Bravettes state bound

Drill Hellgate 62-44 in Western AA playoff game

"We're going to Great Falls! We're going to Great Falls!"

That was the student-section chant in Flathead's gym as the final seconds ticked away in Saturday's Western AA girls' playoff basketball game.

Indeed, the Bravettes are going to Great Falls.

No. 4 seeded Flathead downed visiting Missoula Hellgate 62-44 to claim a berth at this week's Class AA state tournament.

They'll take on the Eastern AA No. 1 - Butte - at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at ExpoPark at CMR High School.

These two teams split during the regular season. But Saturday's game was never in doubt.

With the exception of a 2-2 tie in the first 75 seconds, Flathead led the entire way.

"When we were in the team room before the game, Meghan O'Connell gave this great speech that she got from someone else," said Flathead senior guard Ashley Younkin.

"It's called 'The Will to Win is Not Enough,'" O'Connell said.

"You have to want it so much more than the other team. You have to be so much tougher and have so much more endurance," she explained.

"I read it before every single big game. I thought the team needed to hear it," she said.

"I think it was so motivating and encouraging … and it fit our team and that's what started it for me," Younkin said.

"I didn't want this to be my last game and neither did anyone else, so we gave it all we had. I think we all thought it could have been our last and we didn't want it to be," Younkin added.

"So, when I went out there, I just tried to be energetic and pumped up about everything. When Kaylyn (Heaton) made that first basket, I went over to her and gave her a high five. I cheered for every little thing to

"I just told them, 'how sweet would it be to just to shove it down their throats in that first minute?'" O'Connell said.

That's pretty much what they did.

O'Connell had hoped to cause a Hellgate timeout in the game's first minute - it actually took about 3 1/2 minutes - but it's safe to say Flathead had control early. Flathead led 21-13 after the first quarter and was up 41-21 at half.

"We played as a team. Everything we worked on in practice this week … they did," said Flathead coach Kim Elliot.

"It's the best they've played all year, from my perspective," Elliot added.

"We were ready to play. We played team basketball. From the very first possession, it was good," he said.

"We were working on covering the elbows and the block and just being sound on our defense. We knew our offense would be okay. It goes to show what good practices can do for you."

"Everything was just working for us," O'Connell agreed.

"It was fun because it's the first time it's happened for us. This season, that was the best half we've had so far," she said.

The Bravettes were operating on all cylinders in the early going- Heaton had eight points, Kendalyn Habel had 10, Younkin had eight and O'Connell 9.

"We had a little lull in the third quarter for three or four minutes," Elliot said.

"But you're always going to have a lull.

"We kept them away," he added.

The Knights cut into the Flathead lead - ever so slightly.

Hellgate trimmed the Bravette advantage to 15 points, but could get no closer.

"You just don't want (the other team) to get under 10. It's like a wounded animal. They can smell a little bit of it and come back at you," Elliot said.

"Sometimes, when you're on such a hot streak, you settle down a bit. That's bad for us," O'Connell said.

"When we slow down, that's when we tend to lose games. We're working on that," she said.

They got it back quickly. Habel and O'Connell combined to make 4-of-6 free throws in the final 36 seconds of the third quarter.

That pushed Flathead's lead back to 17 points. Younkin's bucket in the first minute of the fourth pushed the lead to 19.

From there, it was all about free throws - Flathead was 7-for-10 from the line in the final quarter.

Habel finished as the night's top scorer with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. O'Connell added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Younkin and Heaton added 10 points apiece.

And now, Butte.

"They've lost one game this year, but we're so excited to play them because we have all the confidence in the world right now," O'Connell said.

Hellgate 13 8 15 8 - 44

Flathead 21 20 12 9 - 62

Hellgate - Raina Walther 0 1-2 1, Brooke Raunig 1 0-0 2, Rachel Gearheart 2 4-4 8, Mary Yoder 3 1-4 7, Catelyn Lower 2 2-4 7, Kaitlyn Horner 1 1-2 3, Kailee Bruskotter 0 3-4 3, Kirsten Vaculik 5 3-5 13. Totals 14 15-25 44.

Flathead - Kali Radel 0 2-2 2, Kendalyn Habel 5 8-11 18, Ally Krautbauer 3 0-2 6, Meghan O'Connell 2 7-10 13, Ashley Younkin 4 2-5 10, Kaylyn Heaton 4 2-2 10, Amanda Anderson 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 22-34 62.

3-point goals: Hellgate 1 (Lower), Flathead 2 (O'Connell). Rebounds: Hellgate 34 (Raunig 2, Gearheart 2, Lower 5, Gannon 1, Vaculik 12, Yoder 2, Team 6). Flathead 46 (Evans 2, Radel 1, Habel 10, Krautbauer 6, O'Connell 7, Younkin 4, Brown 6, K. Heaton 6, S. Heaton 2, Anderson 1, Team 1). Blocks: Hellgate 1 (Gearheart), Falthead 4 (Krautbauer 2, O'Connell 1, Zorn 1). Steals: Hellgate 3 (Gearheart 2, Vaculik 1), Flathead 14 (Habel 2, Krautbauer 2, O'Connell 4, Younkin 2, K. Heaton 2, Johnson 1, Anderson 1). Turnovers: Hellgate 19, Flathead 18. Total fouls - Hellgate 28, Flathead 20. Fouled out: Lower.