Whitefish slays Ronan in divisional opener

Being the only senior on the court has its advantages.

Whitefish’s Jessica Slaybaugh found that out on Thursday as the 5-foot-4 guard held Whitefish together in a running standoff with Ronan in the opening round of the Northwestern A divisional girls basketball tournament.

A poised Slaybaugh went 4-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 15 points and Whitefish squeaked by Ronan 36-30 at Glacier High to move into today’s second round. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs will face top-seed Columbia Falls at 2 p.m.

“Jessica’s been an unbelievable leader, unbelievable,” Whitefish first-year coach Sean Duff said.

 The fourth-seeded Maidens (1-18) made a push in the final two minutes but the Bulldogs (2-17) got the job done thanks to free throws from Slaybaugh, Danielle McCully and Olivia Curtiss down the stretch.

Whitefish built a 10-point lead with just over three minutes to play when Ronan’s Ashley Grandchamp hit her first basket of the game, a 3-pointer that sparked a 9-2 Ronan run. Following two free throws from Nina Orozco, the Maidens trailed by only three, 33-30.

But Whitefish fought to the free throw line and made 3-of-6 without any kind of an answer from Ronan.

“It’s a great feeling for the kids. They’ve worked hard all year and we haven’t had the most successful season,” Duff said. “They play with heart every time. We’re still working on our skill level and our decision making but what better a learning opportunity than what we had tonight as far as situations when it’s crunch time.”

“I was impressed, I was proud of them,” Ronan coach Doug Fisher said. “Coming down the stretch they didn’t fold it in. They got after it and kept scrapping.”

Neither team could find a rhythm on offense and the word that both coaches used to describe why that was is “experience,” or lack thereof.

Ronan graduated five seniors from last year and played most of the night with two sophomores, two juniors and a freshman on the court.

Whitefish, with the game’s only senior in Slaybaugh, had returning players from last year’s team, but they’re few and far between.

Junior Olivia Nagler, who scored four points, and McCully, who had three, contributed on last year’s varsity squad that won in the first round of the divisional as well before being dropped by Columbia Falls.

“You can’t coach experience,” Fisher said.

Junior Alice Van Gunten led the Maidens with 11 points and Orozco, a sophomore, had six.

“I thought our girls played hard, played with a lot of heart,” Fisher said. “I thought Whitefish played a good game plan. We came out and hurt them inside early which is what we wanted to do and they switched into that 2-3 (zone) and packed it back in and we couldn’t hit a bucket from the outside.”

Ronan drops to loser-out play on Saturday against an undetermined seed.

“That’s why this game is great, divisionals are great with the excitement and the fans,” Duff said. “There’s a lot of adversity that these kids have come through and they still believe in what we’re all about. If you can get them to believe that and have them keep believing the sky’s the limit.”

Ronan    7    8    6    9    —    30

Whitefish    12    5    9    10    —    36

RONAN — Courtney Clairmont 0 0-1 0, Jonna Grant 1 2-3 4, Alice Van Gunten 5 1-4 11, Nina Orozco 2 2-2 6, Ashley Grandchamp 1 0-0 3, Katie Andrews 1 0-0 2, Tailyr Irvine 2 0-0 4, Mariah Cheff 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 5-10 30.

WHITEFISH — Olivia Nagler 1 2-5 4, Taylor Havens 1 2-2 4, Jessica Slaybaugh 5 4-8 15, Karissa DeMarco 0 1-2 1, Alayna Voigt 1 0-0 2, Jessica Poe 2 0-1 4, Danielle McCully 1 1-2 3, Olivia Curtiss 1 1-2 3. Totals 12 11-22 36.

3-point goals — Ronan 1 (Grandchamp), Whitefish 1 (Slaybaugh); Team fouls — Ronan 17, Whitefish 14; Fouled out — Havens.