Bigfork, Polson look to make state basketball a yearly habit

For Bigfork, advancing to state is beginning to look like an annual event.

For Polson, it was motivation this year to get back to the season ending finale.

Yes, both teams have qualified for their respective state tournaments, which begin today at two different locations.

Bigfork is on the Dale Berry Court at Hamilton High School for a 12:30 p.m. contest versus Townsend in Class B play.

That’s the opening game of first round play.

Polson faces Dillon at 2 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center in Class A action. That’s the second game of the day in the opening round.

Bigfork (19-6) enters with a little momentum, having won a challenge game to qualify for state.

Polson (16-4) lost in the Northwestern A championship game to Frenchtown.

“Three out of four years,” Bigfork coach Mark Hansen said of qualifying for state.

“I hope we’re at that point (of having a strong enough program to play at state every year).”

Bigfork, which has not lost a home game in three seasons, had two seven-game winning streaks this season.

The Valkyries are led by Melissa VanDerveer, Taylor Peck and McKinze Shults. VanDerveer averaged almost 11 points per game while Peck was at 10.

This is the third state tournament for those three players.

“We lost 80 percent of our scoring from last year,” Hansen said.

“The seniors have done a great job ... the younger kids have come along, progressed with the senior leadership.”

Bigfork, 22-2 last year, is ranked No. 3.

“They seem to be pretty athletic,” Hansen said of Townsend.

“A high scoring team. They played in the tough Southern B.”

Hansen said the Vals do not want to get involved in a run-and-gun affair with the Bulldogs.

“That’s not our pace anymore,” he said.

“I think we just compete, whatever the game is.”

Hansen said his players started off Monday with a good practice following a bye week between divisional and state.

“It’s hard to keep them focused when they are not playing that weekend,” he said.

“I thought they did a nice job (Monday).

“We gave them some time off after the challenge game. We practiced last week. It gave the kids with bumps and bruises some time to heal up. The kids that were ill had time (to recover).”

Hansen said the Vals played well in a divisional final loss to Loyola and should be tournament-ready thanks to several close contests during the regular season.

“I think that prepared us a little better this time around,” he said.

Like Hansen, Polson coach Randy Kelley had to contend with a week off from divisional to state.

“I don’t like it,” he said.

“We let the girls go to the state tournament to watch the boys ... get their mind off state a little bit.”

The Pirates are led by Riley Kenney, who is averaging 19.5 points per game. Polson also has four girls averaging six to seven points per game.

“We felt we should have gone last year (to state),” Kelley said.

“We used that as motivation this year.”

Polson lost in the first round of divisional play in 2011 and never had the chance for a challenge game to advance.

“This is the goal for anybody who does this crazy stuff — to get to state,” he said.

“The girls have been looking forward to it. It was disappointing not to get there last year.”

Polson, unlike several teams at state, won’t have to rely on a scouting report regarding its first-round foe. Polson and Dillon played back in December with the Pirates winning 49-36.

Polson outscored Dillon 16-4 in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Kenney paced the offense with 22 points.

“A pretty close game,” Kelley said.

“We won by 13, but a much closer game than that.

“They are a well-coached team,” he added.

“Undersized, but they play hard. Two evenly matched teams.

“They have some girls who were younger when we played them. They have stepped up (since then).”

Kelley said a couple overtime wins brought the Pirates closer together this season. He said the showing at divisional was very encouraging.

“I thought we played well, the first game with Columbia Falls,” he said.

“Frenchtown game (for championship) could have gone either way.”

If Polson and Bigfork win their openers, they advance to semifinal play on Friday night at 6:30. A loss means a trip to loser-out action Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.

 Libby and Columbia Falls were last year’s Northwestern A divisional state qualifiers.