Big Sky shuts down Vals, 43-30

| December 25, 2005 1:00 AM

By ROB BACKUS

The Daily Inter Lake

BIGFORK - When Bigfork's top shooter, senior Mary Hall, bricked a 3-point attempt off the side of the backboard in pre-game warmups, it didn't seem like a good omen for the Valkyries.

Unfortunately, that kind of shooting carried right over into the game between the Vals and Big Sky on Thursday. If you like turnovers, air balls, badly missed free throws and sub-30 shooting percentages, then this was the game for you.

Turning the ball over 10 times in the opening quarter, Bigfork fell behind 13-0 less than six minutes into the game. A brief comeback in the third quarter cut the deficit to four, but the Vals never drew closer, losing 43-30 in their final game before the holidays.

"It was just one of those nights," Vals coach Nate Hammond said. "Their press was very good and we got rattled early. We just had way too many turnovers."

The Vals did a solid job getting to the free-throw line, but a 10-for-23 shooting performance from the charity stripe certainly didn't help matters.

"That killed us," Hammond said.

Hall was instrumental in the third-quarter comeback, scoring seven of her team-high 13 points in the period, and the first of her two treys cut the Eagles' lead to 24-20 with 5:08 left in the quarter. However, she was the only Bigfork player to score more than five points in the contest.

"We were a little intimidated early, and we had trouble working the ball around and getting it inside," said Hammond, whose team fell to 2-3 overall.

Still, after the debacle of the opening eight minutes, the Vals managed to play nearly even with Big Sky through the final three quarters.

"After we got collected, we played right with them," Hammond said. "We just couldn't quite hold it.

"But it was still a good non-conference game for us. Now we know what to expect from good teams, and we know what we have to work on."

Bigfork's next game is Jan. 3 at home against Northwestern A foe Polson. The Vals won their only conference game, against Libby, earlier this month.

EAGLES 43, VALKYRIES 30

Big Sky 13 6 15 9 - 43

Bigfork 3 8 11 8 - 30

Big Sky - Rachel Vander Veen 1 0-0 2, Ashley Montelius 1 0-0 3, Julee Christianson 4 1-1 10, Joslyn Tinkle 4 2-3 10, Samantha Lidstrom 0 1-2 1, Eluise Bisson 6 0-0 14, Brittney Liebenguth 2 1-2 3. Totals: 17 5-8 43.

Bigfork - Avery Vogel 1 0-0 2, Carly Hilley 0 1-2 1, Mary Hall 3 5-11 13, Breana Brendsel 2 0-0 4, Alyssa Fierro 2 1-4 5, Jaylee Haveman 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 10-23 30.

Three-point goals: Big Sky 4 (Bisson 2, Montelius, Christianson), Bigfork 2 (Hall 2). Total fouls: Big Sky 19, Bigfork 11. Fouled out: None.