BASKETBALL: Campbell, Berg all Vals need to topple Troy
BIGFORK — Dealing with injuries that thinned out the bench, Bigfork knew coming in it would have to rely on its twin towers inside even more than usual Friday night against Troy.
And boy did they deliver.
Miranda Campbell and Lana Berg combined for 35 points and 28 rebounds to practically carry the Valkyries by themselves to a 49-25 win over a Troy team that had to deal with its own crippling injury in District 7B action.
“(Campbell and Berg) played as a team, together, always looking for each other, very unselfish,” Bigfork coach Jami Grende said. “They fought on the offensive and defensive boards and did well getting the ball in the hoop, and they stayed out of foul trouble. They were aggressive and they didn’t come out of the game, either. That’s working pretty hard.”
Campbell nearly finished with a triple-double, collecting 15 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks. The 6-foot-2 senior did not come off the court until the game’s waning minutes.
Berg never left the floor and finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 boards.
The Vals (5-3, 3-0 District 7B) played only seven players, getting significant minutes from only six. Berg’s sister, Jaime, missed the contest with an injury but is expected to return for Bigfork’s next game.
Troy (4-2, 1-2) came into the game boasting a terrific sophomore tandem of Kaitlyn Downey and Allie Coldwell, but neither were close to full strength.
Downey did not start because of an illness but did find her way onto the court starting in the second quarter. She finished with a gutsy nine points to lead Troy in scoring.
Coldwell, a second team all-conference player as a freshman and the Trojans’ leading scorer, went down in a heap after attempting a fast-break layup in the first quarter and had to be helped off the court with a left knee injury. She attempted to return in the second half but was noticeably hobbled and again sat in the fourth quarter. Coldwell did not score in the game.
“It was sad to see Allie (Coldwell) go down like that,” Grende said.
“We knew we needed to stop her to win this game, and so when she was out we kind of changed a little as far as the defensive end went.”
Troy looked completely out of sorts in the immediate aftermath of Coldwell’s injury and was stuck on just two points midway through the second quarter. The Trojans were able to battle to within 19-12 at halftime — thanks to a pair of Downey treys — but faded in the second half.
Neither team shot the ball well and both clubs struggled mightily from the free-throw line. Troy went 4 for 12 at the charity stripe. Bigfork was not much better at 12 for 23.
Aurora Becquart added eight points for the Trojans.
The Vals didn’t need any contributions outside of their two bigs and, in fact, the duo combined to score all but six of Bigfork’s points in the first three quarters.
Troy 2 10 7 6 — 25
Bigfork 7 12 13 17 — 49
TROY — Aurora Becquart 3 2-6 8, Alyssa Lewis 2 1-3 5, Allie Coldwell 0 0-0 0, Allie Brown 1 0-1 2, Tana Thill 0 1-2 1, Kaitlyn Downey 3 0-0 9, Sami Rohrich 0 0-0 0, Taylor Carter 0 0-0 0, Annie Day 0 0-0 0, Kylie Carr 0 0-0 0. Totals — 9 4-12 25.
BIGFORK — Emilee Park 0 2-2 2, Mattie McAnally 2 1-1 5, Katie Thomas 1 1-2 4, Lana Berg 8 4-10 20, Miranda Campbell 6 3-6 15, Haile Norred 1 1-2 3, Shae Anderson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 12-23 49.
3-point field goals — Troy 3 (Downey 3), Bigfork 1 (Thomas). Team fouls — Troy 17, Bigfork 13. Fouled out — None. Records — Troy (4-2, 1-2 District 7B), Bigfork (5-3, 3-0).