Northwestern A girls battle for state slots
If Northwestern A's reigning state representatives are to reach next month's Class A state tournament in Hamilton, they will do so via drastically different roads.
Bigfork (10-0 conference, 17-1 overall) owns the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye for this week's Northwestern A divisional girls' basketball tournament, which begins today at Glacier High School. Columbia Falls (1-9, 3-15), on the other hand, takes the floor tonight as a No. 6 seed after losing a coin flip to No. 5 Ronan (1-9, 5-13).
The Valkyries were divisional champions last winter before placing fourth at state. They won their second straight regular-season conference championship this year, and haven't lost since their season opener against Anaconda.
Bigfork hits the hardwood on Friday at 2 p.m., facing the winner of today's 2 p.m. clash between No. 4 Polson (4-6, 9-9) and Ronan.
"I think there's a little pressure," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said. "There's pressure because we feel like if we don't get out of that divisional tournament, it's kind of like all that success has been for naught, even though it hasn't.
"There's definitely pressure on us to win because we can - because we have the ability to. Pressure is a privilege. We have it, but it's a good thing."
Columbia Falls faces No. 3 Whitefish (7-3, 11-7) today at 6 p.m., with the victor meeting No. 2 Libby (7-3, 13-5) on Friday at 6 p.m.
Because Bigfork moved through its conference schedule unscathed, the Valkyries face the challenge of defeating divisional foes for a third time this season.
"It's tough to beat any team three times, and the reason is because the team that you beat twice knows they'll have to play well and play better than they did before, so they'll come in and do that," Hammond said.
"We can't feel like we can just do what we did all season and win. We have to play better than we played in the regular season because the teams we're playing will be playing better as well."
Bigfork is led by 6-foot-2 senior Alyssa Fierro, who averages 12.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game. The veteran Valkyries also feature Hattie Bowen (10.8 ppg), Roxy Thurman (10.6 ppg, 3.3 steals per game), Kailey Fierro (1.1 bpg) and Avery Vogel (6.1 assists per game).
Libby claimed the No. 2 seed by winning the head-to-head point-differential tiebreaker against Whitefish. Lady Loggers coach Jim May said he has no rooting interest in today's Columbia Falls-Whitefish showdown.
"There's no point in having one because we have no control over it," May said, "but whoever we play will be coming off of a win, and they'll be fired up."
The Lady Loggers boast the conference's top scorer in Jackie Mee (18.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg), along with Brittany Martin (9.6 ppg, 2.8 spg, 2.3 apg), Brooke Hageness (3.4 spg, 4.4 apg) and Laice Dedrick (5.5 rpg, 2.6 apg).
But the Lady Loggers' stifling defense has carried them in crunch time.
"If we can consistently hold teams down, we feel we can afford to spin our wheels a little bit on offense," May said. "It has been the catalyst for several rallies in games down the stretch when we were able to get two or three stops in a row."
All-around standout Ashley Ferda paces Whitefish with 15.8 points, 4.5 steals and 5.7 assists per game. Kate Klundt averages 12.1 points, 5.7 boards and 2.3 assists. Amanda Ormsby grabs 6.2 rebounds per game, and Dana Labuda and Desiree Clarke are defensive stalwarts.
Polson's Sarah Newton (5.9 rpg) and Merilee Mowbray (5.9 rpg) can pick the glass clean, while Jessica Buckless averages 4.1 steals.
Ronan's top scorer is Kaylee Larson (11.3 ppg). Mikailah Thompson is among the conference's top shot blockers with 1.8 per game, and Jordan Strozzi (2.5 spg) and Ali Anderson (2.4 spg) are takeaway artists.
Columbia Falls, which lost last year's core to graduation, has two double-digit scorers in Kelsey DeWitt (10.7 ppg) and Alyssa Ladenburg (10.0 ppg). The Wildkats feature three of Northwestern A's best rebounders in DeWitt (9.1 rpg), Samantha Ladenburg (8.1 rpg) and Sarah Marcille (7.8 rpg). DeWitt is a formidable shot blocker (1.4 bpg), while Alyssa Ladenburg leads the team in steals (2.2 spg) and assists (2.4 apg).
Northwestern A Divisional
Girls' Basketball Tournament
At Glacier High School
Today's First Round
2 p.m. - No. 4 Polson (4-6) vs. No. 5 Ronan (1-9)
6 p.m. - No. 3 Whitefish (7-3) vs. No. 6 Columbia Falls (1-9)
* No. 1 Bigfork (10-0) and No. 2 Libby (7-3) have first-round byes