Giving berth
The Daily Inter Lake
Braves, Bravettes find out today if they're bound for Butte
It's a simple proposition - win, and you're in.
After a grueling, 20-game regular season it all comes down to this - one game to determine which team earns the final spot in next week's Class AA state tournament in Butte.
Both Flathead teams are in action today, hosting the final play-in games. The girls will play Helena High at 2:30 p.m., while the boys square off against Missoula Big Sky at 4 p.m.
The Braves split the season series with the Eagles, with each team winning on their home floor. Flathead crushed Big Sky on Jan. 27, 73-54; the Eagles nipped the Braves on Feb. 17, 67-62.
Flathead will have to keep an eye on Big Sky senior Paul Morris, who averaged 19 points in the two games.
"He's a big factor for them; he's been a thorn in our sides the last couple of years," Flathead coach Fred Febach said.
The Braves also will have to slow the outside shooting of junior McHale Anderson, who hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points in match-up in Missoula.
"We stressed defense in practice this week," Febach said. "We didn't locate their shooters when we played them down there; we can't afford to do that again."
The team faced the play-in situation last year and lost at Capital. So they're more than happy to have the home-court advantage this time around.
"It's going to be great," Febach said. "The kids are confident, and they should be. We're healthy and rarin' to go, and we'll have a great crowd behind us.
"It's one game at a time from now on."
The Bravettes have faced that situation for almost two months, after stumbling at the start of '06. And they've responded with fervor, having won 12 of their last 14 games.
Like their male counterparts, the girls split the season series with Helena, with each team winning on the road. Flathead lost 50-45 at home on Dec. 20, and rallied late to tie the game before winning 58-53 in overtime on Jan. 14.
Figure on senior Holli Hashley being her usual, dependable self; and if Meghan O'Connell, Chaeney Latimer and the rest of the supporting cast can step up as they have in the season's second half, the Bravettes should make it back to state yet again.