Bravettes run away from Wildkats
Habel gets fairly close to quadruple-double
COLUMBIA FALLS - They were on pace for 84 combined turnovers after the first quarter.
But the Flathead High School girls' basketball team settled down to beat Columbia Falls, 68-38, Thursday night in a non-conference tilt.
It was the Bravettes' first victory of the season, improving them to 1-1.
Ahead by just one point with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the first quarter, the Bravettes started the second quarter on a 13-2 run and never looked back. They extended a 37-23 halftime lead with a 16-0 run to start the third quarter.
The Wildkats finished with 39 turnovers, even though the Bravettes turned their press off in the second half.
Senior guards Meghan O'Connell and Kendalyn Habel combined for 33 points, 11 assists and 11 steals in the victory. Habel was fairly close to posting a quadruple-double with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.
As dominating as those two were, the scoring was spread out among six girls during those crucial runs. Kaylyn Heaton, Ashlea Vaudt and Ally Krautbauer each finished with six points. Shaina Evans scored seven points. Ashley Younkin and Kali Radel each had five points. Vaudt, a 5-foot-11 senior, also tallied seven rebounds and two blocks.
The Bravettes finished with 26 steals. O'Connell registered five and Younkin had four. Younkin also had four assists.
The Bravettes finished with a 43 percent shooting clip and turned the ball over a ton, as well. They finished with 26 turnovers and held just a plus-2 rebounding advantage.
But the Wildkats couldn't keep their own handle on the ball and compounded troubles by making only 34 percent of their shots.
Senior forward Samantha Ladenburg paced Columbia Falls with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Alyssa Ladenburg and Sarah Marcille each finished with eight points and four rebounds. Kelsey DeWitt, a 6-1 sophomore, had nine rebounds and six points.
The teams combined to make just 33 percent of their free throws and combined for 65 turnovers.
The Wildkats dropped to 1-2 on the season. They play at Frenchtown on Saturday.
The Bravettes are back in action Saturday when they host Libby.
Flathead 18 19 20 11 - 68
C.Falls 15 8 7 8 - 38
FLATHEAD (1-1) - Shaina Evans 2-4 3-5 7, Kali Radel 2-6 0-0 5, Kendalyn Habel 7-18 1-4 16 Ally Krautbauer 3-11 0-0 6, Meghan O'Connell 6-11 2-2 17, Georgia Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Younkin 2-3 1-2 5, Ashley Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Danika Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Ashlea Vaudt 3-4 0-1 6, Kaylyn Heaton 3-7 0-4 6. Totals 28-65 7-18 68.
COLUMBIA FALLS (1-2) - Jylisa Fields 0-4 2-4 2, Amanda Milliard 1-6 0-1 2, Alyssa Ladenburg 3-14 2-6 8, Cedar Smith 1-1 0-1 2, Shay Grilley 0-2 0-0 0, Sarah Marcille 3-5 1-2 8, Cortny Westgard 0-1 0-0 0, Samantha Ladenburg 5-9 0-2 10, Colyne Hislop 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey DeWitt 3-4 0-2 6, Kayla DeWitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 5-18 38.
3-point goals - FHS 5-20 (O'Connell 3-5, Radel 1-3, Habel 1-6), CF 1-5 (Marcille 1-1). Rebounds - FHS 41 (Habel 8, Vaudt 7, team 6, Evans 5, Heaton 5, Brown 3, two with 2), CF 39 (Kelsey DeWitt 9, Milliard 4, A. Ladenburg 4, Marcille 4, team 4, Fields 3, Smith 3, two with 2). Assists - FHS 12 (Habel 7, Younkin 4), CF 8 (A. Ladenburg 3, Marcille 2). Steals - FHS 23 (Habel 7, O'Connell 5, Younkin 4, Krautbauer 3, Heaton 3), CF 13 (A. Ladenburg 3, Kelsey DeWitt 3, Fields 2, Smith 2). Blocks - FHS 3 (Vaudt 2, Heaton), CF 0. Turnovers - FHS 26, CF 39. Total fouls - FHS 17, CF 15. Fouled out - Fields.