Lady Bulldogs bounce back

HAMILTON - With 1.5 seconds left and the game tied, Lady Bulldogs coach Tim Olson flashed his biggest smile of the night.

Meanwhile, Amanda Ormsby paced around the foul line, collecting her thoughts after missing the front end of a crucial double bonus. The senior post isn't the team's best free-throw shooter, but there was no one else Olson would rather have seen at the stripe.

Ormsby, who missed last season after injuring her right knee two years ago, calmly swished her final free throw, extending her prep career and her team's postseason.

There were plenty of heroes Friday afternoon as the Whitefish High School girls' basketball team edged Dillon 51-50 in loser-out action at the Class A state tournament.

Ormsby's game-winning foul shot capped a stirring team effort, sending the Lady Bulldogs to today's 9:30 a.m. loser-out contest against Havre with a berth in tonight's 6:30 consolation game on the line.

"Amanda's an emotional kid, and when I'm looking at her at the free-throw line shooting that last one, the first thing that flashed through my mind was her injury as a sophomore," Olson said.

"She didn't get to play at all last year, and the rehab that she had to go through just to play basketball this senior season - I see her standing on that line with 1.5 seconds left, and there isn't a bigger thrill for me as a coach than to have her step up there and make that game-winning free throw."

The Lady Bulldogs (14-9) and the Southwestern A runner-up Beavers (11-12) played through eight ties and six lead changes before Whitefish finally sealed the win. Dillon led 26-24 at halftime, but Whitefish used a 13-8 third quarter to go ahead by three, 37-34, entering the final frame.

Dillon junior Grace Zitzer converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to force a 50-all tie with 35.1 seconds remaining. The Beavers had a chance to win the game on their final possession, but their inbounds pass sailed out of play with 9.4 seconds to go.

Senior guard Desiree Clarke took Whitefish's final shot from the field, and Ormsby snatched the ball out of the air before falling to the court to the sweet sound of a whistle.

"I just knew that I had to get the rebound if we did miss it, and then try to put it back up," Ormsby said. "I ended up falling on my butt and said, 'Yes! I got fouled.'

"I got to the line, and I thought that first one was in, but it popped out. I was just like, 'Well, we're not going to lose if I don't make this.' I just made sure I breathed and relaxed and just put it in."

Senior guard Ashley Ferda led Whitefish with 19 points and seven rebounds despite aggravating her own sore knee while crashing into a Dillon screen early in the third quarter. Ormsby finished with eight points, six boards and two steals.

"It was a gutty effort by the team, all the way down bench," Olson said.

"Ferda - you look at her: 19 points, seven boards.

"She makes everybody better. She's a tough kid. She's happy as heck for the team."

Clarke sparked the Lady Bulldogs with six points, two assists and four steals, while senior guard Chelsea Ray added eight points, two rebounds and two assists. Junior Kate Klundt finished with six points and a team-high three assists.

"We didn't want to end losing on a Friday in state," Clarke said. "We've all been at state before - two years ago - so we know how it is with all the pressure and stuff."

The Lady Bulldogs struggled under that pressure Thursday night during a 53-33 first-round loss to Livingston. Clarke said Whitefish's turnaround was a matter of desire.

"I think the biggest thing probably was not wanting to be done playing for the year," she said, "because for some of us, it's the last time playing basketball ever."

Zitzer led Dillon with 17 points and six rebounds. Senior Susanne Rehse and freshman Alex Brammer combined for 21 points, but the 5-foot-10 Ormsby helped limit 6-3 Beavers senior Hayley Pettit to four points and six boards.

"It's awesome that I got to help the team win this one," Ormsby said. "It was a great team effort, we played well.

"Last night, we were scared, and tonight, we just really came out and did it together. It was awesome."

Dillon 12 14 8 16 - 50

Whitefish 13 11 13 14 - 51

DILLON (11-12) - Alex Brammer 3-8 1-4 10, Whitney Thomas 0-1 0-2 0, Anna

Brammer 2-6 2-2 7, Susanne Rehse 4-5 3-5 11, Kelsi Nordahl 0-4 1-2 1, Jacy

Suenram 0-2 0-0 0, Grace Zitzer 6-9 5-5 17, Hayley Pettit 2-4 0-0 4. Totals

17-39 12-20 50.

WHITEFISH (14-9) - Torie Powell 0-1 1-2 1, Kate Klundt 1-1 4-4 6, Ashley

Ferda 7-14 2-4 19, Desiree Clarke 3-6 0-0 6, Dana Labuda 1-1 1-2 3, Chelsea

Ray 3-7 2-2 8, Amanda Ormsby 2-5 4-7 8. Totals 17-35 14-21 51.

3-point goals - Dil. 4-12 (Al. Brammer 3-5, An. Brammer 1-3, Suenram 0-2,

Thomas 0-1, Zitzer 0-1), WF 3-9 (Ferda 3-8, Ray 0-1). Rebounds - Dil. 27

(Zitzer 6, Pettit 6, Rehse 4, Nordahl 4, Al. Brammer 2, An. Brammer, team 4),

WF 23 (Ferda 7, Ormsby 6, Ray 2, Klundt, Clarke, Labuda, team 5). Assists -

Dil. 10 (Nordahl 3, Pettit 3, Al. Brammer 2, Thomas, Rehse), WF 10 (Klundt 3,

Ferda 2, Clarke 2, Ray 2, Labuda). Blocks - Dil. 2 (Al. Brammer, Zitzer), WF

0. Steals - Dil. 5 (Nordahl 2, Al. Brammer, Thomas, Pettit), WF 10 (Clarke

4, Ormsby 2, Powell, Klundt, Ferda Ray). Turnovers - Dil. 18, WF 11. Total

fouls - Dil. 16, WF 17. Fouled out - none.