Western A girls: Whitefish, Bigfork move to semis

HAMILTON — The Whitefish Lady Bulldogs moved one step closer to their first state basketball appearance since 2021 Thursday as they defeated Corvallis 47-31 at the Western A divisional.

Avery Orme scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (14-5), who face off with Dillon in Friday’s semifinals at 6:30 p.m. 

The Beavers (17-2) outlasted a fierce Browning (11-10) charge in the other early quarterfinal 46-41 thanks in part to a late 6-0 run. 

In the evening matchups, Frenchtown (16-3) outscored Columbia Falls (9-10) 17-2 over the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter to break a 36-all deadlock into a 57-44 victory. 

Bigfork closed out the evening by holding off the hosts, Hamilton 39-38 thanks to a go-ahead layup from Desi Dell with 41 seconds left..

Whitefish 47, Corvallis 31 

Orme scored eight points in the first half as Whitefish put its stamp on this one early. 

Jammie Shors added 11 for the Bulldogs with Reese Hudson tallying nine, including a pair of 3-pointers. 

Ava Loran and Ella Varner led the Blue Devils (8-11) with seven points apiece. 

Whitefish ballooned the lead out to 32-12 with two minutes left in the third thanks to an and-one layup from Allie Shors. Shors finished with five points. 

Whitefish has not faced Dillon this season. 

Corvallis faces Browning in a loser-out matchup Friday at noon. 

Corvallis    3    5    12    11    -    31 

Whitefish    9    12    15    11    -    47 

CORVALLIS — Ava Loran 3 0-0 7, E Knapp 0 3-4 3, Ella Varner 2 3-7 7, K Allen 1 3-4 5, B Epling 2 0-0 4, Kaia Benson 0 0-0 0, S Johnson 0 0-0 0, Lauryn Holmberg 2 1-2 5. Totals 10 10-17 37. 

WHITEFISH — Emy Hansen 0 0-0 0, Reese Hudson 3 1-2 9, Grace Inabnit 0 0-0 0, Jammie Shors 4 3-6 11, Clair Easterley 0 0-0 0, Blake Ruta 1 0-0 3, Avery Orme 8 1-3 17, Amelia Krezowski 0 0-0 0, Vivian Treweiler-Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Olivia Cosby 0 0-0 0, Allie Shors 2 1-3 5, Stella Frisbee 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 6-14 47. 

3-point goals — Corvallis 1 (Loran), Whitefish 3 (Hudson 2, Ruta). Fouls — Corvallis 13, Whitefish 15. 

Dillon 46, Browning 41 

Browning trailed 18-11 at the half but closed the gap to 31-28 going to the fourth quarter. Kendee Ollinger-CalfBossRibs scored 10 in the frame and 15 in the second half for the Lady Indians. She finished with 17 to lead all scorers; Tess Trombley added 10. 

Browning trailed 39-38 with three minutes to go, but Dillon put together a small run — highlighted by a contested layup from Landri Hartman — that grew the lead to 45-38 and secured the win. 

Cassie Keller led the Beavers with 12 points. 

Browning    5    6    17    13    -    41 

Dillon    11    7    13    15    -    46 

BROWNING — Tess Trombley 3 3-4 10, Josephine Michael 2 0-6 4, Nyahrae Tatsey 0 0-0 0, Dally Michael 1 0-0 3, Peyton EagleFeathers 3 0-0 7, Zoey Valandra 0 0-0 0, Kendee Ollinger-CalfBossRibs 8 1-2 17, Brooklyn Bird 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-12 41. 

DILLON — Cassie Keller 3 5-10 12, Tayton Tash 0 0-2 0, Shannon Martin 3 0-0 6, Landri Hartman 4 1-4 9, Tess Tash 3 4-9 10, Kena Sampson 1 0-0 2, Baylor Malesich 0 0-0 0, Brynna Gibson 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 14-29 46. 

3-point goals — Browning 3 (Trombley, D Michael, EagleFeathers), Dillon 0. Fouls — Browning 23, Dillon 13. Fouled out — Ollinger-CalfBossRibs, J Michael. 

Frenchtown 57, Columbia Falls 44 

The Wildkats overcame a 20-14 second quarter deficit to lead 36-34 late in the third quarter before the Broncs rattled off 17 of the next 18 points. 

Frenchtown’s Mason Quinn led all scorers with 26 points, 18 coming after the half. She had a pair of fourth quarter and-one baskets to help the Broncs take the victory. 

Onnika Lawrence scored 20 points to lead the Wildkats. Lana Byers added 13, including three triples. 

Frenchtown will face Bigfork in the semifinals Friday at 8:30 p.m. 

C Falls     9    14    13    8    -    44 

Frenchtown    15    11    10    21    -    57 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Alexa Friske 0 0-0 0, Onnika Lawrence 9 2-3 20, Peyton Ross 0 4-8 4, Alanis Petersen 0 0-0 0, Rylee Sweeney 2 1-3 5, Ava Scholz 1 0-0 2, Lana Byers 5 0-0 13. Totals 17 7-14 44. 

FRENCHTOWN — Mason Quinn 10 6-8 26, Jezzy Palmer 2 2-4 8, Laney Holleran 1 0-0 2, Iris Arlint 1 2-6 5, Blake Hardy 3 1-1 7, Toni Hawkins 1 0-0 2, Addy Hanes 1 0-0 3, Henley Harris 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 11-19 57. 

3-point goals — Columbia Falls 3 (Byers 3), Frenchtown 4 (Palmer 2, Arlint, Haynes). Fouls — Columbia Falls 18, Frenchtown 14. Fouled out — Sweeney. 

Bigfork 39, Hamilton 38

Dell put the Valkyries ahead in the final minute after Bigfork clawed back from a 24-14 halftime deficit. Paeten Gunlock went 2-for-4 from the line in the final half minute to secure the win and led all scorers with 20 points. 

Hamilton’s Ashlynn McKern banked in a three with two seconds left. McKern led the Broncs with 11 points. 

Hamilton    13    11    2    12    -    38 

Bigfork     3    11    12    13    -    39 

HAMILTON — Anna Lewis 2 1-2 6, Meryn Leonardi 1 0-0 2, Nellie Dickemore 0 2-2 2, Elise Carroll 0 0-0 0, Loretta Hanson 0 1-2 1, Kasidee McKern 3 0-0 8, Ashlynn McKern 3 4-4 11, Taryn Hochhalter 4 0-3 8. Totals 13 10-13 38. 

BIGFORK — Leah Gibb 0 0-0 0, Keegan Campell 0 0-0 0, Payton Despain 4 0-0 8, Eva Heil 0 0-0 0, Savanah Hedges 0 0-0 0, Josie Vick 0 0-2 0, Paeten Gunlock 6 7-13 20, Ione Plummer 0 0-0 0, Desi Dell 2 0-0 5, Emma Pargman 3 0-0 6. Totals 15 7-15 39. 

3-point goals — Hamilton 4 (K McKern 2, A McKern, Lewis), Bigfork 2 (Gunlock, Dell). Fouls — Hamilton 18, Bigfork 13.