Whitefish defense in the zone
Lady Bulldogs hold Eureka to 30 points
The Daily Inter Lake
WHITEFISH - The Lady Bulldogs are back over the hump.
The Whitefish High School girls basketball team grabbed an early lead Thursday night, protected it with suffocating defense, and capped it with a late run to beat visiting Eureka, 47-30.
The victory moves Whitefish to 5-4 in Northwestern A play and 6-9 overall, putting the Lady Bulldogs above .500 in conference play for the first time since losing at Eureka on Jan. 6.
Whitefish led 16-7 after one quarter and 19-13 at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half with an 8-0 burst and pulled away for good with a 12-0 run in the final frame.
Junior guard Ashley Ferda hit a trio of 3-pointers and led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points. Whitefish enjoyed a balanced offensive effort, including 10 points by junior forward Dana Labuda and five apiece from sophomore forward Kate Klundt and junior guard Chelsea Ray.
"The girls are sharing the ball," said Whitefish coach Tim Olson. "Ashley is limiting her shots, which is getting Dana involved and Kate involved and Chelsea Ray involved. And that's something we've been emphasizing - spreading the ball, getting those other girls some confidence because we're going to need some production from them down the stretch."
It was a frustrating evening for the Lady Lions, who dropped to 3-7 in Northwestern A play and 5-9 overall. Eureka scored 61 points against Whitefish last month, but couldn't find its rhythm in the rematch.
"We had the same looks tonight, and we were shooting air balls from six feet, eight feet," said Eureka coach John Hammond.
"Whitefish played good, aggressive defense. I didn't think their press hurt us like some have. I thought we handled that part of it fairly well, but in the half-court set we had trouble getting the ball in the hole."
The Lady Bulldogs began the game with a full-court press, but switched to a 2-3 zone once Olson felt they weren't forcing enough turnovers to justify the energy they were expending. Olson said playing zone allowed Whitefish to focus on Eureka standout Amy Roberts, limiting the 5-foot-11 senior to eight points.
Senior forward April Paden scored seven points while draining Eureka's only trey. She was followed by 6-0 sophomore post Briann Linnell, who scored six.
"We were glad to see the lead there in the second half so we could stay in that 2-3 zone," Olson said. "We've been relying on our press and a lot of man all year, so we haven't had game time for a good 2-3 zone, and that really allowed us to work on that."
The Lady Lions broke through for 12 points in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.
"Nobody ever really got off for us tonight," Hammond said. "I thought we could have attacked their press a little more because we were beating that front line of three, and then just content with beating that front line of three instead of having a three-on-two situation where numbers are in our advantage."
The Lady Bulldogs held an overwhelming advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Eureka, 34-21.
"Some of it was odd-bounce rebounds, some of it we just didn't block out," Hammond said. "They were in the right spot and we didn't get a body on them and block them out."
Ferda, Labuda and Klundt combined for 22 rebounds while Ray impressed Olson with her relentless hustle.
"The kids are clicking as a team, and the team concept is being sold throughout," Olson said.
"You can see it on the bench and in the locker room, and all the girls are starting to trust each other, and they're going to be tough to deal with at divisions."
Eureka and Whitefish are back in action tonight. The Lady Lions entertain Ronan at 7:30 while the Lady Bulldogs host second-place Columbia Falls at 8.
The Wildkats are 7-2 in conference, but lost by one point at Libby on Tuesday.
"(Kris) Salonen will have those girls fired up," Olson said of Columbia Falls' coach. "The rivalry itself will get them fired up enough, but coming off a disappointing loss that they probably felt they could have won, they'll be ready to go for sure, and it will be a great atmosphere (tonight)."
Eureka 7 6 5 12 - 30
Whitefish 16 3 13 15 - 47
EUREKA (5-9, 3-7) - Melanie Finch 1 0-0 2, Amy Roberts 4 0-0 8, Auna Lawler 0 2-2 2, Briann Linnell 2 2-2 6, April Paden 3 0-0 7, Mariah Newell 1 3-4 5. Totals 11 7-8 30.
WHITEFISH (6-9, 5-4) - Kirsten Blackburn 2 0-0 4, Kaitlin O'Leary 1 1-2 3, Ashley Ferda 6 1-3 16, Kali Schmidt 0 4-5 4, Dana Labuda 4 2-6 10, Kate Klundt 2 1-3 5, Chelsea Ray 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 10-21 47.
3-point goals - Eur. 1 (Paden 1), WF 3 (Ferda 3). Rebounds - Eur. 21, WF 34. Assists - Eur. NA, WF 6. Steals - Eur. 6, WF 12. Blocks - Eur. 3, WF 3. Turnovers - Eur. 18, WF 13. Total fouls - Eur. 17, WF 13. Fouled out - none.