Bigfork records highs, lows for season at home

By FAITH MOLDAN - Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork High School girls basketball team can cross a few things of its list of New Year's resolutions.

The Vals, now 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the Northwest A conference, topped both Glacier High School and Plains in non-conference action last week. Bigfork beat the Wolfpack 58-35 Jan. 3 and the Trotters 52-17 Jan. 4.

In the process of beating the Pack and Trotters, three Vals recorded season-high scoring and one tied a school record for assists in a game. Jaylee Haveman and Roxy Thurman scored season highs against Glacier with their 12 and 14 points respectively. Avery Vogel dished out 11 assists against the Pack, tying a school record. Kailey Fierro notched a season high against Plains with 11 points, as the Vals made it two years without a loss on their home court.

Free-throw shooting allowed the Vals to hold a 15-10 lead after the first quarter against Glacier. Bigfork sank its first 12 free throws of the 58-35 win. Eight of those came in the first quarter. Four free throws from Alyssa Fierro and Thurman gave the Vals a 4-0 lead with 7:41 on the clock. Fierro grabbed nine rebounds in the game to go along with her 12 points. It took the Vals three more minutes to score again, as the Pack led 5-4 before Thurman made a 3-point basket to regain the lead.

Another Thurman basket made the score 9-8. Hattie Bowen did her part, making four free throws in the last two minutes of the first quarter to lengthen the Vals' lead to 13-10. Bowen's free throws started a 22-4 scoring run for the Vals. She scored 10 points for the Vals.

"I've never seen us beat one," Bigfork coach Nate Hammond said of the Vals beating a AA school. "I've been here eight years."

Haveman ended the first quarter with a 2-point basket, assisted by Vogel. Haveman scored eight of her 12 points in the second quarter, in which Bigfork outscored the Pack 19-6 for a 34-16 halftime lead. Vogel added seven points in the second quarter as well. She finished the game with eight points and nine assists.

"When you're ahead by quite a bit it's easier to spread the ball around," Hammond said. The Vals' lead also made it easier to rotate different players into the game. "It gives the other kids confidence if they know that they've scored before in a varsity game. It helps our depth."

The Vals broke a 4-4 tie early in the their 52-17 win over the Trotters with a basket by Thurman. From that point, the Vals went on a 12-0 scoring run as Bowen, Kailey Fierro, Alyssa Fierro and Haveman all sank their 2-point field goals and free throws. Bigfork held Plains scoreless for more than five minutes.

Bigfork struggled for a few minutes, as none of the Vals' shots were falling. The Vals were without a basket for a little more than three minutes in the second quarter. Vogel and Alyssa Fierro teamed up to end that drought. Vogel made the front end of her two free throws and Fierro grabbed the rebound on the missed second one. She put the ball back up for two points and followed that basket with another one less than a minute later as Vogel passed the ball up the floor to an open Fierro.

The Vals, who recorded a season-low 11 turnovers, led 21-10 at halftime and pressed on from there. Haveman started her second half with a steal and coast-to-coast layup. She finished the game with seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Bowen added eight rebounds and four steals for the Vals. Vogel had eight assists in the game.

Plains' Brittany Mount was the only Trotter to score in the third quarter. She made two free throws with 7:38 on the clock and made a 2-point field goal with 42 seconds remaining in the quarter. Kailey Fierro scored seven of her 11 points in the third and fourth quarters. The 11 marked a career-high for her as well as a season-high.

The Vals hit the road again in the upcoming weeks. They travel to Whitefish, Ronan, Libby and Flathead in the next two weeks before hosting the Polson Lady Pirates at home Jan. 22. Bigfork travels to Ronan on Saturday, Jan. 12, and Libby Jan. 17.

"It'll get a little tougher," Hammond said of the Vals' three upcoming conference games.

Glacier 10 6 9 10 — 35

Bigfork 15 19 14 10 — 58

Glacier (0-6) — Kayla Smart 1 1-2 3, Jolee Kampf 0 1-2 1, Lindsea Vaudt 2 2-4 6, Emilee Hashley 5 6-8 16, Sydney Sharaf 1 0-0 2, Maddey Frey 1 0-0 2, Ashlee Waggener 2 1-2 5. Totals: 12 11-18 35.

Bigfork (6-1) — Hattie Bowen 2 6-6 10, Avery Vogel 2 4-7 8, Roxy Thurman 5 3-4 14, Alyssa Fierro 5 2-2 12, Kailey Fierro 1 0-0 2, Jaylee Haveman 6 0-0 12. Totals: 21 15-19 58.

3-point goals: Thurman; Team fouls: Glacier 14, Bigfork 10; Fouled out: None.

Plains 4 6 4 3 — 17

Bigfork 14 7 21 10 — 52

Plains — Ashton Vulles 1 0-2 2, Brittany Mount 2 2-2 6, Bethany Catalanello 1 0-2 2, Alexis Kunzer 2 0-0 4, Emma Ehert 1 1-2 3. Totals: 7 3-8 17.

Bigfork — Mallery Knoll 1 0-0 2, Emily Hardman 1 1-2 4, Quindee Averill 0 0-1 0, Hattie Bowen 4 0-0 8, Avery Vogel 0 1-2 1, Roxy Thurman 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Fierro 7 0-1 14, Kailey Fierro 5 1-2 11, Lila Cenis 0 2-2 2, Jaylee Haveman 3 2-4 8. Totals: 22 7-14 52.

3-point goals: Hardman; Team fouls: Plains 14, Bigfork 8; Fouled out: None.