Bravettes overwhelm Whitefish

Four score in double digits as Flathead improves to 3-1

WHITEFISH - The Bravettes finally found the discipline to match their intensity, and the outcome was a beautiful site to their coach and fans.

The Flathead High School girls basketball team overwhelmed Class A Whitefish (1-4) on Friday, beating the host Lady Bulldogs, 74-43.

With victories against Libby and Columbia Falls earlier in the week, the Bravettes showed they had enough depth, creativity and speed to overcome myriad turnovers while adjusting to their new up-tempo offense under first-year head coach Kim Elliott.

But Flathead (3-1) played under control Friday, committing just six first-half turnovers while building a 36-21 lead. The Bravettes turned the ball over just 14 times - half their total from Thursday's game against Columbia Falls.

The Bravettes also capitalized on their height advantage as their guards routinely dished the ball inside for close looks in the paint. Flathead tallied 20 assists and won the rebound battle, 33-24.

"We were a lot smarter (tonight) and that's what we talked about - getting the ball in," Elliott said. "'Quit thinking about it, you know it when it's there.'"

It was a balanced offensive effort for Flathead as four Bravettes reached double-figures in points. Senior guard Lindsay Ingram and 6-foot sophomore post Emilee Hashley led the way with 15 points apiece. Junior guard Kendalyn Habel scored 12, followed by junior guard Meghan O'Connell with 10.

The Bravettes shot 53.6 percent from the field, and Ingram and Hashley combined to sink 13 of 17 shots.

"In terms of the up-tempo game, it's a streaky game," Elliott said. "You're going to get hot, you may go 10, 12 points before you go cold. We did that, but what's really interesting to me was that Lindsay got a streak going, then Emilee got a streak going, so that's streaks within the streak."

Elliott said Flathead's concentration was key.

"It's the best we've had any game," he said. "It was there and I didn't need to get them there,

they got themselves there."

Whitefish's Ashley Ferda scored a game-high 16 points, continuing her stellar play, even against a Class AA opponent.

"She definitely does rise to the occasion," said Whitefish coach Tim Olson. "She's so competitive. She's not about to back down to anybody. And I think that eventually will rub off on our other kids, and by the end of the season, you'll see every one of them with the confidence and they'll want the ball when it's all said and done."

Habel and senior guard Annie Braseth defended Ferda for most of the game.

"(Ferda) made those two girls better tonight," Elliott said. "She helped us get ready for our AA schedule."

Once again, Elliott liberally substituted players and 10 Bravettes scored. Elliott said his players made it easy for him to determine when someone needed to rest.

"They were telling me 'I need out,' and that's where we've got to be," Elliott said. "That's the players understanding themselves and understanding the context of the up-tempo game, and if you don't have that, you can't play up-tempo."

Olson said Flathead's relentless attack gave the Lady Bulldogs fits, but it wasn't a surprise.

"We did expect the up-tempo game, we expected Kim to go deep into his lineup and just keep the pressure on all game and he certainly did that," Olson said. "We knew that coming in, and how we handled the pressure was going to be the key to the game and we didn't handle the pressure very well."

Olson played all nine of his healthy athletes, but fatigue eventually became a factor.

"Transition defense was huge," Olson said. "They beat us up and down the floor. They got the loose balls and rebounds on one end and beat us down to the other end of the floor."

Still, Whitefish's determination and hustle impressed Elliott.

"They didn't stop," Elliott said. "I mean, you could have walked into that game with 3 minutes to go and not know the score and think they were either winning or it was a tie ballgame. (Olson) did a great job of coaching them. They will be tough to deal with if they keep listening to him and doing that."

Olson smiled while recalling how his Lady Bulldogs scrapped until the end.

"These girls - really, I'm proud of them," Olson said. "They do not give up. They're very competitive all the way down the line and that's all we can ask is that they give 110 percent every time they're on the floor, and we're diving on the loose balls when we're down by 30 points and that was really good to see."

Olson was particularly proud of sophomore forward Kate Klundt and junior guard Chelsea Ray. Both Lady Bulldogs came off the bench to provide quality minutes in the second half, scoring four points each.

Olson called Flathead a "great, well-rounded ballclub," adding that the Bravettes did a nice job pounding the ball under the basket from half-court sets when they weren't in a transition offense.

"That's why we play these AA opponents," Olson said. "It's a great learning tool. It exposes our weaknesses and what we need to work on during practice."

Flathead resumes play at home Tuesday with a Western AA opener against Helena High. Whitefish visits Libby on Friday.

Flathead 22 14 25 13 - 74

Whitefish 7 14 8 14 - 43

FLATHEAD (3-1) - Christina Zorn 1-4 0-1 3, Chaeney Latimer 1-6 1-2 3, Kendalyn Habel 4-6 3-4 12, Lindsay Ingram 7-9 1-1 15, Emilee Hashley 6-8 3-8 15, Meghan O'Connell 4-9 1-2 10, Ashley Younkin 1-1 0-0 2, Chelsea Vaudt 2-4 2-4 6, Annie Braseth 2-5 0-0 4, Kaylyn Heaton 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 30-56 11-22 74.

WHITEFISH (1-4) - Kirsten Blackburn 1-4 0-1 3, Ashley Ferda 6-11 2-4 16, Kali Schmidt 2-3 0-0 4, Desiree Clarke 1-3 0-1 2, Dana Labuda 1-5 2-2 4, Kate Klundt 2-4 0-1 4, Chelsea Ray 1-3 2-4 4, Torie Powell 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 17-36 6-13 43.

3-point goals - FHS 3 (Zorn 1, Habel 1, O'Connell 1), WF 3-8 (Blackburn 1-4, Ferda 2-4). Rebounds - FHS 33, WF 24. Assists - FHS 20, WF 6. Steals - FHS 22, WF 13. Blocks - FHS 1, WF 1. Turnovers - FHS 14, WF 18. Total fouls - FH 16, WF 14. Fouled out - none.