Late 3-pointers lift Lady Bulldogs in double OT
WHITEFISH - Junior guards Chelsea Ray and Ashley Ferda made dramatic 3-pointers Thursday night, and the Whitefish High School girls basketball team edged Libby 53-48 in a Northwestern A double-overtime thriller.
With her team trailing by three points, Ray drained a trey with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime at 35-all. The Lady Loggers led 45-42 late in overtime, but Ferda's 3-pointer over two defenders with 2.8 seconds left forced a second overtime, allowing Whitefish to pull away for the victory.
Ferda had a monster game, scoring 27 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing five assists. She sank all 10 of her free-throw attempts, including six after regulation, and one of her assists led to Ray's game-saving 3-pointer.
"Tonight we got over the hump as far as trusting the other kids on the floor," said Whitefish coach Tim Olson. "Ashley had the chance to shoot that one at the end of regulation, but she had her eyes up and made a great pass to Chelsea Ray - put the trust in her.
"The kids are starting to step forward and we're playing as a team. The kids were high-fiving and having some fun tonight, and that's the first time we've seen that all year."
Ray finished with seven points, but she hadn't scored before launching her shot from beyond the arc with the game on the line.
"Chelsea Ray is out there to compete and to play," Olson said. "A competitor like that just wants the ball at the end, and Ashley gave it up and Chelsea Ray stepped up and made a big shot."
Whitefish evened its conference record at 4-4 and moved to 4-9 overall. Libby fell to 2-7 in conference play and 5-9 overall.
"That was pretty crazy," said Libby coach Jim May. "It was just kids stepping up to the plate and making plays down the stretch, and that's fun to see teenagers do. We made a few, they made a few, and that's cool. We got the lead, they got it back. It was exciting."
Freshman wing Jackie Mee led the Lady Loggers with 19 points, followed by sophomore wing Brittany Martin, who scored 13.
The Lady Loggers led 14-9 at halftime, but missed eight free-throw attempts, including five in the fourth quarter.
"If you play that game 10 times it's going to end 10 different ways," May said. "But we make a free throw or two and we have a four-point lead or a five-point lead. We just missed too many free throws down the stretch."
The Lady Bulldogs out-rebounded Libby 30-15, thanks largely to 5-foot-8 sophomore forward Kate Klundt, who grabbed eight boards.
"She came out and played like a bulldog there that second half, battled kids bigger than her," Olson said. "She has the desire to get every loose ball, every rebound. That's her mentality every day in practice and it's paying off."
Olson said the game ranks among the wildest he has seen. Whitefish scored just two points in the first quarter and made only three field goals the entire first half.
"We could have really folded up the tent and packed it in at halftime," Olson said. "We showed nothing in that first half. We challenged them at halftime and then crazy things started happening in the second half."
Whitefish had lost five of its last six games and appeared headed toward its third straight defeat before Ray's and Ferda's late-game heroics.
"'Belief' is a big word I've been using with these kids these last few games," Olson said. "I believe in these kids. You go on a losing streak there and they maybe start to doubt themselves, but never have I doubted any of these kids - their effort, their desire to win. I think this may get us over the top, maybe get things rolling in the right direction."
The Lady Bulldogs look to start a winning streak Saturday evening when they entertain Hamilton in a non-conference game at 6:30.
The Lady Loggers are host to Columbia Falls on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Libby 6 8 7 14 10 3 - 48
Whitefish 2 7 13 13 10 8 - 53
LIBBY (5-9, 2-7) - Ashley Brossman 2 0-1 4, Holly Cirian 1 1-3 3, Laice Dedrick 1 1-2 3, Brooke Hageness 0 3-7 3, Korey Kulbeck 1 0-0 3, Brittany Martin 5 3-3 13, Jackie Mee 7 2-2 19. Totals 17 10-18 48.
WHITEFISH (4-9, 4-4) - Kaitlin O'Leary 0 1-2 1, Ashley Ferda 7 10-10 27, Kali Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Desiree Clarke 2 0-0 5, Dana Labuda 2 1-2 5, Kate Klundt 2 0-0 4, Chelsea Ray 2 2-3 7, Torie Powell 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 14-17 53.
3-point goals - Lib. 4 (Mee 3, Kulbeck 1), WF 5 (Ferda 3, Ray 1, Clarke 1). Rebounds - Lib. 15, WF 30. Assists - Lib. NA, WF 9. Steals - Lib. NA, WF 8. Turnovers - Lib. 21, WF 15. Total fouls - Lib. 19, WF 21. Fouled out - Lib. 1 (Dedrick), WF 1 (Klundt).