Girls working to make up for lack of numbers
The Bigfork High School girls basketball teams will try to make up for what they lack in numbers with commitment and dedication.
“They’re working hard,” said head BHS girls coach Mark Hansen. “I’m throwing a lot at them. They are all having to learn multiple positions. Some girls are playing one or two positions, but others are playing three or four.”
Combined, the three teams only have 21 players. Montana High School Association rules allow for the girls to play in up to five quarters in one night, so most of the Vals will at least be suiting up for more than one team, in case there are injuries or foul trouble. At this point the girls and the coaches will try to make three teams work, but there is a chance that Bigfork’s girls will just have two teams, varsity and froshmore.
“They’re doing alright with it,” Hansen said. “It’s not completely out of the norm for them. They understand the predicament that we are in and they are handling it very well. The girls could’ve just given up and had two teams, but they’re making the commitment and making this happen.”
Despite the need for the girls to be flexible with the idea of playing for the three teams, decisions were made last week during tryouts for who will be the core varsity players. The coaches selected seniors Quindee Averill, Signa McLeod, Ariana Shults and Roxy Thurman, juniors Lila Cenis and Kailey Fierro, sophomores Caitlin Charlebois, Mallery Knoll, Kate Lamm, Kristen Hagen, Quinci Paine and freshman Taylor Peck.
The other nine girls will primarily play on the JV and freshman teams.
The girls aren’t spending their time worrying about numbers, though. They have been busy working on strategies for the season with their new coach.
“We’re trying to be a little more up-tempo, but we’re running into some problems with numbers” Hansen said. “We’re not as tall as we’ve been in past years, so we’re going to have to be a little more fiesty out there. We’re throwing a lot at them mentally, but once they get there I think they’ll do well. They’re hard workers and they’re dedicated to do what they have to do to be successful. They are very coachable.”
The girls will have their first chance to put into play what coach Hansen has been teaching them the past couple of weeks when the Vals take on Hamilton and Corvallis this weekend at the Hamilton Tip Off Tournament.
“We’re ready to play someone else,” Hansen said. “It will be nice to have 12 girls available to play and not have to worry about quarters. It will be a good opportunity for us to see where we’re at and what we need to work on the following week.”
The freshman team has its first game on Monday at Glacier High School. All three of the girls teams will host their first home games on Tuesday against Big Sky High School, starting at 4:15 p.m.