Valkyries cruise past Wildkats
Three Bigfork players score in double figures
COLUMBIA FALLS - The Wildkats had to pick their poison, and both options proved lethal.
The Bigfork High School girls' basketball team made Columbia Falls pay from the paint and the perimeter Thursday night en route to a 55-36 Northwestern A victory.
Three players scored in double figures for Bigfork, which raced to a 37-19 halftime lead in a showdown between last season's conference champion and runner-up.
Hattie Bowen led the Valkyries with 17 points, followed by Alyssa Fierro and Roxy Thurman with 13 apiece.
Bowen and Thurman combined for five 3-pointers against a Columbia Falls zone defense that also had to contend with Fierro's post presence.
"We just executed really well in our zone offense," Bowen said. "That opened it up and we got a lot of great shots, and we hit the shots. When we do that, it really opens things up for us because we've got the inside-out game."
The Valkyries used two first-half runs to build a lead that never closed below 15 points after the break. Bigfork finished the first quarter with a 12-3 spurt before ending the second quarter on a 15-2 tear.
Bigfork improved to 2-0 in Northwestern A play and 4-1 overall, while Columbia Falls dropped to 0-1 in conference and 1-4 overall.
"When our guards are taking care of the ball and giving us some scoring from the outside, it opens it up for us," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said. "That's the way zone defenses always work.
"You can execute the plan but not make outside shots when you have them, and we were able to knock some down tonight, and that really helps. It's a big key for us because teams are going to give us those a lot of times, it seems like, and we've got some good shooters."
Kailey Fierro scored six points off the bench for Bigfork, and no defense could have stopped Bowen's second trey - a half-court heave at the first-quarter buzzer.
Columbia Falls coach Dan Fairbank said the key to Bigfork's attack is balance created by multiple scoring threats.
"When you have a 6-foot-3 post player that's as solid as (Alyssa) Fierro, and then you have Hattie Bowen, who's a very good outside shooter, Avery Vogel, who's a good outside shooter, and Roxy Thurman … they're a very solid ball club," Fairbank said.
Alyssa Ladenburg and Kelsey DeWitt paced the Wildkats with 10 points apiece, while Samantha Ladenburg and Sarah Marcille each notched five points.
Alyssa Ladenburg unleashed a full-court laser pass to Cedar Smith in the first quarter, which Smith converted into a layup to pull Columbia Falls within two points.
But Bigfork's pressure defense gave the Wildkats plenty of problems as they struggled to string enough productive possessions together to mount a comeback.
"We had it within five points midway through the second quarter, and that's when that press got to us and we turned the ball over for them to get layups on us," Fairbank said.
"We need to learn how to handle the pressure. The bottom line for us is that when teams pressure, we're just getting in a panic mode and turning the ball over."
Columbia Falls isn't the first team to struggle against Bigfork's veteran defense. The Valkyries held Libby to 35 points in their conference opener before limiting Eureka to 33 last week.
"We have a really strong 1-3-1 defense, and it's what we take pride in," Bowen said.
"We just work really well as a defensive unit. When we rebound and get out and run, it just starts our offense."
Bigfork 20 17 10 8 - 55
Columbia Falls 11 8 9 8 - 36
BIGFORK (4-1, 2-0) - Hattie Bowen 6 2-2 17, Avery Vogel 1 1-4 3, Roxy Thurman 4 3-4 13, Alyssa Fierro 5 3-5 13, Kailey Fierro 3 0-0 6, Jaylee Haveman 1 0-0 2, Mallery Knoll 0 1-4 1, Ariana Shults 0 0-1 0. Totals 20 10-20 55.
COLUMBIA FALLS (1-4, 0-1) - Alyssa Ladenburg 4 2-2 10, Cedar Smith 2 0-0 4, Sarah Marcille 2 0-0 5, Cortny Westgard 1 0-2 2, Samantha Ladenburg 2 1-4 5, Kelsey DeWitt 5 0-3 10. Totals 16 3-11 36.
3-point goals - BF 5 (Bowen 3, Thurman 2), CF 1 (Marcille). Total fouls - BF 15, CF 17. Fouled out - none.