Road warriors

By DILLON TABISH/The Daily Inter LakePolson's Nicole Davey seals win with two free throws in final seconds

WHITEFISH - The Polson Pirates are getting used to life on the road.

Nicole Davey hit two free throws with a tormenting Whitefish crowd in the background and 24 seconds remaining to give the Pirates a 44-41 victory over the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs on Saturday.

Whitefish rushed down the court looking for the 3-pointer, but were stuffed and the Pirates sealed their first win of the season in Class A girls basketball.

Davey finished with nine points, Breanne Kelley led her team with 12 and Rochelle Woods chipped in six for the Pirates, who have played all of their games this season on the road. Freshman Riley Kenney came off the bench and scored five in her team's conference victory.

"I was happy the way they (Polson) came back," Pirates coach Randy Kelley said afterward. "They (Polson) play with a lot of heart defensively."

Whitefish's Kate Klundt finished with 20 points, going 13-20 from the free throw line. She also scored her team's final six points. Jessie Slaybaugh finished with seven while Heather Melcer, Torie Powell and Paula Oliveira threw in four apiece.

The Pirates (1-2) jumped to an early lead in the first quarter after Davey scored four of her team's first six points. Polson went on to take a 13-7 lead. But Whitefish (1-4) came out in the second quarter and went on a 9-0 run midway through and finished the half with a 27-24 lead.

"We did some nice things in the second quarter, we were more in control," Whitefish coach Tim Olson said. "I think the kids kind of hit the panic button looking at the clock in a close ballgame like that. But that's part of playing and gaining valuable experience for down the stretch."

Olson used a different approach for a halftime speech and kept his girls on the court to watch the 1978 Lady Bulldogs team take the court for a 30th anniversary recognition. That team went 21-1 and won the state championship in Laurel.

Both teams came out cold in the second half but Polson was able to tie the game at 32-all heading into the final quarter.

"I thought Whitefish played a lot better tonight than they did against Glacier the other night," Kelley said. "They showed a lot of intensity. (Olson) gets his girls up."

Kelley's squad also came out in the final quarter with intensity, which sometimes translated into both team's getting into foul trouble.

"I thought Cali Hislop tonight played real well," he said. "She fouled out, might be the first time, but that shows me she's scrapping.

"That's what we want, to be able to scrap early and make things happen that way."

Polson finished 9-for-22 from the free throw line while Whitefish benefited more from the charity stripe, finishing 18-for-34.

"It certainly was a hack-fest out there," Olson said. "Coach Kelley does a great job, that's a tenacious Polson team, they always are. They're right in your face. It turned into a dogfight and both teams were living on the free throw line there for awhile."

Olson said his team is heading into the Christmas break with a few things on their wish list.

"We really got to take care of the basketball better," he said. "We had 30-some turnovers and gave them a bunch of second-shot opportunities.

"We have two weeks to work on limiting turnovers and defensive responsibilities on the glass. That's really going to be the key to our success. Those two things were written on the board before the ball game … But they came back to haunt us."

"We're gonna be able to build on this," Olson added.

As for Polson, Kelley said his team has a few items to take care of over the break as well.

"Turnovers and free throws once again," Kelley said. "We've been talking about this 'til we're blue in the face."

Polson 13 11 8 12 - 44

Whitefish 7 20 5 9 - 41

Polson - Amanda James 1 1-2 4, Sierra Pete 1 0-4 2, Breanne Kelley 5 2-4 12, Rochelle Woods 3 0-1 6, Riley Kenney 2 1-2 5, Nicole Davey 2 5-7 9, Sarah Newton 2 0-2 4, Cali Hislop 1 0-0 2. Totals - 17 9-22 44.

Whitefish - Jessie Slaybaugh 2 2-4 7, Torie Powell 2 0-1 4, Kate Klundt 3 13-20 20, Heather Melcer 1 1-4 4, Olivia Nagler 0 2-4 2, Paula Oliveira 2 0-1 4. Totals - 10 18-34 41

3-pointers - Polson 1 (James), Whitefish 3 (Slaybaugh, Klundt, Melcer); Team fouls - Polson 25, Whitefish 21; Fouled out - Polson (Hislop), Whitefish (Melcer)