Vals knock off Whitefish in double OT win

The varsity Vals basketball team (11-5, 5-3) seems to have found their groove, as they knocked off Whitefish 62-56 in double overtime, beat Ronan 66-41 and narrowly missed beating Libby in a 43-37 loss.

Saturday was Senior Night for Bigfork High School’s girls basketball team, and the Vals made their win over the Lady Bulldogs a memorable one.

Both teams scored 15 in the first quarter and Whitefish outscored Bigfork 9-8 in the second. Both teams struggled even more in the third quarter with Bigfork scoring just five points and Whitefish scoring eight. In the fourth quarter Bigfork finally outscored the Lady Bulldogs 13-9. However, it looked as though it was too little too late until the final seconds of the game when freshman Taylor Peck made a putback layup at the buzzer to tie the game and send it into overtime.

“The girls just kept battling,” said Bigfork head girls basketball coach Mark Hansen. “Whitefish missed a couple of free throws and let us back into the game. Taylor was in the right place on the weak side and was able to put a shot in. We kept playing catch-up from there though. There were several times during the game I thought we had lost it, but the girls just kept playing hard.”

In the first overtime Whitefish took the lead with Bigfork close on their heels until senior Roxy Thurman sunk a 3-pointer to tie the game. Each team scored six points during the first extra period. Finally, Bigfork took control of the game with 3-pointers from Peck and Thurman and a successful trip to the free-throw line to seal the win, outscoring Whitefish 15-9 in the second overtime.

“We played better the longer we were out there,” Hansen said. “We stayed with them and kept fighting.”

Thurman had a game high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Kailey Fierro led the team in rebounding with 13, added 10 points and made seven blocks. Caitlin Charlebois and Mallery Knoll scored seven and six, respectively.

“It was a good way for the seniors to end their season at home,” Hansen said. “It is something they’ll remember for a long time.”

Friday night the Vals traveled to Ronan and took control of the game right off the bat. By halftime Bigfork held a 37-14 lead and the Vals outscored the Maidens 29-27 in the second half.

“The girls came out and played really well,” Hansen said. “They distributed the ball really well and we shot better than we have been lately.”

Thurman led the Vals with 13 points and Mallery Knoll and Charlebois each contributed 12. Charlebois put in two 3-pointers. Knoll was a perfect six-for-six from the line and made three assists. Signa McLeod added six points from her seven shots from the line. As a team, the Vals had their most successful night from the free-throw line, having shot 71 percent.

Fierro added seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Quindee Averill also had six rebounds. Quinci Paine scored six points. Peck had four steals, as did Thurman, who also had three assists and made two 3-pointers in Ronan.

 On Tuesday night the Vals got their chance to host Libby, after an early season game had to be rescheduled due to poor weather conditions. Bigfork kept up with Libby, who is ranked second in the conference, during the first half scoring 10 to their opponent’s 11 in the first quarter. In the second, the Vals scored nine, six of which Knoll scored, to Libby’s 11. Although the Vals only trailed by three at the half, they did nothing to help themselves out of the hole in the third quarter, as they put up just four points and allowed Libby to score eight. Bigfork did manage to outscore Libby in the final period, 14-13, but it wasn’t enough to undo the damage of the previous quarter.

“I thought defensively we did some good things from time to time,” Hansen said. “Offensively we struggled to get any shots in. Libby played a good game. They blocked out our posts and kept us from doing anything there.”

Thurman led Bigfork with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds and four steals. Knoll contributed eight points and made three assists and four steals. Fierro led Bigfork in rebounding with seven boards and she scored seven points.

The Vals traveled to Columbia Falls Tuesday night, the results of which can be found on the Bigfork Eagle’s Web site, http://www.bigforkeagle.com. Tomorrow night, Feb. 20 they travel to Polson for their final regular season game.