Lady Bulldogs rally, drop Glacier
Whitefish High School’s Ashley Ferda, left, and Glacier’s Kayla Smart battle for a loose ball Friday night during second-quarter action at Glacier. Garrett Cheen/Daily Inter Lake
The Lady Bulldogs picked the right time to heat up - and the perfect time to stay cool.
The Whitefish High School girls' basketball team scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and drained six free throws in overtime Friday night to edge Glacier 57-55 in nonconference play.
The Lady Bulldogs shot just 20 percent from the field in the first half, and trailed 32-26 after three quarters, but junior guard Kate Klundt scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to pace a furious rally.
Klundt hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and converted and old-fashioned 3-point play.
"We were playing pretty cold and we weren't really trusting each other and passing it," Klundt said of the first three quarters. "But once we got going, I knew we could do it. I just trusted my teammates, and I think we all pulled it together and passed as a team."
Klundt totaled 21 points, four rebounds and five steals before fouling out near the end of regulation. Her teammates picked up the slack, going 6-for-8 from the charity stripe in overtime.
Torie Powell, Desiree Clark and Amanda Ormsby each made two free throws in overtime, while Powell and Ormsby added a bucket apiece.
"We spend a lot of time shooting free throws," Whitefish coach Tim Olson said. "We concentrate on making them because there are consequences for not making them in practice.
"The kids practice hard with their free throws, and it showed tonight. We stepped up and made some big shots."
Ashley Ferda had 13 points, five rebounds and four steals for Whitefish, while Ormsby tallied 10 points and a team-high six boards.
Whitefish's strong finish overshadowed Glacier's best performance of the season. The Wolfpack displayed solid defense and ball movement, leading after each of the first three quarters.
Kayla Smart notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Emilee Hashley scored a team-high 14 points to go with seven boards, and Kadie Latimer went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line en route to 12 points. Linsea Vaudt totaled eight points, including a pair of first-half 3-pointers.
"The only feeling I have is how proud I am of how well they played the game tonight," Glacier coach Doug Hashley said. "They've been playing hard since we started, but now they put a lot of things together, and they just worked as a team tonight.
"They made some great passes to each other. I thought our defense was pretty dang good."
Class A Whitefish improved to 2-1, while Class AA Glacier fell to 0-4 in its first season.
The late momentum shift was palpable, but the Wolfpack weathered the storm several times. Glacier led twice in overtime, including 53-52 with 2:04 to play, thanks to a pair of Emilee Hashley free throws.
"I'm really proud of the girls for having that chance to win," coach Hashley said.
"I'm excited for these girls. We're on the right track. And that (first) win will be well earned. When it comes, it will be well earned."
The Wolfpack shot 47.6 percent in the first half and 37.5 percent on the night, but committed 31 turnovers, keeping the Lady Bulldogs within striking distance.
Whitefish's greater experience showed as the Lady Bulldogs trapped and pressed the Wolfpack whenever it started to look comfortable.
Glacier is off until next Friday when it kicks off Western AA play at Missoula Sentinel.
Whitefish is back in action today, hosting Polson at 6 p.m. in the Northwestern A opener for both teams.
Olson said the Lady Bulldogs can't afford another slow start.
"We didn't come ready to play in the first half tonight," he said. "We were jogging up and down the floor, there was no intensity defensively.
"We had a nice talk at halftime about bringing some intensity, and the girls certainly did it. They kind of waited until the fourth quarter to get 'er done."
Whitefish 11 6 9 21 10 - 57
Glacier 12 13 7 15 8 - 55
WHITEFISH (2-1) - Torie Powell 1 2-3 4, Kate Klundt 6 7-10 21, Ashley Ferda 4 3-5 13, Desiree Clarke 0 2-2 2, Dana Labuda 1 3-4 5, Amanda Ormsby 4 2-4 10. Totals 16 19-28 57.
GLACIER (0-4) - Kayla Smart 6 0-0 12, Jolee Kampf 1 1-2 3, Kadie Latimer 2 7-7 12, Lindsea Vaudt 3 0-0 8, Emilee Hashley 4 6-10 14, Maddey Frey 0 1-3 1, Ashlee Waggener 2 1-4 5. Totals 18 16-26 55.
3-point goals - WF 4 (Klundt 2, Ferda 2). Rebounds - WF 38, Gla. 50. Steals - WF 14, Gla. 14. Turnovers - WF 21, Gla. 31. Team fouls - WF 22, Gla. 26. Fouled out - Klundt, Labuda, Vaudt, Frey, Waggener.