Valkyries clinch Northwestern A

The Daily Inter Lake

BIGFORK - The Valkyries are conference champions.

The Bigfork High School girls basketball team clinched the Northwestern A regular season title and No. 1 divisional tournament seed Saturday night, beating Ronan, 61-25.

Bigfork finishes 11-1 in conference play (16-2 overall), edging second-place Columbia Falls, which finished 10-2. The Valkyries only losses came at Columbia Falls and Class AA Missoula Big Sky.

Ronan wraps up its regular season with a 3-9 conference record (6-12 overall) and No. 7 tournament seed.

The Valkyries still have to take first or second at this week's divisional tournament in Eureka to reach the state tournament, but Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said winning the regular season championship fulfilled a team goal.

Hammond said the Valkyries used thoughts of a conference crown to stay focused and motivated the last few weeks, knowing they were assured at least second place in the Northwestern A.

"That's one of the things we talked about is, 'Hey, we can win this conference,'" Hammond said. "It's not the big one, it's not the one that matters, but it's something that we can focus ourselves on before a game and say, 'We come out and win this one, we can be the conference champs. Bigfork girls basketball teams in Class A have never been there. We can do something here that hasn't been done before.'"

Saturday's game commenced with 6-foot-2 Bigfork post Alyssa Fierro controlling the opening tip (without jumping) against 5-2 Ronan guard Stephanie Salomon. It finished with Bigfork freshman Emily Hardman draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the middle was dominated by the Valkyries as well.

Bigfork led 14-2 after the first quarter and 33-5 at halftime. But Ronan's offense came to life in the second half, thanks largely to sophomore guard Jordan Strozzi, who hit three treys while scoring all 12 of her points after halftime.

Senior Carly Hilley led the Valkyries with 11 points as Bigfork's three seniors combined for 25. Jamie Halliday scored eight points and Kaemyn Meagher added six.

"Those kids are extremely good team players and good leaders," Hammond said. "They know they need those younger kids, and you need a whole team to be successful. There's no animosity, there's no greed. They just want to win and they want to have success.

"It's rare for coaches to keep seniors if they have to bring them off the bench, but not these kids. They're in it for the right reasons and they have their hearts set on the right things and they just want success for the team. Those kind of kids are invaluable."

Hilley said clinching a No. 1 seed in Bigfork's final home game was crucial to the Valkyries as they enter the postseason.

"We all worked so hard for this and it's a great way to kick off the divisional tournament," Hilley said "It's just a payoff for all of our blood, sweat and tears, and it feels really good."

Hilley led Bigfork with six steals and four assists.

"We were ready to go tonight and we knew that we had to come out and have a good game now so that we can have a good chance in the tournament because that's where it's important," Hilley said.

Halliday grabbed seven of Bigfork's 33 rebounds.

"I guess it's always good to contribute, but I just feel like it doesn't really matter how well I do, just as long as the team does well," Halliday said.

According to Halliday, the Valkyries' outstanding team chemistry has been the biggest factor in their success this season.

"We really blend well, we're really good friends," Halliday said. "I've never been more comfortable with another group of girls. I think being selfless and just getting along with each other is really important."

Junior Charlene Miller scored eight points for Bigfork while juniors Fierro, Hattie Bowen and Jaylee Haveman scored six apiece.

"Jaylee Haveman is a kid whose talent level is extremely high, and it fits her well to come in off the bench because of the style that we play," said Hammond, adding that Haveman is good enough to be a starter, but personifies Bigfork's unselfishness by excelling in a reserve role without complaint.

Meagher said securing a conference title in her last home game was "absolutely" the highlight of her Bigfork career.

"Senior night, we knew it was coming, but there's always that nervousness like you might not score or whatever, so it was great," Meagher said. "It paid off - all those practices and everything. It finally came around."

Hammond said the Valkyries have improved steadily over their last few games - a trend that he hopes will continue in Eureka.

"The trick is to try to peak and to keep playing well all tournament," Hammond said. "It's hard because you have ups and downs in a season and it's hard to make sure you're playing well at the end."

Bigfork earns a first-round bye with its top seed, and plays Friday night at 8 against the victor of Thursday's Polson/Eureka game. Ronan faces Columbia Falls on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Ronan 2 3 10 10 - 25

Bigfork 14 19 18 10 - 61

RONAN (6-12, 3-9) - Ashlee Cheff 2 0-0 4, Stephanie Salomon 0 0-2 0, Jordan Strozzi 4 1-2 12, Ishan Wylie 2 3-7 7, Carli Starkel 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 4-11 25.

BIGFORK (16-2, 11-1) - Charlene Miller 3 2-3 8, Jamie Halliday 4 0-2 8, Roxy Thurman 0 2-2 2, Hattie Bowan 1 4-4 6, Avery Vogel 2 0-0 5, Carly Hilley 2 5-6 11, Alyssa Fierro 3 0-0 6, Jaylee Haveman 3 0-2 6, Kaemyn Meagher 2 2-3 6, Emily Hardman 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 15-22 61.

3-point goals - Ron. 3 (Strozzi 3), BF 4 (Hilley 2, Vogel 1, Hardman 1). Rebounds - Ron. NA, BF 33. Assists - Ron. NA, BF 11. Steals - Ron. NA, BF 14. Blocks - Ron. NA, BF 3. Turnovers - Ron. NA, BF 12. Total fouls - Ron. 18, BF 11. Fouled out - none.