Bravettes gun down Whitefish

This game featured enough flip-flopping to make any politician proud.

When the Flathead Bravettes went on a 7-0 run, Whitefish answered with an 8-0 tear. When the Bulldogs won the tip-off and scored off an offensive rebound, Flathead's Chelsea Vaudt scored on her own rebound. And when Flathead's Chaeney Latimer buried a trey at the start of the second period, the Bulldogs' Ashley Ferda came back and bounced one off the glass from long range.

"It makes it great for the fans," Flathead coach Dennis Latimer said. "But it's not so great for the coaches."

But the Bravettes' strong offense in the fourth quarter shut Whitefish down for good, and Flathead earned the nonconference basketball victory, 47-41 Thursday night.

Some strategic offense dreamed up by Flathead's coaching staff paid huge dividends against Whitefish. The coaches put Chaeney Latimer on the right side along with the Bravettes' go-to scorer Holli Hashley. The point guard, usually Meghan O'Connell or Christina Zorn, would take the ball to the far left.

As Whitefish's zone collapsed on Hashley, the Bravettes would toss a long pass to a wide open Latimer standing outside the arc. She nailed four of them for her team.

Hashley's presence also made the Bulldogs reluctant to come out and pressure longer jumpers.

"We've got some weapons underneath," Latimer said. "They tried to make us prove it from the outside."

Whitefish also has some weapons, especially Ferda and Erin Greiner. Ferda's speed allowed her to drive almost at will, but Flathead's height caused her problems with her shot the whole game. She finished with a below-average seven points.

"Annie Braseth did a great job defensively on her," coach Latimer said. "You have to concentrate on (Ferda), or she can hurt you."

Greiner put together a game-high performance with 14 points and was solid from the charity stripe, hitting eight of 10.

"She had a big game for us," Whitefish coach Dean McFadden said. "And (Maude) Gwiazdon came off the bench and did a good job for us."

The game was close until the last half of the fourth quarter. Whitefish stayed within three points the entire contest, but as the Bravettes held on to the lead, the Bulldogs' frantic

offense led to turnovers. Flathead exploited the frenzy by passing the ball to a trailing Hashley, who was able to convert the easy lay-ups.

"We didn't convert, didn't box out," McFadden said. "But we played a better game than we did last time. I'm not excited about the loss, but I'm excited that we have a lot of room for improvement. We're going to build on the positives and try to reach the top of the mountain in four or five weeks."

The win moves the Bravettes to 7-3 overall. Flathead got a boost by the return of Sara Newgard, who had been out with a broken wrist. Her cast came off on Tuesday, and she had her first live practice this week as well.

BRAVETTES 47, BULLDOGS 41

Whitefish 10 7 12 12 - 41

Flathead 10 10 12 15 - 47

Whitefish - Kirsten Blackburn 1 0-0 2; Kaitlin O'Leary 0 1-2 1; Ashley Ferda 2 2-4 7; Kali Schmidt 2 0-0 5; Tracy Schwada 4 2-3 10; Maude Gwiazdon 1 0-0 2; Erin Greiner 3 8-10 14. 10 13-19 41.

Flathead - Christina Zorn 1 4-4 7; Chaeney Latimer 4 0-0 12; Lindsay Ingram 2 0-0 4; Holli Hashley 5 2-2 12; Chelsea Vaudt 4 0-0 8; Leslie Quay 2 0-2 4. 18 6-8 47.

3-point totals: W - Ferda 1, Schmidt 1. F - Latimer 4, Zorn 1. Total fouls: W 9, F 18. Fouled out: None.