Flathead plays host in crosstown rivalries
It seems like yesterday.
OK, it's been a bit longer than that. But Glacier and Flathead high schools squared off for the first time on the hardwood on Feb. 1 at Glacier, with Flathead sweeping the doubleheader.
The Bravettes cruised to a 67-30 victory, and the Braves followed, also in convincing fashion, 81-51.
The second crosstown contests are today, this time at Flathead. The girls again have the honor of going first (6 p.m.), followed by the boys at 8.
"It was probably more intense than some people anticipated," Braves coach Fred Febach said of the first crosstown contest. "It's a rivalry game, relatively new. It will be (just) as intense for the whole game (again)."
The Bravettes are fourth in the Western AA standings with a 6-4 mark. They are 11-7 overall.
The Wolfpack girls are seventh in the conference at 0-11. Glacier is 1-18 on the season.
For the boys, Flathead is in fifth place at 5-5 and owns a 13-5 overall mark. Glacier is last in the league at 0-11, 3-16 overall.
Tonight marks Glacier's final games of the regular season, while Flathead wraps up its schedules on Saturday. The Braves host Missoula Hellgate at 4:30 p.m. while the Bravettes visit Hellgate.
Glacier and Flathead will play playoff games next week with Class AA state tournaments berths on the line.
The Flathead boys have lost just once on their court. That was a double overtime thriller against Missoula Sentinel.
"We have to take care of business," Febach said. "(Glacier and Hellgate) are both important to us as far as the conference standings. We have won three conference games in a row to get us back to .500. Certainly, another 1-2 wins gets us in a position to host a playoff game."
Febach said Glacier is dangerous in that it has "two excellent scorers to keep them in ball games."
Those scorers are Ben Cutler (18.9 points per game) and Shay Smithwick-Hann (18.6 ppg).
Flathead is equally blessed with Brock Osweiler (24.9 ppg) leading the way.
Osweiler had 28 points in the first meeting with Glacier, while Cutler tallied 16 and Smithwick-Hann 13.
"I have to compliment (Glacier) coach (Mark) Harkins on what they have done this year," Febach said. "They've gone through some real tough times, but have been competitive throughout the season.
"He has done a great job with those kids. They have a bright future in front of them."
Regarding the Braves, Febach said his eight seniors "have been outstanding for us all season long."
The Glacier girls nearly cracked the league win column on Tuesday, falling to Missoula Hellgate at the buzzer. The Knights got a friendly bounce off the rim on a 3-pointer for a 48-47 victory.
Glacier led by 17 points in the fourth quarter before coming up short.
"That was heartbreaking for me," Glacier coach Doug Hashley said. "I wanted it for the kids so much. Those are things we will remember."
Hashley said he's excited about facing Flathead for a second time.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "It will be weird (because) it will be (their) senior night. I had (coached) seven of those seniors as freshmen. It will be a special night for all of us."
Lindsea Vaudt, 11 points, paced Glacier offensively in the first matchup with Flathead. The Bravettes, on the other hand, had three players in double figures - Megan O'Connell with 14, Kendalyn Habel with 13 and Ally Krautbauer with 12.
Habel averages 20.3 points per game.
Emilee Hashley is averaging 12.3 points for Glacier. She had eight against Flathead, and scored 26 against Hellgate on Tuesday.
"We hope to handle the pressure better this time than the first time," Hashley said. "We hope to improve on the outcome from the first time - play better, smarter basketball."
Flathead led that contest 30-15 at halftime.
"I think we have improved so much in the last three weeks," Hashley said. "Our team chemistry is so good right now."