Bigfork drops Ronan; Polson slips past Libby

The Daily Inter Lake

BIGFORK - Roland Benedict sank two free throws with 2 seconds left to give Bigfork a four-point cushion as the Vikings knocked off Ronan 53-49 for a Northwestern A victory.

Benedict went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final quarter of the Northwestern A contest.

"We just played with composure and made our free throws when it counted," Bigfork coach Jim Epperly said.

"That's a good win for us. Hopefully we can get a win or two in the divisional (tournament)."

The Northwestern A divisional tournament starts Thursday at Glacier High School.

Brock Boll scored 10 points for Bigfork in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 15. He also had nine reobunds.

Scott Taylor pulled down 13 rebounds for the Vikings and tallied 12 points. Both are career highs.

Bigfork finished regular-season play 6-12 overall, 1-9 in league play. It was the first league win in two years for Bigfork.

Mike Fisher had 16 points for Ronan.

Ronan 10 9 13 17 - 49

Bigfork 6 14 12 21 - 53

Ronan - Moss Tanner 3 4-7 10, Mike Fisher 6 4-5 16, Ryon Hesselgesser 0 1-2 1, Makenzy Kelch 1 0-1 2, Jordan St. Clair 2 3-4 7, Nolan Harris 4 0-0 11. Totals: 16 12-19 49.

Bigfork (6-12, 1-9) - Roland Benedict 2 4-4 8, Levi Dockstader 2 0-1 5, Brock Boll 7 1-6 15, Garrett Pewe 4 4-6 12, Scott Taylor 4 4-6 12, Ben Sandry 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 14-25 53.

3-point goals: Harris (3); Dockstader; Team fouls: Ronan 20, Bigfork 16; Fouled out: St. Clair.

Polson 59, Libby 55

LIBBY - Jim Mee had another big offensive outing, tossing in 26 points, but it wasn't quite enough at Polson held on for a Northwestern A victory.

Both teams scored 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters.

Craig Bagnell was one of three Polson players to hit double-digit scoring. He tallied 14 while John Rausch had 13 and Zach Langston 10.

Polson 12 19 14 14 - 59

Libby 11 16 14 14 - 55

POLSON - Craig Bagnell 6 0-0 14, John Rausch 4 2-2 13, Waylon Michel 1 0-0 2, Tim Rausch 4 0-2 8, Aaron Clairmont 3 0-0 7, Ryan Kelley 1 3-6 5, Zach Langston 4 2-2 10. Totals: 23 7-12 59.

LIBBY - Zack Rowan 5 0-3 12, Conner Benson 1 0-0 2, Jim Mee 8 5-8 26, Joel Fuller 3 0-0 7, Bryan Cooper 2 0-0 4, Jordon Gragert 1 2-2 4. Totals: 20 7-13 55.

3-point goals: Bagnell (2), J. Rausch (3), Clairmont; Rowan (2), Mee (5), Fuller; Team fouls: Polson 12, Libby 12; Fouled out: None.

Whitefish 53,

Frenchtown 34

FRENCHTOWN - Whitefish ended regular-season play with a nonconference victory over Frenchtown.

The Bulldogs fell behind 3-0, but rolled from there.

"We came out and got a good team win," Whitefish coach Eric Stang said.

"Everyone got some playing time."

Colt Idol scored 17 points and Shawn Watterud 10 for Whitefish (10-8 overall).

Whitefish will compete in the Northwestern A tournament, which starts Thursday at Glacier.

Whitefish 14 19 7 12 - 53

Frenchtown 8 14 3 9 - 34

Whitefish - Matt Whitehead 2 2-2 7, Aaron Tkachyk 1 0-1 2, Shawn Watterud 2 5-7 10, Willie Roche 2 0-1 4, Marc Hotzfield 0 2-2 2, Colt Idol 6 4-7 17, Connor Silliker 2 0-0 4, Jake Smith 0 1-2 1, Brandon Prescott 0 1-2 1, Geoff Streeter 0 0-1 0, David FauntLeRoy 2 0-1 4. Totals: 17 15-26 53.

Frenchtown - Matt Block 1 1-2 3, Jesse Dahlberg 3 0-0 7, Cody Beierel 1 0-2 3, Nathan Davis 2 0-0 5, Cody Kirk 2 1-2 6, Tyler Wilde 2 0-0 4, Terry Nau 1 2-2 4, Kevin Ockler 0 2-3 2. Totals: 12 6-11 34.

3-point goals: Whitehead, Watterud, Idol; Dahlberg, Beierel, Davis, Kirk; Team fouls: Whitefish 14, Frenchtown 23; Fouled out: None.

Girls

Flathead 61, Helena 39

HELENA - Flathead exploded for 44 points in the final half to pull away from Helena High for a Western AA girls' basketball victory.

Flathead held a 17-16 edge at intermission.

Kendalyn Habel tallied 20 points, Ally Krautbauer 11 and Kaylyn Heaton 10 to power the Bravettes.

Keli Hubley had nine points for Helena High.

