FHS rolls past Bison
Flathead junior Tess Brenneman, 14, gets pressure from Great Falls junior Katie Dolan, 24, as she prepares to make a shot during the second half of their game on Saturday in Kalispell.
As far as season openers go, not too bad.
Flathead scored 31 points in the final half and had three starters hit double-figure scoring to roll to an impressive 49-34 nonconference Class AA girls basketball victory over Great Falls High on Saturday at FHS.
Dankia Johnson tossed in a game-high 13 points, nine coming in the first half, to carry the Flathead offense early. The 6-foot-2 senior center also pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked two shots before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Brittany Earnest scored 11 points to help Flathead gain some breathing room after a tight first half. The 5-7 junior guard showed a soft touch around the basket and good range with a big 3-point field goal.
And Tess Brenneman, a 5-8 junior forward, did the bulk of her scoring at free throw line to finish with 10 points.
Amy Roberts topped the Bison in scoring with 11 points.
All in all, a pretty decent start to what Flathead coach Karly Tait hopes will be a successful season.
"The second half was definitely better than the first half," Tait said.
"That's kind of been a season goal - we want to improve each week and within each game, improve each half."
Flathead and Great Falls High had their share of rough moments in the first half with turnovers, fouls and missed shots, but the Bravettes still managed to take an 18-10 lead at the break.
Flathead trailed just once, 8-6, but Cassie Krueger sank a free throw and Brenneman followed with a turnaround jumper off a rebound to put Flathead on top for good at 9-8.
Flathead led by 20 points at one point, 45-25 with 4:25 remaining, but the Bison hit a couple of treys down the stretch to close the gap, but never seriously threaten.
"I thought we did a good job of keeping our lead," Tait said.
"We didn't let them back in it. And I thought we played aggressive the whole game."
Flathead did struggle at the free throw line, going 14-for-29, and in the foul department. In addition to Johnson fouling out, three players finished the game with four each and one had three.
Flathead will wrap up the pre-holiday portion of its schedule this week with a pair of Class A outings. The Bravettes host Columbia Falls on Thursday, 6 p.m., and play at Libby on Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
"It wasn't pretty, but it was a win," Tait said.
"We'll take it."
It was also a much better showing than last year when Tait said the Bison beat Flathead by 20 or more points in Great Falls.
Great Falls High 8 2 10 14 - 34
Flathead 9 9 16 15 - 49
GREAT FALLS HIGH - Katie Schermele 0 1-3 1, Amy Roberts 4 0-2 11, Katie Dolan 2 0-2 4, Carly O'Rourke 1 0-1 3, Macaulea Romsa 0 1-3 1, Callee Remsen 2 0-0 5, MaryGlen Vielleux 1 3-4 5, Jordan Johnson 2 0-1 4. Totals: 12 5-16 34.
FLATHEAD - Emma Andrews 1 0-0 2, Sam Thompson 2 1-4 5, Tess Brenneman 2 6-14 10, Ashlee O'Dell 1 0-0 2, Brittany Earnest 5 0-0 11, Malia Ozegovich 1 0-0 2, Cassie Krueger 0 4-6 4, Jenessa Heine 0 0-2 0, Danika Johnson 5 3-3 13. Totals: 17 14-29 49.
3-point goals: Roberts (3), O'Rourke, Remsen; Earnest; Team fouls: Great Falls 20, Flathead 22; Fouled out: Schermele; Johnson.