Whitefish nets two wins at tip-off tourney

A hot start by the Whitefish offense led to the Lady Bulldogs' first victory of the season — a 54-28 nonconference victory over Stevensville in the Western A Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown on Friday. The Bulldogs turned around the next day and nabbed another win over Livingston, 50-39.

"I thought we could win both games [at the tournament], and we did," Whitefish head coach Bob Bolam said. "We were not threatened much by Stevensville, though Park got an early lead on us, which we slowly caught up and then passed them by and made the lead stand up."

Against Stevensville, Whitefish led 32-13 at halftime and opened the second half on a 10-4 run.

Bailey Smith led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points, while Ainsley Scott added 13 points.

On Saturday, Whitefish notched a 19-9 run in the second quarter to pull past Livingston in nonconference action. Jude Perry led all scorers with 18 points, and Ainsley Scott had 16 points.

"We had good offensive first halves in both games as we reached around 30 points or more," Bolam said. "It was good to have our point guard, Hailey Ells, back and it showed as we were able to get into offensive sets easier and get down the floor faster. 

“It was great to see how hard we attacked the offensive glass and see Bailey Smith hit some 3-pointers for us, especially in the Park game," the coach added.

Whitefish outscored Livingston 17-13 in the second half, solidifying their victory. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 2-1 overall on the season with the victory.

Smith scored a total of 31 points over the weekend while hitting four 3-pointers in each game. Ells played fantastic defense, coming up with numerous steals and 15 assists over two games. Scott showed her versatility, not only scoring 13 points but hauling in nine offensive rebounds against Stevensville.

"I was very happy with our effort in both games over the weekend," Bolam said. "We played hard and sustained the effort throughout both games. We handled pressure well and were able to get into our offense and get good looks at the basket."

This weekend the team will travel to Havre for the East-West Tip-Off Tournament and their last game before the holiday break is Tuesday in Eureka.

Western A Tip-Off Tournament

WHITEFISH 54, STEVENSVILLE 28

Whitefish - 14 - 18 - 10 - 12 — 54

Stevensville - 9 - 4 - 4 - 11 — 28

WHITEFISH SCORING - Bailey Smith 15, Ainsley Scott 13, Hailey Ells 6, Yoli Krastev 5, Jude Perry 4, Charlize Ullrich 4, Camry Kelch 3, Madi Gordon 2

WHITEFISH 50, LIVINGSTON 39

Livingston - 17 - 9 - 6 - 7 — 39

Whitefish - 14 - 19 - 9 - 8 — 50

WHITEFISH SCORING - Jude Perry 18, Bailey Smith 16, Yoli Krastev 6, Hailey Ells 4, Ainsley Scott 4, Madi Gordon 6

Frenchtown tops Whitefish

Frenchtown went on a 25-2 run in the second quarter en route to a 66-28 nonconference victory over Whitefish on Tuesday, Dec. 5, to open up the season.

Ainsley Scott led the Lady Bulldogs with 8 points, while Bailey Smith added 7.

Frenchtown led 38-9 at halftime and went on a 12-6 run in the third quarter.

FRENCHTOWN 66, WHITEFISH 28

Frenchtown - 12 - 26 - 12 - 16 - 66

Whitefish - 7 - 2 - 6 - 13 - 28

WHITEFISH SCORING - Ainsley Scott 8, Bailey Smith 7, Yoli Krastev 5, Jude Perry 4, Charlize Ulrich 2, Carmella Alfieri 2

    Hailey Ells goes to the basket against Stevensville’s Cheyenne Sannar at the Western A Tip Off in Frenchtown Friday. (Jeremy Weber/Bigfork Eagle)
  

    Charlize Ullrich goes up for a shot over Stevensville’s Emma McKoy at the Western A Tip Off in Frenchtown Friday. (Jeremy Weber/Bigfork Eagle)