Bravettes impress with press
Every FHS girl scores in 57-38 wallop of Helena
The Daily Inter Lake
Either there is a lot of seperation between the fourth- and sixth-place teams in the Western AA preseason poll or Flathead High School girls basketball coach Kim Elliott has his team playing above expectations.
Every Bravette scored Tuesday night in the Flathead High School gym against Helena High in a 57-38 victory.
It was the Western AA opener for both teams and the second time this season every player has scored for Flathead.
The Bravettes were ahead 22-2 at the end of the first quarter, 31-6 midway through the second quarter and 38-10 at halftime.
Then Elliott called off his press and Helena outscored the Bravettes in both the third and fourth quarters.
"That's what happened - I took it off when we were up by 30 and the girls just couldn't get back into the game," Elliot said. "So I learned that I can never take it off. You saw what happened when I did. I tried to take them back with a halfcourt defense and just hawk the ball with one player - just their point guard. Then we tried just running halfcourt offenses and defenses but they weren't doing it. It tells us what we need to do."
The Bravettes tallied 22 steals and forced the Bengals into 31 turnovers. They also out-rebounded the Bengals, 44-32, with sophomore post Leslie Quay leading the way with 10 - five offensive and five defensive.
The Bravettes jumped out to an 8-0 lead and had six steals before Helena attempted its first shot. The Bengals' first shot went in and then the Bravettes closed the quarter with a 12-0 run as Helena went 0-for-9 shooting the ball.
Chelsea Vaudt registered three of her four steals in that opening frame as Kendalyn Habel and Meghan O'Connell each tallied two. With nine first-quarter steals, the Bravettes were on pace for 36 steals and an 88-8 victory.
"We're lucky they didn't get any of those shots early on," Elliot said. "If they would have hit some of them, this would have been a different ball game. It's going to be a different game when we play them in Helena.
"Imagine what we could have done on offense and what we could have done on defense if we'd have kept pressing. That tells me as a coach that I've got to keep the press on, or it will just hurt the girls."
Habel led the scoring charge again for the Bravettes. She was the only one to post a double-digit scoring figure with 10 points. She also had five rebounds and three steals. O'Connell and senior Sara Newgard each had seven points. Newgard also had five rebounds. Lindsay Ingram had six points, five rebounds and three steals. Vaudt, Emilee Hashley and Quay each totaled five points. Vaudt and Hashley also had four rebounds. Annie Braseth had four steals with three points and three rebounds.
The Bravettes made 48 percent of their shots (23-for-48). Not only did every Bravette score, they all also grabbed at least one rebound and all but two tallied at least one steal.
"You've got to hand it to Flathead," Helena first-year coach Cyndie Lockett. "They took it to us. But I am very proud of my girls for getting back into this game."
The Bengals responded in the second half. Whether it was because Elliott took off his press or Lockett got it through to her girls how to break the press and run a half-court offense with 6-foot-3 senior Ann Bugni remains to be seen. The rematch is Jan. 13.
Bugni spread out nine blocks but scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter as Alex May-Fraser lobbed her four passes in the post. Bugni also had six rebounds and three steals.
Frazier had seven points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. The Bengals made just 32 percent of their shots (17 of 53).
"I loved the first half," Elliot said. "Second half … Even though we didn't play the type of game that defines us, we broke down fundamentally. We've only worked on half-court defense in one practice. We've got to work on it, especially with Big Sky coming up on our schedule."
Big Sky is led by University of Montana men's coach Wayne Tinkle's daughter, who is a 6-3 sophomore.
The Bravettes play at Helena Capital on Friday.
Helena 2 8 14 15 - 39
Flathead 22 16 8 11 - 57
HELENA (0-1, 1-3) - Kellie Hubley 2-7 0-0 4, Whitney Haseman 0-2 0-0 0, Kelsey Williams 3-9 0-2 6, Kassie Krpan 1-2 1-2 4, Mackinzie Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Jackson 0-1 2-2 2, Katie Garrison 1-7 0-0 2, Ann Bugni 7-12 0-0 14, Alex May-Fraser 3-12 1-2 7. Totals 17-53 4-8 39.
FLATHEAD (1-0, 4-1) - Christina Zorn 0-4 1-2 1, Chaeney Latimer 1-3 0-0 2, Kendalyn Habel 4-10 1-3 10, Lindsay Ingram 3-7 0-0 6, Emilee Hashley 2-4 0-2 5, Meghan O'Connell 3-7 0-1 7, Sara Newgard 3-4 1-4 7, Ashley Younkin 1-1 0-0 2, Chelsea Vaudt 2-7 1-2 5, Annie Braseth 1-1 1-2 3, Leslie Quay 2-5 1-4 5, Kaylyn Heaton 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 23-48 8-22 57.
3-point goals - Hel. 16 (Krpan 1-1), Flat. 3-9 (Hashley 1-1, Habel 1-2, O'Connell 1-2). Rebounds - Hel. 32 (Bugni 6, Clark 5, Garrison 4, team 4, Hubley 3, Williams 3, May-Fraser 3), Flat. 44 (Quay 10, Newgard 5, Habel 5, Hashley 4, Vaudt 3, Braseth 3). Assists - Hel. 12 (May-Fraser 4, Clark 2), Flat. 8 (Zorn 2, O'Connell 2). Steals - Hel. 13 (Bugni 3, May-Fraser 3, Haseman 2, Krpan 2, Clark 2), Flat. 22 (O'Connell 4, Vaudt 4, Braseth 4, Habel 3, Hashley 2, Quay 2). Blocks - Hel. 9 (Bugni 9), Flat. 0. Total fouls - Hel. 17, Flat. 14. Fouled out - none.