Capital slips by Wolfpack
Glacier Wolfpack senior post Emilee Hashley pulls down a rebound as Helena Capital defenders Sammi Bignell (left) and Jordan Johnston try to knock the ball away during the first half of Saturday's game at Glacier. Allison Money/Daily Inter Lake
On a day when pink was the color of choice, Capital's Kelsi Brekke was red hot.
The 5-foot-6 senior nailed six 3-pointers en route to 34 points and Helena Capital escaped Glacier 52-46 in a Western AA girls basketball game on Saturday.
Both two teams were practically head-to-toe in pink during warm-ups along with the crowd as the two schools partnered up for the second year in a row to raise awareness for breast cancer as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone.
To start things off, the Wolfpack rolled ahead with full-court energy and caught the second-place Bruins off guard.
But then Brekke found her range from downtown.
"Kelsi Brekke was hot and it was a good thing in the first half because she kept us within range of Glacier," Capital coach Bill Pilgeram said. "We played her a lot in that first half because she was carrying us, and luckily the rest of the team then matched that in the second half and helped her out."
The Wolfpack (7-11 overall, 3-7 in conference) ran the show in the first two quarters thanks to a stifling defensive effort and home-court shooting. Brooke Watkins drained three treys for nine points in the first half while post Emilee Hashley continued her string of scoring at least 18 points or more in three straight games. She finished Saturday's game with 18.
The Bruins (15-3, 9-1) trailed by six at halftime, but came out after the intermission with hard-nosed defense on the mind.
"I was really happy with our second half," Pilgeram said. "I thought Glacier really came out with a good plan and offensively they executed very well in the first half. At halftime, we just talked about keeping their scoring down."
And that they did. The Wolfpack managed only three points in the third quarter.
"I think Capital came out with maybe a little more intensity (in the third quarter) and with something to prove in a way. We got to make sure that doesn't happen," Glacier coach Doug Hashley said. "That was a big difference because they kind of caught a little momentum and it was a dogfight from then on."
The disciplined Bruins defense stumped the Wolfpack offense while keeping their hands clean of fouls, allowing Glacier to shoot only six free throws in the game. Helena also kept Hashley from taking over as she did the night before against Helena High when she scored a career-high 30 points.
"It was a great, classic match," coach Hashley said. "Capital is just a well-coached, very good team, and for us to match those girls' intensity, it just shows we've come a long ways."
Capital held a narrow lead throughout the final eight minutes until Brekke made her way to the charity stripe and used her smooth shot to hit 10-for-10 and zap Glacier's upset bid.
The Wolfpack took a hit when senior guard Kayla Smart was lost to an ankle injury in the first half.
"It really hurt us having Kayla Smart go down, we missed her a lot," Hashley said.
That left more for the 5-foot-4 Sharaf to shoulder at the point up front, and she took the role in stride.
"I was really impressed with Sydney running the show," Hashley said. "It just really helped our team to have her step up."
Kadie Latimer netted eight points and Lindsea Vaudt added six points and six rebounds for Glacier.
"We played really hard and gave it our all," said Vaudt, a senior.
"We're having a lot of fun," she said of the team's spirit. "I like the chemistry that we have, we're all friends and that's a great thing to have on a team."
Kelsey Grey had eight points and eight rebounds and Alecia Wilson chipped in four points and five assists for Capital, who had only four scorers in the game.
Glacier finishes the season with a Senior Night home game against Missoula Hellgate (1-16, 0-9) on Tuesday before heading across town to Flathead (1-17, 1-9) on Friday to wrap things up.
Helena Capital 14 12 10 16 - 52
Glacier 15 17 3 11 - 46
CAPITAL - Sammi Bignell 2 1-4 6, Kelsi Brekke 9 10-12 34, Alecia Wilson 2 0-0 4, Jordan Johnston 0 0-2 0, Kelsey Grey 4 0-0 8. Totals 17 11-18 52
GLACIER - Kayla Smart 0 2-2 2, Kadie Latimer 3 1-2 8, Sydney Sharaf 1 1-2 3, Rachel Cutler 1 0-0 2, Lindsea Vaudt 3 0-0 6, Emilee Hashley 8 0-0 16, Brooke Watkins 3 0-0 9. Totals 19 4-6 46
3-point goals - Capital 7 (Brekke 6, Bignell), Glacier 4 (Watkins 3, Latimer); Total fouls - Capital 8, Glacier 15; Fouled out - None; Total rebounds - Capital 27 (Grey 8, Bignell 6), Glacier 22 (Hashley 8, Vaudt 6); Turnovers - Capital 10, Glacier 15