Lady Bulldogs end year with a victory
David Erickson / Whitefish Pilot
By DAVID ERICKSON
Whitefish Pilot
The Whitefish Lady Bulldogs ended their 2008-’09 campaign with a win on Saturday, defeating Ronan 51-33 in the loser-out game of the Northwest A divisional tournament.
Nine different girls got in on the scoring action, a nice ending to a great run in the playoffs for the No. 5 seeded Lady ‘Dogs.
Head coach Tim Olson said before the tournament that he liked the way his girls had stuck together throughout the year.
For Heather Melcer, McCara Cullen, Paula Oliveira, Kate Klundt and Torie Powell, Saturday’s victory was bittersweet because it was their last game in green and gold. Senior Beth Donovan has been out due to injury, but she was there to cheer on her teammates.
Olson said he saw marked improvement throughout the year from all of his players.
“The seniors especially have been working hard,” he said. “Torie Powell, for example, has really put in some extra effort, working her rebounding and defense. I’m proud of all the girls.”
Next year, Jessie Slaybaugh may be the lone senior unless someone joins the team. She finished the year ranked eighth in the conference in 3-point percentage and assists/game.
Senior Torie Powell finished eighth in steals/game and fourth in blocks/game.
Senior Heather Melcer finished seventh in assists/game despite missing significant playing time due to injury.
Klundt finished in the top 10 in nearly every category in the conference.
Klundt had 23 points in the game against Ronan, followed by Torie Powell with eight and McCara Cullen with five. Whitefish finished the year 7-15 overall.
The Whitefish girls lost a tight defensive struggle to Polson earlier Saturday, 34-39, in the consolation title game. The loss meant Whitefish will miss out on the Class A state tournament this year.
The Whitefish girls upset the No. 4 seeded Lady Pirates in their first meeting of the tournament, but couldn’t quite find an answer for the Polson defense in their second meeting. Also, the Lady Pirates went to the free-throw line a whopping 38 times, scoring 19, compared to 10 points on just 12 trips for Whitefish.
The Thursday game against Polson was one of the best of the tournament. Klundt simply decided she didn’t want her team to languish in the loser’s bracket. Not yet.
The Whitefish senior absolutely took control of the game against Polson, scoring the final eight consecutive points for the Lady Bulldogs in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 68-85 upset win over Polson.
Klundt finished with 32 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists despite being held to no points in the first 13 minutes.
The Lady Bulldogs earned a second-round match with cross-valley rivals Columbia Falls on Friday night. They fell to the No. 1 Wildkats 33-54 after a late rally, moving them to the consolation bracket.
The difference in the game came at the charity stripe. Columbia Falls went to the free-throw line 29 times, scoring 22, compared to only eight trips and seven points for Whitefish.