Valkyries claim Northwest A conference championship

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

With the No. 1 divisional tournament seed and conference championship dangling in front of the Valkyries like a carrot on a string, the Bigfork Valkyrie varsity basketball team grabbed hold of both titles at home Feb. 7.

The 52-44 win over the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs secured the Vals as the No. 1 seed and conference championship for the second straight year. Whitefish made the Vals work for the victory, leading after both the first and second quarters.

The first of the game's seven ties came with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter with the score 2-2. Bigfork, now 9-0 in the Northwest A conference and 16-1 overall, trailed the Lady Bulldogs 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and 20-19 at halftime as the Vals' shots failed to fall. The Vals scored five points in the opening minute of the second quarter before the Lady Bulldogs tied the game at 13 apiece a little more than a minute later.

Alyssa and Kailey Fierro handled much of the Vals' early scoring. Alyssa notched a double-double with her 14 points and 15 rebounds. She also recorded six blocks. Kailey scored 10 points and had two blocks.

Whitefish missed eight free throws in the fourth. With those free throws the Lady Bulldogs could have tied the game or even won. The score remained close throughout the first half of the fourth quarter until Kailey Fierro made both of her free throws with about 5:00 on the clock. She then assisted her sister for two points, which the Vals followed with three more baskets. Whitefish answered with two 2-point field goals of its own to come within six points of Bigfork.

Bigfork was 4-for-6 at the line in the fourth. Avery Vogel, after wrestling for a loose ball and wisely calling a timeout, made 2-of-4 free throws to keep the Lady Bulldogs at bay. She tallied six points and seven of the Vals' 18 assists. The Lady Bulldogs missed five free throws in the last 40 seconds of the game.

Hattie Bowen, who finished the game with seven points, and Roxy Thurman gave the Vals a 24-20 lead at the start of the third quarter, but Whitefish tied the game at 24 and then again at 26 all and 28-28. Thurman scored five of her 10 points in the third quarter. Both she and Bowen sank 3-pointers in the quarter as well.

Bowen's trey broke the 28-28 tie halfway through the third quarter. Jaylee Haveman followed it up with a free throw to make the score 32-28. Haveman notched five points in the game. While Whitefish remained scoreless for nearly the last four minutes of the quarter, Bigfork had its own scoring drought for about two minutes. Bigfork led 34-31 headed into the final quarter.

Bigfork finishes its regular-season schedule hosting the Ronan Maidens tomorrow, Feb. 15, for the Vals' senior night. Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said that although the Ronan game won't affect the Vals' standing in the conference he still hopes that Bigfork plays well and heads into the postseason on a high note.

"The seniors want to win their last home game," Hammond said. "They've won 19 in a row and want to finish with 20."

Basketball action begins Friday with the freshman game at 4:15 p.m. followed by the junior varsity and varsity games.

Whitefish 9 11 11 13 — 44

Bigfork 8 11 15 18 — 52

WHITEFISH (9-6, 6-2) — Kate Klundt 4 3-4 12, Ashley Ferda 5 0-0 14, Desiree Clarke 0 1-4 1, Dana Labuda 3 0-0 6, Chelsea Ray 1 5-8 7, Amanda Ormsby 2 0-1 4. Totals 15 9-17 44.

BIGFORK (16-1, 9-0) — Hattie Bowen 3 0-0 7, Avery Vogel 1 4-6 6, Roxy Thurman 4 0-0 10, Alyssa Fierro 7 0-4 14, Kailey Fierro 4 2-2 10, Jaylee Haveman 2 1-2 5. Totals 21 7-14 52.

3-point goals — WF 5 (Ferda 4, Klundt), BF 3 (Thurman 2, Bowen). Team fouls — WF 16, BF 15. Fouled out — Bowen.