Mallery Knoll is one of the best sprinters in the state. Quinci Paine is a superb middle-distance runner. And Caitlin Charlebois is a speed demon on the soccer field, one of the top girls soccer players in Montana.
So it’s not surprising that Bigfork head girls basketball coach Mark Hansen looked at his preseason roster and came to a conclusion: This team is going to run.
The Valkyries indeed came out of the gates running at the beginning of the season and have not yet relented. The Vals are 8-2, including a perfect 5-0 in District 7-B play. Their only two losses have come against Missoula Loyola and Class A Anaconda.
In its first year back in Class B, Bigfork has won games by scores of 57-12, 68-25 and 55-38 over the past two weeks. Hansen starts three guards – Knoll, Paine and Charlebois, speedsters who get up and down the court quickly and play the passing lanes well on defense. Charlebois recently recorded 11 steals in one game.
Throw in another guard, Taylor Peck, and post Lila Cenis, along with a host of talented young players, and the Vals are tough to contain. Hansen said the team has only one senior, which bodes well for the future. But the present is looking pretty good too.
Hansen said some of the other teams in the league are having down years, opening up the door for his Valkyries. They are clearly the team to beat in 7-B and are looking like contenders on the state level.
“Everything goes in cycles,” Hansen said. “We’re at a top cycle.”
This year, Bigfork High School made the switch from Class A to Class B. But even as a Class A team, the Valkyries were a force, despite having one of the smallest enrollments in the league. The Vals won the Northwestern A divisional title in 2007, 2008 and finished second last year, losing to Columbia Falls 55-53 in overtime in the title game. Bigfork went on to lose out in two games in the state tournament.
Knoll and Charlebois, both juniors, were instrumental in Bigfork’s run to state last year. Playing alongside standout Roxy Thurman, who now plays at the University of Montana Western, the two guards helped elevate the Vals from an underdog when the divisional tourney began to a contender by the end.
This year, Knoll is Bigfork’s leading scorer, though Paine, who can play outside and inside, Peck and Charlebois have the ability to score points in a hurry as well. Cenis, McKinze Shults and Melissa VanDerveer help round out both the offense and defense.
“We have a lot of great athletes,” Hansen said. “We try to play a style different than most girls; it’s more up-tempo than most girls and we apply pressure, and that allows us to get out and running.”
Hansen is in his second year as the girls’ head coach. Previously he was the boys’ head coach for five years. Hansen said his Valkyries are students of the game and have been able to learn on the fly. Coming into a new league this year, the Vals didn’t know what to expect, Hansen said, but they have adapted admirably.
“We didn’t know much about the competition going into this year,” Hansen said. “But they’re very coachable. That’s the big thing.”
Hansen said he’s not worried about his team becoming complacent after so many blowout victories, again a reflection of how coachable they are. Even after a big win, they know they need to improve certain aspects of their game, and Hansen said they’re willing to do the work necessary to make those improvements.
“Every given day there’s something else you have to work on,” Hansen said. “Every time we’ve gone in and focused on one thing, they’ve done it. They’re a good group of girls.”