Valkyries go 1-1 at tipoff tournament

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork Valkyries' first loss this season came a little quicker than last year's.

The Vals opened the Northwest/Southwest Tipoff Tournament Friday with a 56-41 loss to Anaconda before beating Frenchtown 41-33 the following day.

Anaconda jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter, making the Vals fight to cut into the Copperheads' lead the rest of the game. Jaylee Haveman scored half of Bigfork's first quarter points. She started the game with two field goals to keep the Vals within two points of Anaconda. With no additional scoring the next two minutes, the Vals fell behind 14-4 until Avery Vogel added a point, sinking one of two free throws. Roxanne Thurman and Alyssa Fierro chipped in the other three points from the line. Thurman made her two and Fierro made one.

"We had some good stretches after that," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said.

After allowing the Copperheads to score five unanswered points, the Vals held Anaconda scoreless for about the next four and a half minutes while scoring 11 points.

"We were very sloppy with the ball," Hammond said. "We were seeing more defensive pressure than we're used to. They (Anaconda) were more aggressive."

Haveman added two more points, while Fierro made three field goals — one assisted by her sister Kailey. Alyssa ended the game with 11 points. Vogel went three-for four from the free-throw line, as the Vals narrowed the Copperheads' lead to 10 points.

Anaconda answered back with two three-point baskets. Bigfork's Hattie Bowen, who finished the game with 11 points, made two 3-pointers as well, with a two-point field goal sandwiched in between them. Her second 3-point basket brought the Vals within 11 points of the Copperheads and ended the Vals' scoring in the third quarter.

Bowen wasn't the only Val to sink a 3-pointer against the Copperheads. Thurman made her 3-pointer with less than a minute on the clock in the fourth quarter. She was assisted by Emily Hardman.

The Vals cleaned up their act enough to top the Frenchtown Lady Broncs the following evening. They allowed the Broncs just one field goal in the first quarter and kept them to just one field goal and one free throw in the first half of the second quarter.

Thurman, who led the Vals in scoring with 13, scored three in the first quarter and four more in the second quarter. She had a steal and was fouled on her way to the basket, which sent her to the free-throw line for two of those points. The Vals as a team recorded 13 steals against the Broncs, which was a high note for Hammond.

"We were a little sloppy both games," he said. "Those are things we can work on and fix."

Bigfork led 19-13 at halftime and kept rolling in the third quarter. Frenchtown scored two field goals early in the third quarter but did not score the rest of the quarter. Thurman assisted Charlene Miller for two as the Vals out-scored the Broncs 9-4 in the third quarter. Vogel also assisted Miller, as well as dishing the ball to Haveman for two of her eight points in the game. Haveman scored two more points a litte more than 10 seconds later, going two-for-two from the free-throw line. Bigfork didn't score in the second half of the third quarter either.

"We did pretty well," Hammond said of the Vals defensive efforts in the third quarter. The Broncs went to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, in what Hammond called a parade. Frenchtown scored 10 of its 16 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line.

Thurman began the quarter with a 3-point basket and Haveman followed it with two points, assisted by Alyssa Fierro. Thurman scored two more off an assist from Vogel. After that, the Vals' scoring was sparse. Bowen scored five points for the Vals in the final quarter. Three of those points came from the free-throw line. Harman also made two free throws in the quarter.

"We're looking forward to getting into conference," Hammond said. "Those are the ones that matter."

The Vals travel to both Eureka and Stillwater Christian after opening their season at home against conference opponent Libby. Bigfork travels to Eureka today, Dec. 13, at 4:15 p.m. The freshman and junior varsity teams play Stillwater Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.

Anaconda 20 12 12 12 - 56

Bigfork 8 13 8 12 - 41

ANACONDA - Emma Johnson 6, Kirstin King 8, McCall Flynn 5, Torry Hill 20, Ali Hurley 12, Lisa Laslovich 4, Korey Krumm 1.

BIGFORK - Hattie Bowen 11, Charlene Miller 1, Avery Vogel 6, Alyssa Fierro 11, Jaylee Haveman 6, Roxy Thurman 6.

Frenchtown 2 11 4 16 - 33

Bigfork 9 10 9 13 - 41

FRENCHTOWN - Lacey Lovell 5, Jenny Morse 4, Laura Geis 5, Jen Brown 6, Shelby Russ 4, Kendra Wabaunsee 8, Brady Nordahl 1.

BIGFORK - Hattie Bowen 11, Charlene Miller 6, Roxy Thurman 13, Alyssa Fierro 1, Jaylee Haveman 8, Emily Hardman 2.