Eagles fly past Bravettes

After playing on the Flathead Bravettes varsity squad for four years, senior Holli Hashley heard her name ring through Flathead's gym one last time. As the only senior on the team, Friday night really was her night.

"The crowd has been really dedicated," she said. "I love getting announced. I'll miss it, but I have no regrets."

Unfortunately, the Bravettes couldn't get the job done against Missoula Big Sky and fell 53-48 in an important game for both teams. Big Sky now sits comfortably in second place in Western AA, while the Bravettes will likely have to win a playoff game to make the state tournament.

"We've got two huge conference games left, and we're going to take both of those," Hashley predicted. "We've got to make our own destiny."

Hashley could have used a repeat performance of the game against Sentinel on Thursday night, where she scored the winning bucket as time ran out.

"We wanted her to win on her senior night," Flathead coach Dennis Latimer said.

The Eagles certainly controlled their own fate against the Bravettes. Big Sky rocketed out to a 21-9 first quarter lead and never gave it up.

Flathead's girls couldn't get a shot to fall and couldn't make consecutive forays into the paint. Big Sky's defense kept them playing perimeter ball with stiff, full-court pressure that created numerous turnovers.

The Bravettes struggled to keep up on the break as well, giving the Eagles too many easy buckets. Late in the first, Big Sky converted three layups on three straight possessions.

Joslyn Tinkle, a 6-foot-1-inch freshman for Missoula, caused problems on both ends of the floor. Her ability to snag offensive rebounds gave Big Sky a lot of extra chances at points. Tinkle even stepped up and stuffed Hashley.

Just to rub it in a little, Ashley Montelius nailed a trey 10 feet behind the line for Big Sky at the buzzer.

Flathead's defense finally found a groove in the second and was able to make some stops. Meghan O'Connell and Hashley played well off each other and scored 11 of Flathead's 13 second-quarter points.

The Bravettes cut Big Sky's lead to five points at the half.

Perhaps Dan Ogden, a Flathead wrestler who placed second at state last weekend, should have put on a wig and suited up for the Bravettes. At halftime, Ogden hit three half-court shots - two of them in a row - to the crowd's delight.

The Eagles came out firing in the third and immediately scored off an offensive rebound. Flathead would make its own three or four point runs, but couldn't close the gap. In fact, the Bravettes lost even more ground in the third.

The Bravettes defensive pressure was strong, but Big Sky's girls was able to hit all kinds of shots, even with hands in their faces.

Not much changed in the fourth. Big Sky scored at the start and kept the Bravettes on their heels. Flathead would grab as many as six offensive rebounds in a row and still come up empty-handed. On the night, the Bravettes shot just 25 percent from the field.

"We did not shoot well tonight," Latimer said. "We kept thinking they'd cool down, but some girls stepped up for them."

Flathead did give an impression that a fourth quarter comeback was possible, but Big Sky had an answer every time. But for Lindsay Ingram and O'Connell each hitting a three in the last 26 seconds, Flathead would have been blown out.

"I thought it was close the whole game," Big Sky coach Marti Leibenguth said. "It sure felt close to me."

The Bravettes badly needed to win this game. Now the team is entrenched in the third spot, and need Big Sky to fall apart to move into second.

None of the Bravettes wanted to make excuses for the loss, but last night's emotional win followed by an arrival at home after midnight took some toll.

"It probably affected us more than we'd like to admit," Latimer said.

The Bravettes, now 13-5 overall and 6-4 in conference, may host a playoff game if they win one or both of their last two games.

EAGLES 53, BRAVETTES 48

Big Sky 21 6 12 14 - 53

Flathead 9 13 9 17 - 48

Missoula Big Sky - Ashley Montelius 5 5-6 17, Julee Christianson 2 2-3 6, Joslyn Tinkle 5 0-0 10, Samantha Lidstrom 4 1-2 9, Eluise Bisson 3 3-3 9, Nancy McMann 1 0-0 2. 20 11-14 53.

Flathead - Christina Zorn 0 0-2 0, Chaeney Latimer 2 0-0 5, Kendalynn Habel 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Ingram 3 0-0 8, Holli Hashley 4 9-10 17, Meghan O'Connell 4 4-4 14, Annie Braseth 0 1-2 1, Leslie Quay 0 1-4 1. 14 15-22 48.

3-point totals: BS 2 (Montelius 2), FHS 5 (Ingram 2, O'Connell 2,Latimer 1). Total fouls: BS 16, FHS 13. Fouled out: none.