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f0fs36 cf0 Bigfork girls fourth at Class A state

The Daily Inter Lake

BELGRADE 'd1 The Valkyries aren'd5t bringing home a trophy, but they left their mark among the state'd5s elite.

The Bigfork High School girls basketball team lost 54-53 to Livingston on Saturday night in a Class A state tournament consolation game, finishing fourth.

Bigfork junior post Alyssa Fierro had a monster game, scoring 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds.

'd2Alyssa, this tournament, stepped up and was one of the best players in the tournament,'d3 said Bigfork coach Nate Hammond. 'd2Points, rebounds and defense, she was just flat-out one of the best players in the tournament this week.'d3

Bigfork had a chance to win and claim third place when it moved the ball down the court with 6 seconds left, but the Valkyries were unable to score.

Hattie Bowen had 11 points and Charlene Miller 10 for the Valkyries, who rallied from early deficits.

'd2We were down 9-0 and we were down 21-11, and our kids battled back, and we actually led by one in the fourth quarter at one point,'d3 Hammond said.

The Northwestern A No. 1 seed Valkyries finish their breakout season with a 20-4 record.

'd2We were definitely one of the top four (teams at the tournament),'d3 Hammond said. 'd2We were right there. I think if we would have played (Livingston) 10 times, I think we would have beat them five.'d3

Livingston led 34-27 at halftime, but Bigfork out-rebounded the Central A No. 1 seed Rangers, 30-19.

'd2We'd5re really proud of the kids,'d3 Hammond said. 'd2We thought they grew a lot over these last four games and really made our community proud.

'd2We grew and got better through the season, but I think at the state tournament we played as well or better than we'd5ve ever played.'d3

Jaylee Haveman had eight points for the Valkyries, who were lifted by senior Carly Hilley'd5s solid guard play. Hammond said Hilley, who hit a 3-pointer against Livingston, excelled against opposing top-notch guards throughout the tournament.

'd2She was able to handle a lot of pressure, and she did a great job in that respect,'d3 Hammond said.

Bigfork lost to only three Class A teams this season: Columbia Falls, Glendive and Livingston. Each of those teams made the state tournament, including Glendive, which reached the championship game.

The Valkyries also lost to Class AA Missoula Big Sky.

'd2It'd5s great because the kids never gave up,'d3 Hammond said. 'd2They always felt like they were in it, and they battled every time we got behind. Every loss we had this year, all four of them, were quality losses.'d3

Sage Indendi led Livingston with 17 points, followed by Sara Meyer and Brianna Ackerman, who scored 14 and 12 points respectively. The Rangers finish 19-6.

Bigfork 10 17 13 13 'd1 53

Livingston 21 13 6 14 'd1 54

BIGFORK (20-4) 'd1 Hattie Bowen 5-10 0-0 11, Charlene Miller 3-5 4-6 10, Avery Vogel 0-2 1-2 1, Carly Hilley 1-4 0-0 3, Alyssa Fierro 8-8 0-0 16, Roxy Thurman 1-4 2-2 4, Jaylee Haveman 2-5 4-6 8. Totals 20-38 11-16 53.

LIVINGSTON (19-6) 'd1 Sara Meyer 7-17 0-5 14, Sage Indendi 7-14 1-2 17, Lydia Thiry 0-2 0-0 0, Brianna Ackerman 5-11 0-1 12, Brittany Carlson 1-4 0-0 2, Daedra Ackerman 0-1 0-0 0, Lilly Davaz 1-1 0-0 3, Kelsey Joronen 2-4 0-0 4, McKenzie Scofield 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-57 1-8 54.

3-point goals 'd1 Bigfork 2-4 (Hilley 1-1, Bowen 1-3), Livingston 5-11 (B. Ackerman 2-3, Indendi 2-4, Davaz 1-1, D. Ackerman 0-1, Thiry 0-1, Scofield 0-1). Rebounds 'd1 Bigfork 30 (Fierro 9), Livingston 19 (Meyer 4). Fouled out 'd1 Thurman, Vogel.

Bigfork 55, Havre 35

BELGRADE 'd1 Alyssa Fierro had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Bigfork overwhelmed Havre in loser-out action Saturday morning.

The Valkyries led 28-11 at halftime after holding Havre scoreless in the second quarter.

'd2We came out and played a diamond-in-one on (Havre guard Katie Mariani), who had 27 points (Thursday against Anaconda),'d3 said Bigfork coach Nate Hammond. 'd2We wanted to take her out of it and see what happened, and we got them out of the flow.'d3

Hammond said Charlene Miller and Roxy Thurman played excellent defense in limiting Mariani to two points. Mariani scored 18 points Friday against Miles City.

Northwestern A No. 1 seed Bigfork made 46.2 percent (18-for-39) of its shots from the field, compared to 25.5 percent (14-for-55) for Central A No. 2 seed Havre. The Valkyries hammered the Blue Ponies on the boards, out-rebounding them 37-24.

Carly Hilley and Hattie Bowen combined to score 17 points for the Valkyries, who improved to 20-3.

Lena Suek scored nine points, while Stephanie Stremcha notched six boards for the Blue Ponies, who finish 17-7.

Havre 11 0 9 15 'd1 35

Bigfork 16 12 11 16 'd1 55

HAVRE (17-7) 'd1 Hope Hedges 2-9 0-0 5, Katie Mariani 1-7 0-0 2, Stephanie Stremcha 2-10 0-0 4, Lena Suek 3-7 0-0 9, Christina Armstrong 1-4 0-0 3, Sarah Blessum 0-4 0-0 0, Cassie Darrah 1-4 0-0 2, Stacey Sheppard 1-2 0-0 3, Hannah Wells 1-2 0-2 2, Jenna McCann 1-5 0-2 2, Danika Patterson 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 14-55 1-6 35.

BIGFORK (20-3) 'd1 Hattie Bowen 3-7 1-3 8, Charlene Miller 1-4 3-4 5, Avery Vogel 1-1 2-2 4, Carly Hilley 4-8 1-2 9, Alyssa Fierro 8-16 1-4 17, Signa McLeod 0-0 1-2 1, Roxy Thurman 0-1 4-4 4, Emily Hardman 0-0 2-2 2, Jaylee Haveman 1-2 2-2 4, Kaemyn Meagher 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 18-39 18-27 55.

3-point goals 'd1 Havre 6-21 (Suek 3-6, Sheppard 1-1, Armstrong 1-2, Hedges 1-5, Blessum 0-2, Darrah 0-2, Mariani 0-2), Bigfork 1-4 (Bowen 1-2, Miller 0-1, Hilley 0-1). Rebounds 'd1 Havre 24 (Stremcha 6), Bigfork 37 (Fierro 14). Total fouls 'd1 Havre 21, Bigfork 14. Technical 'd1 Hilley.