Whitefish finishes 2nd in girls basketball

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH - Whitefish wrapped up the second seed and a first-round bye at the upcoming divisional tournament by defeating Bigfork 61-44 Saturday in Northwestern A girls basketball play.

The Bulldogs (6-4 in league and 10-8 overall) finished regular-season action with two big victories.

Whitefish knocked off league leader Ronan on Feb. 10 in double overtime.

"We're definitely peaking at the right time," said WHS assistant coach Jeremy Anderson.

"Playing cohesively as a group."

Anderson said the "seniors really stepped up and played well," on senior night.

"They had some key buckets, some key defensive stops," he said.

Tessa Kalfell had another big night, scoring 23 points, dishing out 10 assists, pulling down seven rebounds and getting five steals.

Ashley Ferda added 16 points for the Bulldogs.

Bigfork was led by Nikki Thompson, 18 points.

Whitefish's divisional action starts Thursday, 6:30 p.m., in Ronan. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. contest between Columbia Falls and Libby.

BULLDOGS 61, VALKYRIES 44

Bigfork 12 13 9 10 - 44

Whitefish 9 18 10 24 - 61

Bigfork - Callie Gunderson 2 4-4 8, Hannah Hilley 3 4-5 10, Nikki Thompson 6 3-4 18, Leslie Johnson 0 2-2 2, Beth Bermel 2 0-2 6. Totals: 13 13-17 44.

Whitefish - Tayler Bertelsen 1 0-0 2, Kirsten Blackburn 0 1-2 1, Ashley Ferda 5 5-7 16, Kyla Salisbury 3 0-0 6, Tracy Schwada 1 0-0 2, Tessa Kalfell 11 0-1 23, Erin Greiner 2 0-0 4, Katie Cain 1 2-4 4, Kali Schmidt 1 0-0 3. Totals: 25 7-14 61.

3-point goals: Thompson (3), Bermel (2); Ferda, Kalfell, Schmidt. Team fouls: Bigfork 14, Whitefish 12. Fouled out: None.

Ronan 55,

Columbia Falls 44

RONAN - Ronan finished off the regular season in Northwestern A girls basketball play in style, downing Columbia Falls Saturday.

It was the seventh victory in the last eight outings for the Maidens, who head to the divisional tournament as the No. 1 seed. They will play Thursday at 1 p.m. the winner of Wednesday's 1 p.m. contest between Bigfork and Polson.

"Overall, a great game as a team," said Ronan coach Dave Paisley.

"A lot of contributions from different girls."

Ronan, league champs for the first time since 1995, led 23-18 at the half.

Des Krell led the Maidens offensively with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Shayla Couture added 11 points.

Cambrie Starkel had 10 rebounds for Ronan.

Jenna Toole, 12 points, and Bekah Stoltz, 11, were Columbia Falls' leaders.

Ronan enjoyed a big night at the free throw line, sinking 16 of 22 shots.

MAIDENS 55, WILDKATS 44

Columbia Falls 6 12 11 15 - 44

Ronan 6 17 16 16 - 55

Columbia Falls - Callie Spencer 2 1-2 5, Jenna Toole 4 4-7 12, Kim Pearce 3 2-3 8, Bekah Stoltz 4 3-4 11, Dani Herman 3 2-2 8. Totals: 16 12-22 44.

Ronan - Amber Johnson 1 0-0 2, Lauryn Lynch 4 1-1 9, Cambrie Starkel 1 4-4 6, Kayla Couture 2 3-4 7, Shayla Couture 5 0-2 11, Des Krell 3 6-9 12, Jamie Lake 2 2-2 6, Bridget Taylor 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 16-22 55.

3-point goals: S. Couture. Team fouls: Columbia Falls 18, Ronan 19. Fouled out: Toole.

Libby 46, Polson 37

POLSON - Libby came to life offensively in the final half to post a Northwestern A girls basketball victory Saturday afternoon over Polson.

Libby (5-5 in league and 11-7 overall) outscored Polson (5-5 and 9-9) 30-21 in the second half.

The Loggers only tallied 16 points in the first half.

Sarah Becker, 11 points, was the lone double figures scorer for Libby.

Kara Huyser finished with 12 points, two blocks, three rebounds and one steal for Polson.

Teammate Strohm Fouty had 10 points, four assists, two steals and three rebounds.

Libby advances to the divisional tournament, which begins Wednesday in Ronan, as the No. 3 seed while Polson is No. 4.

LOGGERS 46, PIRATES 37

Libby 7 9 18 12 - 46

Polson 4 12 13 8 - 37

Libby - Sam Schultz 1 0-0 3, Nicole Rowan 3 0-1 6, Sarah Becker 4 1-2 11, Hollis May 3 0-0 7, Sarah Hodel 1 1-2 3, Rose Young 2 2-2 6, Teri Rebo 3 1-3 7. Totals: 17 5-10 46.

Polson - Jen Orchard 2 0-0 5, Strohm Fouty 4 1-1 10, Jenni Nesladek 1 0-0 2, Kari Mowbray 4 0-1 8, Kara Huyser 6 0-0 12. Totals: 17 1-2 37.

3-point goals - Schultz, Becker (2), May; Orchard, Fouty. Team fouls: Libby 11, Polson 12. Fouled out: None.