Disappointing finish for Valkyries

HAMILTON - The unceremonious exit didn't suit the group so accustomed to post-game celebrations.

But the Valkyries' bitter-sweet tears and consolatory hugs were the outpourings known only to those who have tasted greatness.

The Bigfork High School girls' basketball team saw its season end Friday afternoon with a 67-35 loss to Miles City in loser-out action at the Class A state tournament.

The Cowgirls (19-3) relentlessly pressed and ran, just as they did last season en route to a state title. The Valkyries (19-3), meanwhile, fell short of last year's fourth-place finish.

Northwestern A champion Bigfork trailed by just two points, 23-21, at halftime, but Miles City hit three straight 3-pointers early in the third quarter, extending its lead to 32-22. The Valkyries' sudden deficit forced them to gamble throughout the second half, which worked largely in the Cowgirls' favor.

Bigfork committed 14 of its 25 turnovers after halftime, helping Miles City fire 70.6 percent from the field. The Cowgirls shot just 26.7 percent before the break, including 0-for-15 from beyond the arc, mostly against Bigfork's 1-3-1 zone.

"They hit those 3s, and we decided to roll into a little man-to-man," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said. "They held onto that lead, and you can't play a zone in the fourth quarter when you're behind, unless you're giving up.

"So, we played man, and they did a good job executing. They set their screens and got good looks."

Toriee Cahill hit the Cowgirls' first trey. The senior finished with a game-high 27 points, including 10 from the free-throw line.

But Miles City's attack was remarkably balanced. Ten Cowgirls reached the scoring column, and Miles City narrowly out-rebounded Bigfork, 32-30, despite no player grabbing more than five boards. Kalli Durham scored nine points, followed by Anna Magnuson with eight and Alexia Mader with seven.

"We hit some open 3s, and that opened up the middle a little bit for us," Miles City coach Cary Veis said. "Then we got some good, quick baskets off turnovers. Our defensive pressure turned up and really was a big plus for us."

The Valkyries didn't hit their first field goal until Alyssa Fierro's layin with 2:55 left in the first quarter. Fierro had Bigfork's only buckets of the third quarter, both of which came in the final two minutes.

A 6-foot-2 senior post, Fierro had 16 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the tournament. Fierro went 7-for-14 from the field, but the rest of the Valkyries were 5-for-23.

Bigfork shot 32.4 percent in the contest after leading Northwestern A with a 41.5 percent clip in the regular season.

"Offensively, we were a little out of synch," Hammond. "Yesterday, when we played Havre, it was the fifth game we had played in 30 days, and it makes it kind of tough.

"Practice-wise, you try to simulate a game, but it's tough because you can't."

Senior guard Avery Vogel tallied six points, two assists and two steals for the Valkyries, followed by senior guard Hattie Bowen with four points and four rebounds, and junior guard Roxy Thurman with four points and two steals.

Six-foot sophomore Kailey Fierro had a bucket and four boards.

The Cowgirls racked up 16 steals, led by Durham's five.

"We knew they were going to press, of course, but it did give us more trouble than we should have let it," Hammond said. "It's a different game when you get down here. It's a little differently officiated, it's a little differently played.

"Last year, I think the matchups worked in our favor a little bit after we lost that first game, and some things worked for us and gave us a good opportunity. The wheels kind of fell off (today). It's not a 30-point difference between us and Miles City, necessarily, I just think that the matchup didn't work."

Bigfork seniors Alyssa Fierro, Bowen, Vogel, Jaylee Haveman and Charlene Miller helped the Valkyries to their first Northwestern A title last year before repeating this season with a 10-0 mark. Four of the Valkyries' seven losses over the last two seasons came at state, and the other three came against opponents who made it there.

"We definitely reminded the kids of the success that they've had," Hammond said. "In every game, somebody's got to lose. We haven't been in that sad locker room very often - we've put a lot of other teams in that sad locker room.

"It ends for everybody sometime, and unless you win the state championship or get third, you lose your last game. We told the kids that there's teams that aren't crying this afternoon and aren't feeling bad because they got put out two weeks ago and they're over it."

"I think we accomplished a lot from where we started as a team, even though most of us had been playing together for a long time (before high school)," Alyssa Fierro said.

"Our first goal was to be conference champions. We accomplished that much. Coming from a small school, … I think we accomplished a lot just to have a 10-0 (conference) record. I think we came very far."

Bigfork 10 11 5 9 - 35

Miles City 14 9 19 25 - 67

BIGFORK (19-3) - Lila Cenis 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Hardman 1-2 0-0 2, Hattie

Bowen 0-4 4-6 4, Avery Vogel 1-4 4-4 6, Roxy Thurman 2-2 0-0 4, Alyssa Fierro

7-14 2-6 16, Mallery Knoll 0-2 0-0 0, Kailey Fierro 1-3 0-0 2, Jaylee Haveman

0-2 0-0 0, Signa McLeod 0-2 0-0 0, Ariana Shults 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 12-37 11-18

35.

MILES CITY (19-3) - Mary Gillette 0-3 2-3 2, Torrie Cahill 8-14 10-13 27,

Alexia Mader 2-6 1-2 7, Brilyn Steadman 1-5 0-0 2, Kaycee Cooley 1-6 2-2 4,

Laura Gillette 1-1 0-0 2, Mackenzie Maki 0-0 1-2 1, Kalli Durham 3-7 3-3 9,

Anna Magnuson 3-4 2-6 8, Taylor Handerson 1-1 2-2 5. Totals 20-47 23-33 67.

3-point goals - BF 0-1 (Knoll 0-1), MC 4-20 (Mader 2-5, Cahill 1-4,

Henderson 1-1, M. Gillette 0-2, Steadman 0-4, Durham 0-4). Rebounds - BF 30

(A. Fierro 11, Bowen 4, K. Fierro 4, Hardman 2, Haveman 2, Cenis, Vogel,

Thurman, McLeod, Knoll, team 2), MC 32 (Cooley 5, Magnuson 5, Steadman 4,

Durham 4, Cahill 3, L. Gillette 3, M. Gillette 2, Mader, Henderson, Jamie Lee

Kittelman, team 3). Assists - BF 4 (Vogel 2, A. Fierro, Haveman), MC 5

(Durham 2, M. Gillette, Mader, Steadman). Blocks - BF 1 (Thurman), MC 0.

Steals - BF 6 (Vogel 2, Thurman 2, Bowen, Haveman), MC 16 (Durham 5, Cahill

3, Steadman 3, M. Gillette 2, Cooley 2, Magnuson). Turnovers - BF 25, MC 10.

Total fouls - BF 23, MC 17. Fouled out - Thurman.