Lady Bulldogs fall in rivalry rematch

In their in-season Northwest A Conference rematch with Columbia Falls on Friday, Feb. 2, Whitefish played stronger in the first half, but a slow third quarter hampered the team in a 48-23 loss. That capped off a run that saw Whitefish play five games in seven days.

“That many games in a short period of time challenges you both physically and mentally,” Whitefish Head Coach Bob Bolam said. “We probably saw some exhaustion in our players in the second half of games, especially later in the week, but overall, I thought we handled it all pretty good. Another effect was just trying to remember game plans for each team. It was very easy to get confused.”

Bailey Smith led the Bulldogs with seven points, while Ainsley Scott had six points.

Whitefish trailed 21-9 in the first half, and Columbia Falls went on a 22-10 run in the third quarter.

Columbia Falls improved to 6-3 in conference play and Whitefish fell to 2-6.

At Columbia Falls

COLUMBIA FALLS 48, WHITEFISH 23

C-Falls - 13 - 8 - 22 - 5 - 48

Whitefish - 5 - 4 - 10 - 4- 23

WHITEFISH SCORING - Bailey Smith 7, Ainsley Scott 6, Jude Perry 3, Yoli Krastev 2, Madi Gordon 2, Hailey Ells 2, Camry Kelch 1

Smith Scores 22 In Win Over Ronan

Whitefish went on a 12-1 run in the third quarter and held on for a 45-38 Northwest A Conference victory on Thursday, February 2.

“To beat Ronan the biggest difference was coming out in the third quarter and playing solid defense and hold them to one point,” Bolam said.  

Bailey Smith scored 22 points for the Lady Bulldogs, who trailed 21-18 at halftime but surged in the second half.

“The biggest factor was Bailey Smith netting ten points in the quarter and seventeen for the second half to keep us on top,” Bolam said. “Jude Perry kept us in the game in the first half with ten points.”

Jude Perry added 10 points to Whitefish’s efforts. It was Whitefish’s second league win of the year. 

“We just want to keep getting better every day,” Bolam said. “We have the opportunity to get some wins and better our standing going into the postseason and that is our focus.”

At Ronan

WHITEFISH 45, RONAN 38

Whitefish - 7 - 11 - 12 - 15 - 45

Ronan - 9 - 12 - 1 - 16 - 38

WHITEFISH SCORING - Bailey Smith 22, Jude Perry 10, Charlize Ullrich 5, Ainsley Scott 5, Carmella Alfieri 3

Lady Bulldogs Drop Matchup To Columbia Falls

Whitefish fell to Columbia Falls 55-14 in Northwest A Conference action on Tuesday, January 30. Ainsley Scott Led the Lady Bulldogs with eight points.

Columbia Falls led 25-12 at halftime and went on a 17-0 run in the third quarter.

The WildKats moved to 6-3 in conference play with the win.

At Columbia Falls

COLUMBIA FALLS 55, WHITEFISH 14

Whitefish - 8 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 14

C-Falls - 10 - 15 - 17 - 13 - 55

WHITEFISH SCORING - Ainsley Scott 8, Jude Perry 4, Yoli Krastev 2

Whitefish Gets Past Libby in Overtime

Whitefish outscored Libby 9-2 in an overtime period to pick up an important Northwest A Conference victory by a score of 43-36 on Monday, January 29.

“In the overtime game versus Libby, we had a good first half and got the lead and then had a bad second half and had to hit a late basket in the fourth quarter by Camry Kelch to go to overtime,” Bolam said. “We probably gave our best effort of the night in the overtime period by outscoring them nine to two to get the win. We gave up only two free throws in the overtime period so our defense really stepped up.”

The Lady Bulldogs led 19-12 at halftime, but Libby went on a 15-9 run in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Bailey Smith led Whitefish with 12 points, and Charlize Ullrich added eight. Camry Kelch and Jude Perry also scored seven.

Libby fell to 0-9 in conference action.

At Whitefish

WHITEFISH 43, LIBBY 36

Libby - 4 - 8 - 7 - 15 - 2 - 36

W-Fish - 7 - 12 - 6 - 9 - 9 - 43

WHITEFISH SCORING - Bailey Smith 12, Charlize Ullrich 8, Camry Kelch 7, Jude Perry 7, Ainsley Scott 4, Yoli Krastev 2, Carmella Alfieri 2, Madi Gordon 1

    The Wildkats play Whitefish at home Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe   

    Bulldog Ainsley Scott tries for a three-pointer playing the Wildkats Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe