DIVISIONAL RESULTS--FRI., 2-27
February 28, 2009 Northwest Montana A Conference
GIRLS BASKETBALL DIVISIONAL
GM 3--COLUMBIA FALLS 54 WHITEFISH 33;
GM 4--BIGFORK 56 LIBBY 33
SAT. GAMES
GIRLS BASKETBALL DIVISIONAL
GM 5--RONAN VS WHITEFISH 10:45 AM
GM 6--POLSON VS LIBBY 10:45 AM (FLATHEAD)
GM 7--WINNER GM 5 VS WINNER GM 6 CONSOLATION 4 PM
GM 8--COLUMBIA FALLS VS BIGFORK CHAMPIONSHIP 8 PM
C-Falls rolls past Whitefish in semisBy DAVID LESNICK/The Daily Inter LakePublished: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:28 AM CST Whitefish's game plan was simple - contain the inside game of Columbia Falls, led by 6-foot-1 junior Kelsey DeWit and 6-0 sophomore Kayla DeWit, as much as possible.
"I thought we did a great job of packing it in, doubling down on those big girls," Whitefish coach Tim Olson said.
So much so that Kelsey DeWit finished with just 4 points and Kayla DeWit added 10.
What Olson didn't count on was Alyssa Ladenburg and Shay Grilley.
Ladenburg, a senior guard, scored a season-best 18 points and Grilley, a junior forward, also had her season high offensively with 14 as the Wildkats rolled to a 54-33 girls basketball victory on Friday in the semifinal round of the Northwestern A divisional basketball tournament at Glacier High School.
Ladenburg scored 8 points in the opening period and Grilley hit a couple of key treys in the middle quarters helping the Wildkats, 12-7 overall, advance to the championship game tonight at 8 p.m. versus Bigfork.
"Their point guard is a competitor," Olson said of Ladenburg.
"She passed the ball very well. She did a real nice job of controlling the tempo."
On Grilley ...
"She made some nice shots for them," he said.
Ladenburg was also a force on the defensive end, registering numerous steals, and battling for rebounds inside. When she finally left the game with 1:13 to play, she received a standing ovation from a very appreciative Columbia Falls faithful.
"Our team is very mentally strong," Ladenburg said. "We handle pressure pretty well."
"We definitely have our worries, but we always come out and play our game," she added.
Columbia Falls, which never trailed, jumped out to a quick 8-0 edge, but led by just one, 16-15, at quarter's end.
"I thought we came out and weathered the storm in the first quarter," Olson said. "They just physically took it to us after that."
Columbia Falls held Whitefish to back-to-back five point quarters to go on top 38-25 after three periods. Whitefish could muster just eight points in the final period.
"We really didn't make any adjustments," Columbia Falls coach Dan Fairbank said at halftime. "We just reminded them of what they were suppose to be doing in the first place."
Whitefish standout Kate Klundt was held in check a day after she went off for 32 points against Polson. The senior finished with 12 points, seven below her season average. She got off to a fine start, scoring eight in the opening quarter, but never got into a scoring rhythm after that.
Columbia Falls had a big advantage at the free throw line, hitting 22-for-29. Ladenburg went 10-for-12, Kayla DeWit was 6-for-8 and Brooke Cady went 4-for-4.
Whitefish, on the other hand, made just 5-of-8 from the line.
"You have to go right after those two big girls from Columbia Falls and we didn't do that," Olson said of his team offensively.
"We were intimidated (by them inside) and backed down."
Whitefish, 6-14, drops into loser-out action today at 10:45 a.m.
Whitefish 15 5 5 8 - 33
Columbia Falls 16 9 13 16 - 54
WHITEFISH - Jessie Slaybaugh 2 0-0 6, Torie Powell 0 1-2 1, Kate Klundt 4 4-6 12, Heather Melcer 2 0-0 5, Danielle McCully 1 0-0 2, Olivia Nagler 1 0-0 2, McCara Cullen 1 0-0 3, Adele FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 5-8 33.
COLUMBIA FALLS - Dani Gilley 0 0-1 0, Brooke Cady 1 4-4 6, Kayla DeWit 2 6-8 10, Alyssa Ladenburg 4 10-12 18, Shay Grilley 6 0-2 14, Madison Stolte 0 2-2 2, Kelsey DeWit 2 0-0 4. Totals: 15 22-29 54.
