Bravettes stun Sentinel, secure spot at state

Giant killers.

That's what Bravette basketball coach Dennis Latimer called the Flathead girls Thursday night after they knocked off Western AA leader Missoula Sentinel 60-49.

"Some people stepped up and believed they could win," the coach said.

"They were giant killers tonight."

With the win, the Bravettes punched their ticket to the March 10-12 Class AA state basketball tournament in Billings. It also avenged a 64-34 loss to the Spartans in the first game of the season.

"We're floating,"Latimer said afterward.

"It feels good."

"Big win. That was one of the bigger ones," the coach said.

"For us to put this together as a group … I'm awfully proud of the accomplishment," he added.

"Everyone contributed," said senior post Amanda Lidstrom.

"It was exciting," agreed senior forward Lindsay Bennett. "I could play another (game)."

"So could I!" Lidstrom laughed.

It didn't take long for the Spartans to discover a win wouldn't come as easily this time.

Flathead jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute.

Sentinel came back to take the lead - and claim a 22-16 advantage after one period.

The Spartan lead reached nine points. But the Bravettes never backed down.

"Patience," Bennett said. "We were able to slow it down. They like to fly up and down the court.

"We had to run our game, keep cool."

With that in mind, Flathead sent three players to the boards while the other two stayed back.

They also wanted to put a clamp on Sentinel's outside shooting.

Spartan guard Jen Foley scored 22 points in the first meeting.

For that, a diamond-and-two (the top two guards play man-to-man while the posts play zone) did the trick.

Foley netted 11 points Thursday - and had just one second-half field goal.

By half, the Bravettes had cut the lead to 30-27.

They went up 31-30 just 45 seconds into the third quarter. Sentinel reclaimed the lead almost instantly and a back-and-forth quarter followed.

Flathead finally broke out on top on Bennett's layup with 3:20 left in the quarter. The Bravettes never trailed again.

But they also never got to feel comfortable.

Sentinel post Grace Harris kept the Spartans in the contest - and nearly got several Bravettes out of the game. Harris led Sentinel with 14 points on the night.

"We tried to front her. She's so great at moving and sealing," Lidstrom said. "She's so great at getting in position."

"We had to put four different people (Bennett, Sara Newgard, Holli Hashley and Lidstrom) on her," Latimer agreed.

"We really had to distribute the fouls there."

Hashley finished the game with four fouls and Lidstrom with three.

"She's just so big in the post. A huge presence," Bennett agreed. "She got all of us in trouble."

Latimer's compliments flowed easily.

"I'd like to commend my assistant coaches," Latimer said. "And senior night - I was really proud of all my seniors tonight."

There's a lot of water under the bridge since the last time these two teams met.

"I think there are a lot of different things," the coach said.

Freshman Meghan O'Connell moved to point guard after the first few games.

"And we've gotten better and jelled as a team in the last two months," he added.

"We're able to handle pressure better."

The Bravettes could win the Western AA - but it would be a tall order.

If Flathead and Sentinel (both 8-3 in conference) finish with the same record, Sentinel claims the conference based on having beaten higher seeded teams.

The Spartans swept Western AA No. 3 seed Helena Capital this season and also defeated highly regarded Eastern AA CMR. The Bravettes split with Capital and lost to CMR.

The only way for Flathead to win the conference is on record. The Bravettes would have to win at Missoula Big Sky Saturday and Sentinel (8-3) would have to lose to visiting Helena High.

Holli Hashley scored 14 points and pulled in eight rebounds to lead the Flathead offense. O'Connell added 11 points - including 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Bennett added 10 points and Lidstrom contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

BRAVETTES 60, SPARTANS 49

Missoula Sentinel 22 8 8 11 - 49

Flathead 16 11 14 19 - 60

Sentinel - Ali Mittlestadt 1 0-0 2, Grace Harris 5 2-2 12, Nicole Martin 4 3-4 11, Jestine MacDonald 1 0-0 3, Alisa Christopherson 3 0-0 3 8, Jen Foley 4 1-2 11, Lindsay Wimett 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 6-11 49.

Flathead - Chaeney Latimer 1 5-7 7, Amanda Lidstrom 4 1-4 9, Holli Hashley 6 2-5 14, Meghan O'Connell 3 4-5 11, Sara Newgard 1 2-4 4, Lindsay Bennett 4 2-4 10, Alena Ori 2 1-1 5. Totals 21 17-28 60.

3-point goals: Sentinel 5 (MacDonald 1, Christopherson 2, Foley 2), Flathead 1 (O'Connell). Total fouls: Sentinel 26, Flathead 14. Fouled out: Martin, MacDonald, Christopherson, Foley.

Sentinel 66,

Flathead 46

MISSOULA - The Sentinel Spartans turned up the defense in the second half and cruised to a 66-46 win over the Flathead Braves on Thursday.

"They changed up their defense and that really threw us," FHS coach Fred Febach said. "They just flat hit shots and we had trouble scoring.

"When you fall behind like that, it's tough to come back."

Beau Watkins led the Braves (4-15 overall, 1-10 league) with 15 points, all in the first half.

"We did some good things out there, but Sentinel is tough to beat at home," Febach said. "Give all the credit to Sentinel, particularly in the second half. Their defense was the difference in the second half.

"We'll hit the practice floor (today) and get ready for Big Sky on Saturday."

The Braves conclude the regular season against the Eagles at 4:30 p.m.

SPARTANS 66, BRAVES 46

Flathead 17 11 9 9 - 46

Sentinel 18 14 17 17 - 66

Flathead - Andrew Cavigli 3-9 1-2 7, Beau Watkins 5-7 4-6 15, John Farrier 3-11 0-1 6, Jordan Lister 2-4 0-0 4, Geoff Hogan 2-7 0-0 4, Greg Radel 2-5 0-2 5, Gary Rivers 1-2 0-0 3, Sean Riley 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Russell 1-2 0-0 2, Ryan Gregg 0-1 0-0 0, Brad Huff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-49 5-11 46.

Sentinel - Andy Garland 6-12 3-3 15, Kellen Hasquet 4-8 5-9 18, Garrett Graves 3-7 2-2 8, Bryan Olson 0-2 0-0 0, Todd Matthews 2-2 1-2 5, Tyler Flaig 2-2 2-3 6, Mark Henkel 4-5 1-1 9, Austin Maphis 0-0 1-2 1, Chazz Grey 0-0 2-2 2, Collin Thomas 0-0 2-4 2. Totals: 21-38 19-28 66.

3-pointers-Flathead 3-13 (Watkins 1-3, Radel 1-3, Rivers 1-2, Riley 0-1, Lister 0-1, Hogan 0-2, Gregg 0-1), Sentinel 3-9 (Henkel 0-1, Garland 0-1, Hasquet 3-5, Graves 0-1, Olson 0-1). Rebounds-Flathead 20 (Cavigli 6), Sentinel 14 (Garland 3, Graves 3, Hasquet 3). Turnovers-Flathead 10, Sentinel 4. Total fouls-Flathead 24, Sentinel 13.