Lady Loggers chop down Whitefish girls

The Lady Bulldogs couldn’t find a way to contain Jackie Mee in Libby on Saturday, as the star Lady Logger dropped 18 points en route to a 55-46 Northwestern A win over Whitefish.

Senior guard Kate Klundt answered with 18 points of her own for Whitefish, but their defense wasn’t quite enough to stop Libby.

Libby led the Bulldogs 19-8 after the first quarter, and that lead would hold the rest of the game.

The Lady Bulldogs made it interesting in the third quarter, as they pulled to within two points. However, Torie Powell and Beth Donovan fouled out, and the Lady Loggers out scored Whitefish 15-9 in the fourth quarter.

Kate Klundt had a monster 17 rebounds in the game.

Head coach Tim Olson said he saw a great defensive performance from foreign exchange senior Paula Olivera.

“She’s from Brazil, and she’s figuring out the system (of American basketball),” Olson said. “She’s a lot more comfortable with the system. She’s been fun to work with and loves the game of basketball. She’s still adapting to our culture. She will be tough to contend with down the road.”

On offense, the Lady Bulldogs are finally back to full strength with Adele FauntLeRoy and Jessica Slaybaugh returning from injury.

“We’re getting some kids that are contributing offensively,” Olson said. “Torie Powell is getting more aggressive. Slaybaugh hit a couple of three-pointers. We are looking for big things from her.”

The Lady Bulldogs will be in Eureka on Friday and then travel to Flathead High School on Saturday. Whitefish beat the Bravettes in the season opener.

“We got (Flathead) the first time around, but they’re much improved,” Olson said. “They’ve got a new point guard, somebody that we didn’t see the first time around that’s a nice player. We’re just glad to be back at a full varsity squad. Now you can go eight or nine deep off the bench, especially when we get into foul trouble, which was the case the other night.”

Whitefish   8 11 18   9   - 46

Libby       19  8  13  15   - 55

Whitefish — Jessi Slaybaugh 8, Torrie Powell 8, Kate Klundt 18, Olivia Nagler 2, Beth Donovan 2, McCara Cullen 2, Adele FauntLeroy 2, Paula Olivera 4. Totals 21 2-3 46.

Libby — Evi Cernick 5, LaRona Luscher 2, Brittany Martin 14, Jaime Gilden 12, Logan Best 4, Jackie Mee 18. Totals 19 15-26 55.

3-point goals: Whitefish 2 (Slaybaugh 2), Libby 2 (Martin, Mee). Total fouls: Whitefish 23, Libby 9., Fouled out: Powell, Donovan.