Kats, Vals tourney ready
March 5, 2009 Northwest Montana A Conference
Kats, Vals tourney readyBy DAVID LESNICK/The Daily Inter LakePublished: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 12:56 AM CST Northwestern A's qualifiers have the honor of opening and closing first-round action Thursday at the Class A state girls basketball tournament in the Butte Civic Center.
Northwestern A regular-season and divisional tournament champion Columbia Falls (13-7) starts things off versus Hamilton (15-6) at 12:30 p.m.
Then Northwestern A regular-season and divisional tournament runner-up Bigfork (15-7) finishes opening day at 8 p.m. versus defending-state champion Anaconda (16-4).
"I like it," Columbia Falls coach Dan Fairbank said.
"Get it out of the way. Hopefully, we'll be playing the winner of the game right after us (Glendive vs. Havre at 2 p.m.)."
Fairbank likes the fact his team will be able to watch its next opponent in action before Friday's session. The tournament concludes on Saturday.
Columbia Falls, back at state following a year break, and Hamilton did not meet during the regular season.
Bigfork, on the other hand, is enjoying a stretch of three-straight trips to the season ending show. The Vals were eliminated in two games last year.
"Eight p.m. has been OK for us so far," Bigfork coach Mark Hansen said.
"That's what we've had to this point."
Because Bigfork has drawn the final game on Thursday, the Valkyries will not leave for state until game day.
"It will be kind of nice to say in our beds an extra night," Hansen said.
"I would rather have won Saturday night and have an extra day of rest, but it didn't happen."
Bigfork fell to Columbia Falls in the title game on Saturday, 55-53 in overtime.
"We had a light shoot-around today and walked through the scouting report," Hansen of Tuesday's practice.
"Do the same thing (today); some running, work on our press breaker, go over the game plan again."
Hansen says Anaconda, which finished with a 22-1 record last year, "is not really a big team, just extremely athletic and quick. A lot of man-to-man, ball pressure. We'll have to be ready."
The Copperheads are led by Torry Hill, who had 31 points in their divisional championship victory over Hamilton.
"You can't let her (have a big game)," Hansen said.
"Try and keep her below her average, which is all you can do."
Hansen said the Vals will switch defenses to help keep her in check.
"We have three girls who play pretty good man defense," he said.
"It's important we don't put her to the line. She doesn't miss very often."
Bigfork's Roxy Thurman had an outstanding divisional tournament, where she averaged 17 points per game. She had a tournament-high 22 in Monday's 50-42 challenge victory over Polson.
Mallery Knoll and Caitlin Charlebois were also very productive on the offensive end for the Vals at the divisional. Both hit double-figure scoring in two games. Knoll averaged 10 points per game for the tournament with a high of 16; Charlebois averaged nine with a high of 19.
"I think we're playing our best ball right now, going to state," Hansen said.
"We have to continue to do that.
"We have some good senior leadership with Roxy," he added.
"This is her third state tournament. I think we're athletic enough where we can do well and play well."
Hansen is also counting on four of his bench players - Quindee Averill, Quinci Paine, Taylor Peck and Lila Cenis - to perform as well as they did at the divisional.
Hamilton, like Bigfork, needed to win a challenge game on Monday to advance. The Broncs responded by defeating Frenchtown 34-29.
Anaconda defeated Hamilton 58-50 on Saturday in the championship contest of Southwestern A.
"They have a very nice mixture of tall and athletic, short and quick," Fairbank said of Hamilton.
"We should be all right. I hope they don't match up with us."
Kelsey DeWit, the Wildkats' 6-1 junior post, had a huge championship game versus Bigfork with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Kelsey and sister Kayla DeWit, 6-0 sophomore post, scored all nine of the team's overtime points.
Alyssa Ladenburg, 18 points, and Shay Grilley, 14, paced the offense in the semifinal victory over Whitefish.
"I like the fact the girls were able to keep their heads, even though the wheels came off the cart in the fourth quarter 'versus Bigfork)," Fairbank said.
"When it came down to the wire, they did exactly what I wanted them to do. I thought that was very important."
Class A State Girls
At Butte Civic Center
Thursday
12:30 p.m. - Columbia Falls (13-7) vs. Hamilton (15-6)
2 - Glendive (20-0) vs. Havre (14-6)
6:30 - Belgrade (14-6) vs. Miles City (15-6)
8 - Anaconda (16-4) vs. Bigfork (15-7) |
NATIONAL
MONTANA
