Vikings continue to dominate district play
Eureka High School’s boys basketball team came to Bigfork ready to win on Friday, forcing the Vikings to make every shot count as the Vikings came away with a 61-56 victory and maintained their standing at the top of the conference.
The Vikes and Lions went point for point in the first quarter, going into the second quarter tied. By halftime the Vikings had eked out a one-point lead but were able to extend the lead to 40-38 in the third quarter. It wasn’t until the end of the game that Bigfork began to pull away from Eureka with several free throws from Isaac Martel hitting the mark.
“That’s kind of what saved us,” head coach Sam Tudor said.
Ryder Trent was a key contributor for the Vikes against the Lions, raking up 20 points.
“He was a factor in every quarter,” Tudor said.
Josh Sandry and Jonathan Landon followed Trent in scoring with 15, and 13.
Both teams shot about 50 percent from the three-point line but Bigfork outrebounded the Lions by a wide margin.
“I’m actually really happy with this victory,” Tudor said. “They came to beat us.”
Thursday at Plains the Vikings sailed to a much easier victory, winning 57-46.
The Vikings scored 15 points in each of the first three quarters before Plains picked it up in the fourth, outscoring Bigfork 15-12. However, leading in one quarter wasn’t enough for Plains to make a come back.
Trent led Bigfork in scoring with 18, followed by Sandry with 15.
The Vikings hosted Mission Tuesday night.
Bigfork travels to Whitefish on Thursday.
Bigfork 61, Eureka 56
Bigfork 13 15 12 21 — 61
Eureka 13 14 11 18 — 56
BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 2, Isaac Martel 11, Jonathan Landon 13, Josh Sandry 15, Ryder Trent 20.
EUREKA — Brandon Conard 2, Trey Bohne 27, Chase Bohne 19, Braden Thier 4, RJ Glover 4.
Bigfork 57, Plains 46
Bigfork 15 15 15 12 — 57
Plains 13 8 10 15 — 46
BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 6, Isaac Martel 10, Tyler Piazzola 2, Jonathan Landon 4, Josh Sandry 15, Ryder Trent 18, George Gibson 2, Garrett Beville 0.
PLAINS — Ryan Ovitt 10, Aaren Vanheeder 3, Alec Cole 6, Kyle Revier 10, Cole Benson 0, Aaron Baker 15, Bransen Krebs 2.
The Bigfork Valkyries hit the road last week, taking down Eureka on Tuesday 52-44 and losing to Plains 64-62 on Thursday.
Bigfork trailed Plains 44-35 at halftime but rallied to outscore Plains 27-20 in the second half. The Vals scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. Despite a good second half the Valkyries weren’t quite able to walk away with the win.
“I thought they played really well with the hurdles they had to hump through this week,” head coach Jami Grende said. Besides being on the road, the week was also finals week for Bigfork students. “It was a tough week but they did a good job.”
Lana Berg led the Vals with 23 points against Plains followed by Matti McAnally with 18.
“Those are always great match ups with Plains,” Grende said. “I’m excited to play them again.
In Eureka the Vals trailed by one point going into halftime but scored four unanswered points in the third to start pulling away. Lana Berg again led scoring for Bigfork with 21. “Lana’s tough,” Grende said. “You want the ball in her hands when it’s close.”
Berg was closely followed by Miranda Campbell with 19 points.
“Eureka played us tough, they really did,” Grende said. Eureka took advantage of the small size and speed to make themselves tough for Bigfork to guard, Grende said.
The Valkyries remain on the road this week, travelling to Mission Tuesday and Whitefish on Thursday.
This week the bench will be bolstered back up as Riley Coleman and Josie Spoklie return to the court after recovering from injuries.
Plains 64, Bigfork 62
Bigfork 17 18 12 15 — 62
Plains 20 24 11 9 — 64
BIGFORK — Marissa Hiza 9, Jamie Berg 2, Matti McAnally 18, Katie Thomas 3, Lana Berg 23, Miranda Campbell 7.
PLAINS — Kimberly Earhart 5, Sami Kinzie 6, Jade LaDeaux 8, Carley Vonheeder 7, Hailey Phillips 13, Kayla Holmes 10, Leah Thompson 15.
Bigfork 52, Eureka 44
Bigfork 15 12 14 11 — 52
Eureka 14 14 10 6 — 44
BIGFORK — Marissa Hiza 5, Matti McAnally 7, Lana Berg 21, Miranda Campbell 19.
EUREKA — Charity Parsons 6, Courtney Lemer 2, Nicole Anderson 2, Rachael Pacella 4, Evynn Anderson 4, Amanda Peterson 16, Stacy Cooper 7, Erynn Thier 3.