Flathead Valley Basketball Teams Gear Up for Divisional Tournaments
The Bigfork Valkyries, Whitefish Bulldogs and Columbia Falls Wildkats enter the tournament as the top three seeds from the Northwest A girls division.
By Lauren Frick
Western divisional basketball playoffs commence this weekend and it’s once again the Class A girls teams that will pace Flathead County representation this postseason.
The Bigfork Valkyries, Whitefish Bulldogs and Columbia Falls Wildkats enter the tournament as the top three seeds from the Northwest A division, while the Columbia Falls Wildcats will be the sole boys basketball representatives from the county.
All teams will open play on Thursday, March 5 in Hamilton, with the divisional tournament concluding on Saturday, March 7. The top four teams will secure a berth to the state tournament at Montana ExpoPark in Great Falls from March 12-14.
As Northwest A’s top seed, the Bigfork Valkyries are entering the postseason in familiar territory; however, they have done so following a regular season filled with new faces.
With a new coach and four-year standout guard Braeden Gunlock graduated, the Valkyries have relied on key minutes and play from younger players like sophomore Payton DeSpain to maintain its stronghold in the Northwest. Leadership and point production from senior guard and Carroll College commit Paeten Gunlock — who scored 21 points in a 48-38 regular season finale win over Columbia Falls — helped round out a Valkyries squad who entered the postseason with a 13-5 record.
The Valkyries are in search of their first state championship since making the jump to Class A in the 2024 season, following a dominant undefeated season in Class B that culminated in a 2023 state title. After finishing in second and fourth place in the last two state championships, Bigfork will open their journey to claim the Class A state title on Thursday at 8 p.m. against the Southwest’s No. 4 seed and tournament host Hamilton.
While the Valkyries are in their comfort zone, the Whitefish Bulldogs girls basketball team is wading into uncharted waters as they enter divisional postseason play as the Northwest’s No. 2 seed.
After finishing the 2024-2025 season with a 5-14 record, head coach Bob Bolam set three goals for his underclassmen-heavy Bulldog team: a winning record, a top half finish in the league and a divisional tournament berth.
With a 13-5 record, a second-place finish in Northwest A and a Thursday date in the Western divisional tournament, the Bulldogs have penciled in one last goal for the season: make it to state.
“If we can’t get that accomplished then at least get into a game to play for state, which would be a great learning experience for our young team moving forward,” Bolam said. “Our girls are excited about the opportunity and are ready to play.”
A core of freshmen and sophomores have paced the Bulldogs throughout the season. Freshman Avery Orme leads point production, averaging 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals per game. Sophomore captains Allie Shors, 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Reese Hudson, 9 points and 3 assists, round out the Bulldogs’ scoring.
The young Whitefish squad will face Corvallis at 12 p.m. on Thursday to open postseason play.
“We will be successful this weekend if we continue to play and compete at the level we have all year; that we take it one game at a time and enjoy the process,” Bolam said.
As the only other Flathead Valley team besides the Valkyries to make a state tournament appearance last year, the Columbia Falls Wildkats will look to put together another run to secure a top four finish this weekend.
Despite finishing third in the Northwest, Head Coach Jeremy Grilley believes the Wildkats are one of the most talented teams in Class A, saying the team still has “so much to prove” and are going into the divisional tournament with a “little chip” on their shoulders.
“I truly believe we are going to go into divisionals and fight our way into state,” Grilley said. “The team’s mindset is to play really sound team basketball, be scrappy and really battle for every second we are on the court.”
Entering the postseason with an even .500 record, the Wildkats will face Frenchtown at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in Hamilton.
“If we stay disciplined both on offense and defense this weekend, we can get the two wins that are needed to get into state. It is going to take a complete team effort where everyone is stepping up and doing their part and playing their role to put the team in the best position possible.
After Bigfork’s heartbreaking 47-45 loss to Polson in a Northwest A boys play-in game Saturday, the Columbia Falls Wildcats will be the only Flathead County boys basketball representation in this weekend’s divisional tournament.
Entering the postseason having won 10 of the last 11 games, Head Coach Chris Finberg said the Northwest No. 2 seed Wildcats are hoping to keep the momentum going into the divisional tournament this weekend.
“We like where we are at right now,” Finberg said. “We feel like we have gotten better as the year has gone by.”
The Wildcats will need to continue to take care of the “little things” like rebounding and playing stout defense in order to make it out of a tough Western division and to the state tournament.
“The western A divisional is going to be an absolute battle,” Finberg said. “Having cut the field from 13 to eight with play-in games, seven of the eight teams at the divisional tournament have a .500 winning percentage or better.
“Only four get to go to state and it’s anybody’s for the taking. It should be a fun weekend for the players and fans.”
Follow along with 406MTSports’ coverage of the Western divisional basketball tournament: Click here for girls results/coverage and here for boys results/coverage.