Flathead 13 4 23 21 - 61

Helena 10 6 8 15 - 39

Flathead - Shaina Evans 1-5 0-0 2; Kali Radel 0-2 0-0 0; Kendalyn Habel 9-26 2-2 20; Ally Krautbauer 5-9 0-0 11; Meghan O'Connell 3-9 3-5 9; Ashley Younkin 1-6 0-2 2; J. Zorn 2-2 0-0 4; S. Heaton 0-1 0-0 0; Ashley Brown 1-2 1-4 3; Kaylyn Heaton 5-9 0-0 10. Totals 27-71 6-12 61.

Helena High - Keli Hubley 2-8 5-7 9; Kelsey Williams 2-5 0-0 4; Sarah Sesselman 0-1 1-1 1; Sarah Jackson 0-6 0-0 0; Mariah Shein 1-8 2-2 5; Josie Grotbo 3-5 0-0 6; Alex May-Fraser 3-8 2-3 8; Mariah Miller 0-1 0-0 0; Taylor Kanthack 1-2 2-4 4; Monica Grimsrud 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 12-46 14-19 39.

3-point shots - Flathead 1 (Krautbauer). Helena 1 (Mariah Shein). Rebounds - Flathead 43 (Habel 6). Helena 43 (Williams 8). Total fouls - Flathead 18, Helena 15. Fouled out - Radel.

Capital 46, Glacier 26

HELENA - Capital used a fast start to subdue Glacier in a Western AA match.

The Bruins led 12-3 after the opening quarter and took a 16-9 advantage into the locker room at the half. Capital outscored Glacier 17-7 in the final frame to put it away.

Capital's Ashley Ames topped all scorers with 15 points.

Emilee Hashley paced Glacier with 13.

Glacier 3 6 10 7 - 26

Capital 12 4 13 17 - 46

Glacier - Kayla Smart 1-3 0-0 2, Kadie Latimer 0-6 0-0 0, Taylor Albright 0-0 0-1 0, Lindsea Vaudt 2-4 0-1 4, Emilee Hashley 6-13 1-3 13, Paige Latimer 0-4 0-0 0, Ashlee Waggener 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Sharaf 2-4 0-0 5.

Capital - Sammi Bignell 4-9 0-2 9, Kelsi Brekke 2-11 0-0 5, Becky Miros 1-2 0-0 0, Alecia Wilson 0-4 0-0 0, Markki Johnston 1-3 0-2 3, Kelsey Grey 1-1 0-1 2, Kadee Jones 1-6 1-3 3, Mikal Chancy 2-3 0-0 4, Ashley Ames 7-11 1-2 15, Megan Graff 1-2 1-2 3, Caity Pilgeram 0-1 0-0 0.

Rebounds-Glacier 27 (Smart, Hashley 5), Capital 41 (Ames 13). Assists-Glacier 6 (Paige Latimer 2), Capital 11 (Wilson 4). Blocks-Glacier 2 (Kadie Latimer, Waggener 1), Capital 2 (Brekke, Ames 1). Steals-Glacier 10 (Hashley 6), Capital 14 (Bignell 4). Turnovers-Glacier 21, Capital 19. Fouls-Glacier 17, Capital 14

Libby 33, Polson 26

LIBBY - A big fourth quarter allowed Libby to pull away from Polson in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Polson outscored Libby 13-5 in the third period to tie the Northwestern A contest at 20. Libby promptly outscored Polson in the final quarter 13-6 for the victory. Brittany Martin hit a big trey for the Loggers down the stretch and added a free throw. She tallied seven points for the game.

Libby's Jackie Mee was the lone player to hit double-figure scoring. She finished with 12.

Both teams will compete in the Northwestern A tournament, which begins Thursday at Glacier.

Polson 3 4 13 6 - 26

Libby 7 8 5 13 - 33

Polson (9-9, 4-6) - Jessica Buckless 0 0-3 0, Amanda James 1 3-5 5, Staci Benson 1 0-0 3, Rochelle Woods 1 0-0 2, Merilee Mowbray 4 0-2 8, Nicole Davey 2 0-0 4, Sarah Newton 2 0-0 4. Totals: 11 3-10 26.

Libby (13-5, 7-3) - Brooke Hageness 0 3-9 3, Holly Cirian 1 0-0 2, Korey Kulbeck 0 0-2 0, Brittany Martin 2 1-2 7, Jaime Gilden 2 1-2 5, Laice Dedrick 2 0-2 4, Jackie Mee 2 7-9 12. Totals: 9 12-26 33.

3-point goals: Benson, Martin (2), Mee; Team fouls: Polson 17, Libby 9; Fouled out: James.

Whitefish 53,

Frenchtown 36

WHITEFISH - Whitefish closed out the regular season with a 53-36 nonconference victory over Frenchtown.

Whitefish controlled the contest right from the opening tipoff, leading 13-7 and 24-12 after the first two quarter breaks.

Ashley Ferda scored 26 points for Whitefish.

Frenchtown 7 5 9 15 - 36

Whitefish 13 11 15 14 - 53

FRENCHTOWN - Lacey Lovell 3, Jenny Morse 5, Courtney Hedrick 2, Laura Geis 10, Jen Brown 3, Shelby Russ 8, Courtney Hochhalter 5.

WHITEFISH -- Torie Powell 2, Kate Klundt 2, Ashley Ferda 26, Dana Labuda 2, Chelsea Ray 13, McCara Cullen 2, Adele Fauntleroy 2, Amanda Ormsby 2, Olivia Nagler 2.