Lady 'Dogs have new attitude

It’s a new season for the Whitefish

girls basketball team, with new faces and a new attitude taking

control in the locker room. The Lady Bulldogs look to build on last

year’s disappointing two-win performance and use that experience as

a stepping-stone to reach the top of the conference standings.

“We’re picking up where we left off,”

coach Sean Duff said. “It’s amazing how far ahead we are from this

time last year. That was a rough season, but the experience is

invaluable.”

Five seniors are on the roster,

including a few role players who should make an immediate impact.

Forward Olivia Nagler is back with an improved jump shot, along

with her volleyball sidekick Heather Bailey, who hasn’t played

competitive basketball in a few seasons.

“Olivia’s been a part of the varsity

program since she was a sophomore,” Duff said. “She’ll rise to the

occasion and be a leader for us. Heather is going to add something

coming off the bench. She is so athletic and can really jump. I

think she brings a lot of positive energy.”

Duff pointed to Olivia Curtiss, who

will bring strength, size and experience to the low post as a

senior. Curtiss battled injuries most of last season.

Jenna Hanson, another senior, worked

extremely hard in the off season at basketball camps in Spokane,

Wash., Duff said, and will be an important role player.

Unfortunately, senior guard Alayna

Voigt tore her MCL this fall and will be out for the season. Voigt

filled in for standout 2010 graduate Jessica Slaybaugh last season

and was poised to take over at point.

“Alayna was ideally going to run the

offense,” Duff said. “Now we’ll look at Jenna Hanson, Amanda Foley

or Brooke Silliker. It will be a mix of those three kids.”

The junior class is packed, with Taylor

Havens, Jessica Poe, Shelby Backer and Foley all bringing varsity

experience to the court. Duff likes the potential he sees in

sophomores Shannon Craft and Silliker.

“We’ll look for good things from those

girls,” he said.

The Lady Bulldogs plan to implement a

motion offense and push the ball up the court.

“We should be fast, we have athletic

kids,” Duff said.

Turnovers were a problem last year —

Whitefish averaged 30 a game — and it’s something they’re working

on in practice

“We have to take care of the ball,” he

said.

On defense, expect to see mostly

man-to-man, with other schemes mixed in.

“We’ll switch it up with a bunch of

different defenses,” Duff said. “That confuses other teams. We

should be able to press, too.”

Duff says the team’s depth is a major

asset, and he believes Whitefish will compete in the league if they

continue to work hard on the basics.

“We’re going to play team basketball,”

he said. “We don’t have a kid who will put up 20 points a game —

it’s going to be six or seven points from everyone. First, we’ll

focus on the conference games, then think about a divisional crown

and going to state. We have to take little steps to get there.”

Whitefish kicks off the season at the

Tip-off Tourney on Dec. 10-11 in Corvallis and Hamilton.