In a subdued locker room, Bigfork senior senior Emma Berreth and several of her teammates wiped away tears as they hugged for a final time.
It wasn’t that the Valkyries finished third — that’s a first in program history and a starting point for future trophies. They were more than satisfied their convincing 59-49 triumph over Glasgow, though for a team with higher hopes it was truly a consolation prize.
The tears were all about good-byes.
“This is my last game with my best friends,” explained Berreth, a senior who had 14 points, four assists and two misty eyes. “I’ve played a lot of basketball, played on a lot of teams, and I’ve never played on a team like this one. They are the most skilled and the most caring and giving people on the planet.
“It’s definitely bittersweet.”
The future is bright, and Berreth vows to be watching.
Freshman Braeden Gunlock scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and fellow freshman Ava Davey provided another 12 points for the Valkyries (25-2), who led 15-8 after one quarter and fended off every Glasgow mini-surge until creating separation in the final 2:30.
Bigfork, which had four Class A triumphs this season, has been ranked among the top three or four teams in Class B all season but had the misfortune of matching up against Jefferson in what was easily the marquee first-round game at state. Rachel Van Blaricom scored 35 points — four more than Bigfork’s defense had been allowing (31.1 ppg) all season — in a 61-55 defeat that required some serious emotional regrouping.
“Coming into the tournament we didn’t expect to get matched up with Jefferson — we thought we’d see them in the championship,” Berreth said. “It could’ve been easy just to shut down (after losing), but we decided that wasn’t what we wanted to do. So we just kept fighting, kept fighting and kept fighting and third became our first.”
Glasgow, making its first tournament appearance in 24 years, made the Valkyries work for the trophy behind 27 points and 15 rebounds from junior center Sabrina Harsh, whose fifth foul with two minutes to play ended any hopes of a comeback. Harsh hit two free throws with 2:33 to make it 53-47 and the Scotties had an open look at a 3-pointer to cut the gap to three, but the ball bounced out and Bigfork took over from there.
For Bigfork, all but three players return next winter. The Valkyries imagine they haven’t seen the last of state tournaments. And trophies.
‘I definitely hope so,”Berreth said, crediting third-year coach Cortnee Gunlock for the team’s rise. “We really wanted to make it something it wasn’t, and I think we’ve done that. The culture, just everything.”