Slow start handcuffs Wolfpack

When the buzzer sounded, signaling the start of the second half, the Glacier Wolfpack finally re-emerged from the girls locker room.

After suffering through one of the more forgettable first halves in program history, the Wolfpack looked leery of taking the court again.

But despite scoring only five points in the first two quarters, Glacier forced undefeated Missoula Sentinel to keep up the pace in the latter half and win it, which the Spartans did, 54-31 in a Western AA conference basketball game on Thursday.

“It was hard to endure both as a player and as a coach and we just have to find something good out of it,” Glacier head coach Doug Hashley said.

“We now know that defense is going to be what we need to hang our hats on and it’s not just going to be by words. It’s going to have to be on the floor.”

Glacier was the definition of rusty, playing in its first game since a Dec. 18 win against Great Falls. For the first 13 minutes, the Wolfpack appeared downright cursed. Not a single basket could be scored, not a rebound could be grabbed.

“What I was afraid of was going to be the effort level playing against a good team like Sentinel and not letting them get on a quick roll and that’s exactly what happened and it was basically due to lack of effort,” Hashley said.

Sentinel improved to 7-0 on the season thanks to a picture-perfect first half on offense and defense. Senior Bryn Hasquet scored nine of the Spartans’ first 15 points and finished with a game-high 18.

Sentinel led 15-0 at the end of one quarter and held Glacier scoreless until 1:59 in the second quarter, when Baylee Quay turned in a breakaway lay-up making it 21-2. Glacier finished the half trailing 25-5.

“We lost a great chance of playing a good half of basketball the first half and we won’t talk about it again,” Hashley said.

“We need to move forward. But the effort that we gave in the second half, we need to build on that.”

Senior Brooke Watkins sparked the second-half fresh start and scored nine of her 12 points in the final 16 minutes. Junior Ashlee Waggener added five points for the Wolfpack (2-4).

“When things go bad we need to slow down and execute instead of get into freelance mode,” Hashley said.

“Sentinel’s just a dang good ball club. We knew that coming in. It’s not a team you want to be flat against, and coach (Karen) Deden is a great coach and she had them ready.”

Glacier went on a 11-3 run in the third quarter and finished the second half only being outscored by Sentinel 29-26.

“I think we played well when we were pressing but then we got a little stagnant when we weren’t able to press,” Deden said. “It’s one of those things that you get a big lead so you take that off and then you get a little stagnant. We’re trying to figure our way through that.”

Glacier has a break from conference play until Jan. 14 and heads to face Polson, Northwestern A’s top girls team right now, on Saturday at 6 p.m.

“We’re going to have to play defense from every game here on out,” Hashley said.

“Defense is probably going to be every third word out of my mouth now, and intensity and desire. Those three words and that’s what I have to find.”

Missoula Sentinel    15    10    11    18    —    54

Glacier    0    5    15    11    —    31

SENTINEL (7-0) — McCall Hasquet 2 3-4 7, Megan Beach 1 0-0 2, Bryn Hasquet 7 3-4 18, Kate Patenaude 4 1-1 10, Kimmy Kavran 1 0-0 2, DJ Reinhardt 6 0-0 13, Riley Cullip 1 0-0 2, Molly Jones 0 0-2 0. Totals 22 7-11 54

GLACIER (2-4) — Rachel Cutler 2 0-0 4, Paige Latimer 1 0-0 2, Sydney Sharaf 1 0-0 2, Baylee Quay 1 0-2 2, Patty Hughes 1 0-2 2, Brooke Watkins 4 2-3 12, Ashlee Waggener 2 1-2 5, McKell Bennett 1 0-4 2,  Totals 13 3-13 31.

3-point goals — Sentinel 3 (B. Hasquet, Patenaude, Reinhardt), Glacier 2 (Watkins 2); Team fouls — Sentinel 10, Glacier 13; Fouled out — None.