For the first time since 2021 the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs are heading to the State Tournament.
It was a good ol' fashioned Cat-Dog Rivalry, Saturday, as Whitefish matched-up with Columbia Falls for a chance to go to state.
Allie Shors hit a pair of clutch free throws, the Lady Dawgs honed in defensively and Whiteifsh defeated C-Falls 48-45 in in the Divisional Tournament loser out contest.
The Lady Dawgs opened up the game with an early 6-2 lead after Avery Orme converted the 4-pont play. Whitefish led 17-12 after one quarter of play.
Whitefish would hold C-Falls to just 7 points in the second quarter and led 27-19 at the half.
The Lady Cats would counter in the third as they opened the second half on a 10-0 run and C-Falls held the advantage after 3, 41-37.
Whiteifsh would trail by as many as 7, in the final frame, before the comeback took shape.
Avery Orme's defense got things going in the 4th as she had back-to-back steals that led to layups on the other end.
A couple of minutes later Resse Hudson dropped in a big 3 to pull Whitefish within 1, 45-44.
Orme scored the go ahead 2-pointer and Allie Shors made 2 free throws to put Whitefish up 3 with 7.7 seconds to go.
Whitefish forced a long three that clanked off the rim and secured the victory.
The moment the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs Punched their ticket to State:
With the win, Whiteifsh is officially in the State Tournament.
They will take on Bigfork, today at 4:30. Winner will be the No. 3 seed for State.
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