Local athletes participate in 3-on-3 Battle In the Bay

Ronan High School girls basketball coach Steve Woll has organized more than his fair share of 3-on-3 basketball tournaments throughout a twenty-plus year involvement in the business of basketball.

Woll, who organized this year’s Big Fork Battle In The Bay, has said he has also seen the evolution of the 3-on-3 format in recent years.

“We had more people sign up than we did the previous year,” Woll said of the tournament’s success. “The 3-on-3 tournament is growing.”

Woll credits the growth of the 3-on-3-basketball tournament to the explosion of social media.

“In the old days, word of mouth was the quickest way to spread the word about a tournament,” Woll said. “Social media is now just word of mouth, but much faster.”

The Battle At The Bay, which is a 135-team tournament, featured some top-caliber players in the Mission Valley and Montana that participated in Saturday’s event at Bigfork High School.

The tournament included several decorated athletes in the area including Arlee Scarlet’s Alyssa Vanderberg, who played on a team that featured Noelle West, Nellie Desjarlais and Emily Fiddler. They were all key contributors on the 2016-2017 Lady Scarlets team that finished second at the Montana High School Activities Association Class state championship finals.

Vanderberg said she likes the style of the 3-on-3 format.

“I really like how competitive the event is,” Vanderberg said. “You get to play street ball (in the 3-on-3 format) and the style of play in much more physical.”

Ronan High School player Dallas Durhiem, who averaged nearly a double-double per regular season game in Class A competition, also said he enjoyed the tournament.

“You get to play some of the top players in the Mission Valley,” Durhiem said.