Big 4th quarter run puts Whitefish up over Ronan
Bulldog Fynn Ridgeway gets around a Chiefs player in a game against Ronan on Friday night in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Ronan's DaVonne Curley attempts to knock the ball away from Whitefish's Jack Sears on a fast break on Friday night in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish senior Bodie Smith takes a shot over Ronan's Payton Cates on Friday night in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish ran the court aggressively Friday night against Ronan, and never let off the pedal even when the layups weren’t falling in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs began to pull away from the Chiefs and a solid final frame secured a big 59-38 Northwest A conference win for Whitefish.
“We played with a lot better intensity than we did last week,” Bulldog head coach Scott Smith said. “And we played consistent for four quarters — that’s kind of been our focus the last couple of weeks.”
Throughout the first half the Bulldogs were running plays and in turn getting good chances at the hoop, but the shots weren’t falling. Whitefish senior Bodie Smith’s outside shooting kept Whitefish within striking distance and just before half a Smith 3-pointer put the Dogs ahead by 3 going into the locker room.
“Bodie had a great game shooting the ball which helped us out in the first half, kind of kept us in it,” Coach Smith said.
In the second half, Whitefish hit the floor with an extra umph. It was as if they knew the game was theirs to win, as they were in control. Finally the close range jumpers and lay-ins started to go in, and the Bulldogs were building momentum near the end of the third heading into the fourth quarter.
“After the first half, we finally put the ball in the hoop,” Smith said. “On a bunch of shots we left ourselves a little bit short here and there, and missed some easy bunnies that normally we make. But our defense kept us in it in the first half.”
Ronan did not have an answer in the fourth. Whitefish put up 14 points, the Chiefs only answering with 3 points of their own.
Whitefish senior Talon Homquist had a big second half and scored 16 points total in the game. Early on he was getting good looks, but not scoring on the opportunities. Coach Smith expressed he was impressed with Holmquist for continuing to drive to the basket.
“Talon played very well even though he missed a bunch of bunnies early on,” Smith said. “He was physical and he never hung his head, never let it upset him. He just kept plugging away.”
Holmquist also made six free throws. Bodie Smith led his team with a game-high of 20 points and had one of the best nights shooting from beyond the arc.
Whitefish’s Fynn Ridgeway scored 7 and Logan Conklin had 6 points.
Smith added that Ridgeway had a good night shooting as well, and the team needs him to be an additional offensive threat in order to have success later on this season.
For Ronan, Elijah Tonasket led with 11 points and Payton Cates added 9.
Whitefish improved to a 4-4 overall record with the win.
When the two teams met earlier this season, the Chiefs soundly defeated Whitefish 56-40.
Coming up this week the Bulldogs were set to host Polson, a make-up game from a cancelation earlier this season, on Tuesday after press time. Then Whitefish will host Eureka on Thursday, game time is 7:30 p.m., and travel to Browning on Friday.
Ronan 14 10 11 3 — 38
Whitefish 11 16 18 14 — 59
RONAN — Elijah Tonasket 11, Payton Cates 9, Marlo Tonasket 6, Ted Coffman 5 Ruben Couture 4, Jordan Gatch 3.
WHITEFISH — Bodie Smith 20, Talon Holmquist 16, Fynn Ridgeway 7, Logan Conklin 6, Cody Berry 3, Mason Kelch 2, Jaxsen Schlauch 2, Jack Sears 2, Gabe Lund 1.
