Western A girls: Whitefish takes 3rd

HAMILTON — They’re young and they’re good.

Freshman Avery Orme and sophomore Allie Shors combined for 28 points and Whitefish defeated Bigfork 39-37 in the girls consolation game at the Western A Divisional Saturday evening.

Dillon beat Frenchtown 50-35 in the championship. 

Reese Hudson swished her lone 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the fourth to give the Lady Bulldogs a 38-37 lead they wouldn’t surrender. 

“This win was amazing, having the grit and tenacity to come out in this game and finish, shows a lot about our team and the handwork we do,” Shors said. 

“They are savvy, they are young, and they have played a lot of basketball together,” Whitefish coach Bob Bolam said. “They work really well, they listen, when they get into a tight game, we can draw up stuff up and they execute.” 

Bigfork was led by Paeten Gunlock and Payton DeSpain, who scored nine points. 

The Vals led 23-17 at halftime, and after the break Gunlock made two layups on the baseline to increase Bigfork’s lead 27-19. 

From that moment, Whitefish dominated inside with their size and Orme found a wide-open Shors under the rim to cut the lead to 33-29 at the end of the third. 

In the final frame, the Lady Bulldogs held Bigfork to four points. Shors, who had 16 rebounds, fouled out after Bigfork’s Keegan Campbell took a charge with 15 seconds remaining.  

After a Bigfork miss, Hudson rebouned the ball for Whitefish and was fouled with 2 seconds left. She made 1 of 2 at the stripe before Gunlock’s half-court heave was slightly long and right of the rim. 

“It’s really amazing. ... to play with all of these girls, they are my best friends,” Orme said. 

Unofficially, it is Whitefish’s first tournament trophy since the 2008 Western A Divisional, when they lost in the title game to Bigfork. 

Whitefish    10    7    12    10    -    39 

Bigfork    10    13    10    4    -    37 

WHITEFISH — Reese Hudson 1 2-4 5, Sammie Shors 1 3-4 5, Clair Easterley 0 0-0 0, Blake Ruta 0 0-0 0, Avery Orme 6 3-4 17, Allie Shors 4 3-4 11, Stella Frisbee 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 12-18 39. 

BIGFORK — Keegan Campbell 1 0-0 3, Payton DeSpain 4 1-3 9, Eva Heil 0 2-3 2, Savanah Hedges 0 0-0 0, Josie Vick 2 0-0 4, Paeten Gunlock 4 0-0 9, Desi Dell 2 0-0 6, Emma Pargman 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 3-6 37.   

3-point goals — Whitefish 3 (Orme 2, Hudson), Bigfork 4 (Dell 2, Gunlock, Campbell). Fouls — Whitefish 13, Bigfork 15. Fouled out — A. Shors. 

Dillon 50, Frenchtown 35 

Frenchtown battled early, but Dillon shot lights out in the third period to run away with the title. 

After Dillon led 26-19 at halftime, Landri Hartman swished back-to-back triples to extend Dillon’s lead to 40-28. Hartman and Tess Tash each contributed 11 points apiece and Shannon Martin led the Beavers with 13. 

Tash added another 3-pointer to take a commanding 47-35 lead into the final frame. 

The Beavers changed their rhythm and went to a conservative offense and used a full-court press to hold Frenchtown scoreless in the fourth. 

The teams split the season series 1-1 before Saturday’s game. 

Dillon    14    12    21    3    -    50 

Frenchtown    7    12    16    0    -    35 

 DILLON — Cassie Keller 2 1-4 7, Taytum Tash 0 0-0 0, Shannon Martin 4 2-2 13, Piper Gaasch 0 0-0 0, Landri Hartman 4 0-0 11, Tess Tash 5 0-2 11, Kena Sampson 0 1-4 1, Kaitlyn Konen 3 1-1 7, Baylor Malesich 0 0-0 0, Brynna Gibson 0 0-0 0, Kenndyl Meine. Totals 18 5-13 50.   

 FRENCHTOWN — Mason Quinn 2 9-12 14, Jezzy Palmer 2 0-0 6, Laney Holleran 0 0-0 0, Iris Arlint 1 0-0 2, Blake Hardy 1 6-8 8, Toni Hawkins 1 2-3 4, Addy Hanes 0 0-0 0, Henley Harris 0 1-2 1. Totals 7 18-25 35.   

 3-point goals — Dillon 9 (Hartman 3, Martin 3, Keller 2, Tess Tash), Frenchtown 3 (Palmer 2, Quinn). Fouls — Dillon 19, Frenchtown 17.