Lady Bulldogs shows promise

The Lady Bulldog basketball program may have turned the corner.

More than 35 girls came out for tryouts this fall, way up from past seasons. Whitefish coach Sean Duff says the court was filled with athletes.

“This has been what we’ve wanted,” Duff said about rebuilding the program. “It’s all coming together.”

Whitefish’s roster will feature four seniors, Ashlee Brewer, Melissa Poe, Lauren Cain and Shannon Craft, alongside a slew of returning varsity players.

Younger players will be pushing for time on the court, too, Duff said.

“The freshman and sophomores will be competing and pushing the upperclassmen,” he said. “It’s good, it’s competitive.”

He says the team is very athletic and points to Brielle Birgensmith as a new player that could make an impact right away.

“We have plenty of athleticism,” Duff said. “Now we have to turn them into basketball players.”

Junior Simone Craft returns as a key scorer, along with Brewer in the post.

Whitefish will look to push the ball on offense and mix it up on defense. Duff says the team needs to take care of the ball and have patience to be successful.

“If we can do the little things to go with the points, it could be exciting,” Duff said. “I think we’ll surprise teams.”

Duff says Frenchtown and Columbia Falls look to be the top teams in the league, but both have weaknesses the Dogs could use their athleticism to capitalize on.

Whitefish kicks off the season this weekend in Corvallis at the annual Northwest / Southwest Tip Off Tournament. They face Ronan and Hamiltion.