Lady Bulldogs roll on
WHITEFISH - With four straight conference wins under their belts, and a showdown with Northwestern A leader Bigfork looming, the Lady Bulldogs had no interest in losing their momentum. So they took a step forward - or 75.
Kate Klundt scored a career-high 25 points, and Ashley Ferda notched a triple-double on Thursday night as the Whitefish High School girls' basketball team cruised to a 75-39 nonconference victory over Eureka.
Four players scored in double figures for Whitefish, which trailed 10-6 midway through the first quarter before closing the frame with an 11-2 run and exploding for 28 points in the second quarter to mount a 45-21 halftime lead.
The Lady Bulldogs shot 60 percent from the field (30 for 50), thanks largely to 41 Eureka turnovers, which turned their offense into a virtual layup line.
A junior guard, Klundt scored 17 points in the opening half, including 11 in the first quarter. Ferda, a senior guard, finished with 13 points, 10 steals and 10 assists. Senior post Amanda Ormsby added 11 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Chelsea Ray tallied 10 points.
Whitefish (6-1 Northwestern A) improved to 9-5 overall, while District 8-B front runner Eureka (5-1 conference) dropped to 6-8.
"We're on a roll in the conference, things are going well," Whitefish coach Tim Olson said. "We did not want to take a step backwards. We don't overlook anybody. Eureka has a great program there."
Whitefish's 56.5 point scoring average leads Northwestern A, but Klundt said the Lady Bulldogs have been working toward an even higher gear.
"We always just try to push each other to score as much as we can and pass the ball," she said. "And I just feel like it was about time that we stepped it up and made some shots."
Olson agreed.
"We wanted an up-tempo game," he said. "We went back and looked at the film from the year, and our best quarters are when we're playing some up-tempo ball.
"We really stressed that in practice this week, and the girls responded. After a little bit of a slow start, we got 'er going and got up and down the floor."
Sophomore post Stephanie Vogelman paced a balanced Eureka offense with 13 points. Junior guard Auna Lawler added nine points, followed by senior forward Melanie Finch with eight. Sophomore forward Marni Zauner grabbed a game-high six boards.
The Lady Lions resume 8-B play tonight when they host Plains.
"We have two conference games left," Eureka coach John Hammond said. "If we win them both, we finish on top of the conference. That is what we've focused on when we've had an A game and a conference game in the same week - obviously the conference game is a bigger deal."
Whitefish had the same perspective.
"We definitely need to be ready to go for divisionals, and we have Bigfork next week, which is a really big game for us," Klundt said.
The Lady Bulldogs are off until next Thursday when they visit the Valkyries (8-0 Northwestern A), who beat them 55-41 three weeks ago.
Olson said he isn't worried about his veteran squad growing overconfident from its impressive outburst.
"They're not going to be patting themselves on the back," he said. "We've got some things we need to work on this week in practice.
"Rebounding is definitely a key for us down the stretch in the conference. We've been out-rebounded by our conference opponents, and it's something we're going to hit tomorrow in practice."
Eureka 12 9 8 10 - 39
Whitefish 17 28 16 14 - 75
EUREKA (6-8) - Marni Zauner 1 0-0 2, Melanie Finch 3 2-2 8, Auna Lawler 4 0-1 9, Rica Fils 2 0-4 4, Stephanie Vogelman 6 1-4 13, Mariah Newell 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 4-13 39.
WHITEFISH (9-5) - Torie Powell 0 1-2 1, Kate Klundt 10 5-5 25, Ashley Ferda 5 2-2 13, Desiree Clarke 3 0-0 6, Dana Labuda 3 1-6 7, Chelsea Ray 4 2-2 10, McCara Cullen 1 0-0 2, Amanda Ormsby 4 3-4 11. Totals 30 14-21 75.
3-point goals - Eur. 1 (Lawler), WF 1 (Ferda). Team fouls - Eur. 17, WF 17. Fouled out - none.