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Troy’s Annie Day is cut short by Bigfork’s Heidi Schneller in the first minutes of the fourth quarter. The Lady Valkaries shut down the Lady Trojans scoring most of the quarter. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
For a brief moment about two minutes into the game, Troy’s Allie Coldwell put the Lady Trojans into the lead, 4-3, against Bigfork. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
By BENJAMIN KIBBEY
The Western News
For a brief moment early in their first quarter, the Troy High School girls basketball team led the scoring against Bigfork.
Troy senior Allie Coldwell’s two points a little over two minutes in brought the score to 4-3, Troy. The advantage lasted only seconds, though.
While the Lady Trojans defense look solid early in the quarter, cracks began to show early on.
“We were just a out of position, I think a little bit, with our zone,” said Head Coach Justin Young. “We weren’t hitting those backside rebounds, and just not doing a good job boxing them out.”
Troy also in frequent foul trouble, giving Bigfork senior Jaime Beig the opportunity to score 10 points from the free throw line in the second quarter alone.
“Our girls just got a little excited. They wanted to try to match that intensity, and I think that’s what got us in trouble,” Young said.
In the third quarter, the Lady Trojans had a small rally led by Coldwell and sophomore Kaitlyn Tallmadge, but the Valkyries already had a 20-point cushion for them to overcome.
In the final quarter, the Lady Trojans went multiple possessions without scoring. The Valkyries rarely had their hands on the ball that they didn’t make it count.
“I think Bigfork’s defense really flustered us, and we never really got into a good set tonight,” Young said. “But overall, I think our girls were a little tired, and Bigfork’s a great team, and if you don’t execute, it’s gonna be a little bit ugly.”
Still, Young said he was proud of his team for fighting the whole game, even against a school they knew would be an unlikely win.
“Our mantra for this weekend — the game Monday included — is just survive,” he said. “We’re hurt right now, got some kids missing, if we can just survive through this week, we’ll put ourselves in a good position.”
Bigfork 69, Troy 32
Bigfork: 17 25 16 11 - 69
Troy: 11 8 7 6 - 32
Bigfork: Abby Lembke 3 points, 3-3 FT; Ellie Berreth 9 points; Shae Anderson 3 points; Heidi Schneller 4 points; Jaime Beig 23 points, 13-14 FT; Jadon Nelson 8 points, 2-2 FT; Rakiah Grerde 13 points, 0-2 FT; Izzy Santisteva 4 points, 1-2 FT; Ashton McAnally 2 points
Troy: Annie Day 3 points; Allie Coldwell 13 points, 2-2 FT; Kaitlyn Downey 8 points, 2-2 FT; Kaitlyn Tallmadge 8 points