. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs settled into the game, but Frenchtown’s significant lead held.
Whitefish continued to play with a lot of heart though, according to Bolam and played a much better second half.
“Frenchtown’s a big team, and we’re not, they used their size advantage early… their big post scored 12 points in the first quarter,” Bolam said. “Things were tough for us. We had to just look at ourselves and say, what do we want to accomplish here, and just having a fighting spirit was what we wanted to do.”
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Smith, who hit a few 3-pointers on her way to scoring 16 points. Brooke Roberts added 8 points. Whitefish outscored Frenchtown in the third quarter 16-15 showing they had the potential to stay with high-level teams.
The Bulldogs will host Corvallis on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Dawg Pound, then hit the road to Browning on Saturday.
Whitefish 44, Livingston 34
Whitefish 10 20 5 9 - 44
Livingston 10 10 6 8 - 34
WHITEFISH — Ainsley Scott 13, Hailey Ells 7, Jude Perry 8, Bailey Smith 7, Brooke Roberts 5, Yoli Kraster 4, Madi Gordon 2.
LIVINGSTON — Veronica Turck 10, Ellie KLing 7, Emily Jesson 9, Lily Wieimer 4, Maria Turck 2, Veronica Glenn 2.
Frenchtown 60, Whitefish 32
Whitefish 4 6 16 6 - 32
Frenchtown 23 10 15 13 - 60
WHITEFISH — Bailey Smith 16, Brooke Roberts 8, Jude Perry 3, Hailey Ells 3, Yoli Krastev 2
FRENCHTOWN — Sadie Smith 19, Alexis Godin 14, Mason Quinn 6, Madison Kaufman 6, Haylee Kaufman 6, Katie Lewis 3, Sarah Evans 2, Lauren Magnuson 2, Kat Deschamps 2.