3-point goals: Slaybaugh (2), Melcer, Cullen; Grilley (2); Team fouls: Whitefish 24; Columbia Falls 11; Fouled out: FauntLeRoy, Powell.
Vals get even with LoggersBy DIXIE KNUTSON/The Daily Inter LakePublished: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:28 AM CST Sweet, sweet revenge.
The Bigfork Valkyries came into Friday's tournament semifinal against the Libby Lady Loggers with just the tiniest of chips on their shoulders.
The defending Northwestern A divisional champions will leave Class A after this school year for the Class B ranks.
They had also lost twice to Libby during the regular season.
"We came out ready to go and we wanted revenge and also that we could show our place, show we deserve to be in Class A," said Valkyrie senior forward Roxy Thurman.
They definitely showed something - the Vals dropped No. 2 seed Libby 56-33 to advance to tonight's divisional championship.
They'll play the Columbia Falls Wildkats at 8 p.m. at Glacier High School.
"It's exciting. For me, it's my third time (to play in the divisional championship)," Thurman said.
"I thought we did a nice job. We knocked down some shots," said Bigfork coach Mark Hansen.
The Vals hit seven 3-pointers - Thurman had three while sophomore guard Caitlin Charlebois hit four.
"It's always nice when you knock down some 3s. That just opens the game up for Kailey (Fierro) and everybody inside," the coach said.
"When we do that, we're able to get in our press. Things work a little better for us if we can do that," Hansen said.
"She definitely lit a fire for us, hitting those 3s. She was definitely a spark plug," Thurman said of Charlebois.
"She played awesome," Hansen said of Charlebois.
"She broke the press, she had all sorts of energy out there for us, handled the ball, made great decisions when we wanted to back it off," he said.
Charlebois led all scorers with 19 points. Thurman added 12 and Fierro had 10 for Bigfork.
Jackie Mee led the Loggers with 16 points.
"We play better just going, letting them shoot. Do what we do best. We're not really a very good team pulling it back out and running great sets," the coach said.
"Just run and spread the floor, play good defense ... and watch out for Jackie Mee and (Brittany) Martin, the 3-point shooters," Thurman said of the Vals' game plan.
It worked pretty well - Martin made Libby's only 3-pointer.
"Obviously, you've got to recognize where Jackie is, she's so tough. I thought the girls did a great job on that and also on Brittany Martin," Hansen said.
The Vals were definitely ready to go from the opening tip.
They raced to an early 10-1 lead and were up 12-5 after the first quarter.
"Then they made it interesting on us," Hansen smiled.
The Loggers opened the second quarter with three quick baskets from Mee.
With 6:36 left in the half, they had cut the deficit to four points.
"Libby is so well-coached and such a good team. We knew they'd make a little run at us. Jackie got inside on us a couple times and got some shots and some putbacks," Hansen said.
"We called timout and talked about keeping her off the boards."
The Loggers cut the deficit to five points twice more - once before the half and once to start the second half.
But the Vals answered both times and by the end of the third quarter, they led 37-22.
"Give Bigfork all the credit in the world," said Libby coach Jim May.
"The reason we didn't play well is because they played well. They got us on our heels. They came out and got in our faces and we couldn't handle their pressure like we wanted.
"Those Bigfork girls just came out and played like gangbusters," May said.
"But my girls will bounce back. I've got great kids."
For Libby, the route to the Class A state tournament just got more roundabout. The Loggers take on Polson at 10:45 a.m. today at Flathead. The winner advances to the 4 p.m. consolation game at Glacier and then hopes for a challenge opportunity.
As for Bigfork, the Vals have even more revenge on their minds with the Wildkats.
"It's another team we haven't beaten this year," Thurman said.
Libby 5 12 5 11 - 33
Bigfork 12 12 13 19 - 56
Libby - Brittany Martin 1 0-0 3, Jaime Gilden 3 5-8 11, Logan Best 0 3-4 3, Jackie Mee 6 4-7 16. Totals 10 12-19 33.
Bigfork - Mallery Knoll 2 2-4 6, Quinci Paine 0 3-4 3, Ariana Shults 3 0-0 6, Roxy Thurman 4 1-3 12, Caitlin Charlebois 7 1-1 19, Kailey Fierro 4 2-3 10. Totals 20 9-15 56.
3-point goals: Libby 1 (Martin), Bigfork 7 (Thurman 3, Charlebois 4), Total fouls: Libby 17, Bigfork 17. Fouled out: None. |
NATIONAL
MONTANA
