Bravettes top Libby for 1st win
Flathead's Taylor Twichel (15) looks for an open teammate while by Libby's Alysha Martin defends during Saturday evening's game.
The offensive woes for the Flathead Bravettes must have been left on the road.
After combining for 54 points in two away games to start the season, the Bravettes erupted for 35 points in the first half and came away with a 55-45 victory against Libby in the nonconference girls basketball home opener at Flathead High on Saturday night.
Junior Danika Johnson scored a game-high 20 points and had nine rebounds, sophomore Tess Brenneman mixed in 12 points while working her full-time job of defending Libby standout Jackie Mee and the Bravettes (1-2) won their first game under head coach Karly Tait.
“We needed it for the girls and their confidence,” said Tait, who was an assistant at Flathead last year and a head coach at Class B Cascade for five years before that. “It was definitely fun. The girls played their hearts out ... We just knocked down shots that’s what we needed to do, so we’re happy.”
Five-foot-seven Brenneman was given the tough task of sticking to Mee, a 6-foot-1 senior and one of the top scorers in the state, who netted 41 earlier this season. By halftime, Mee had only seven points and Flathead held a 35-27 lead.
“We knew that that might happen, so that was a smart move by Coach Tait to do that,” Libby head coach Jim May said.
But Mee broke lose in the second half and found her spot on the court. With Flathead up 11 late in the third quarter, Mee drained back-to-back deep 3-pointers and boosted Libby’s spirits heading into the final quarter.
“(Mee) hit those couple three’s and I got a little bit worried,” Tait said. “She’s an amazing player and Tess did such a great job on her. We knew that Jackie outsized her so we had to make sure we had help inside but boy Tess just fought hard and didn’t let her see the ball very much. That was her job and she did good.”
Mee finished with 19, junior Jaime Gilden had 14 and Alysha Martin scored eight for Libby (2-2).
The closest Libby came in the fourth quarter was four with just over two minutes left. Johnson didn’t let that last as she fought her way to the free throw line, knocked down two shots and then went on to score four of the game’s final six points.
“(Johnson) played tough and their guards kept us from getting into our offense, that’s kind of the story,” May said. “I think it was obvious tonight that there were times that we were not ready to go 100 percent, and that’s when they were good and that’s when we weren’t.”
The Bravettes distanced themselves from the type of play that troubled them in the first two games thanks to intensity and, as Tait said, loosening up a little bit.
“A lot of it is just quit thinking about it and go out and play and be confident,” Tait said. “They know that we’re confident in them and that helps.”
Brittany Earnest had eight points, Taylor Keltner scored five and Sam Thompson had four for Flathead.
The Bravettes return to action on Jan. 2 at home against Great Falls CMR at 4:30 p.m. Libby hosts Eureka that same day at 6 p.m.
Libby 14 13 11 7 — 45
Flathead 14 21 9 11 — 55
LIBBY (2-2) — LaRona Luscher 1 0-0 2, Alysha Martin 2 3-4 8, Jaime Gilden 6 2-5 14, Jackie Mee 6 3-4 19, Kim Tangen 1 0-0 2, Sheena Good 0 0-0 0, Jenny Johnson 0 0-0 0, Logan Best 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-14 45.
FLATHEAD (1-2) — Danika Johnson 7 6-7 20, Sam Thompson 2 0-2 4, Christyne Hanson 1 0-0 2, Tess Brenneman 4 4-7 12, Brittany Earnest 3 2-2 8, Taylor Twichel 1 0-0 2, Taylor Keltner 2 1-4 5, Annie Cronk 1 0-2 2, Megan Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-24 55
3-point goals — Libby 5 (Mee 4, Martin), Flathead 0; Team rebounds — Libby 26, Flathead 31 (Johnson 9); Team turnovers — Libby 19, Flathead 19; Team fouls — Libby 19, Flathead 17; Fouled out — None