Whitefish girls fall to Sidney after edging Glendive

The Whitefish Lady Dogs turned in a mixed week on the court, earning a hard-fought win over Glendive before dropping an East-West A matchup to Sidney and an earlier nonconference game against Frenchtown.

"It was a good and also hard trip to Butte this past weekend," Whitefish Head Coach Bob Bolam said. "We finished 1-1 when we had a great chance to go 2-0. Our win over Glendive was hard fought to the end, and the girls stayed composed and hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the win. The game against Sidney was a tough loss to take. We controlled most of the game and were up by five with four minutes to go when Allie and Avery both fouled out, and we didn't have an answer after that. It will be something for us to work on."

Whitefish opened the stretch Friday with a 54-50 victory over Glendive, pulling away late after a back-and-forth contest.

The Bulldogs led 13-7 after the first quarter, saw Glendive surge in the second, then regained control with a strong third period. Whitefish outscored Glendive 15-8 coming out of halftime and held on down the stretch to secure the win.

Avery Orme scored 23 points, six coming in the fourth quarter to help the Bulldogs hold Glendive at bay.

"Avery Orme plays above her years," Bolam said. "She has played a lot of basketball and it shows. The start to her Freshman season has been really great. I couldn't ask for more out of a young player. Against Glendive four of Avery's six fourth-quater points came from the free throw line, including going 2-for-2 with us leading 52-50 with under a minute to go to seal the win. She plays very poised and doesn't shy away from tough moments."

Allie Shors had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Whitefish. 

Saturday, Whitefish battled Sidney in an East-West A matchup but came up short in a 69-62 loss in Butte.

"It's good to play teams from the east to see how you match up," Bolam said. "The travel helps bring a young team together and get you ready for your upcoming league games."

Whitefish led 24-19 after the opening quarter and maintained a 33-28 edge at halftime before Sidney used a strong second half to swing the game. Sidney guard J. Entz scored a game-high 30 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 performance from the free-throw line, to fuel the comeback.

Reese Hudson and Allie Shors led Whitefish with 20 points apiece.

 "Allie Shors is a very versatile player who makes our team go," Bolam said. "Offensively, she can play any position on the floor with great ball-handling skills, passing skills, as she sees the floor really well, and the ability to score both inside and out. Defensively, she is aggressive and can guard a tough opponent at any position, and is our top rebounder. Just an all-around great player whom any coach would love to have."

Avery Orme added eight points. Whitefish was outscored 41-29 in the second half as Sidney pulled away late.

Earlier in the week, Whitefish fell to Frenchtown 65-29 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs struggled to generate offense against Frenchtown’s pressure, trailing 29-9 at halftime before the game opened up further in the third quarter.