Capital towers over 'Pack

The size advantage that the Helena Capital girls had over Glacier on paper seemed even bigger on the court Friday.

The Bruins fenced off underneath the basket with their size all night and used a monster run in the third quarter to earn a 60-44 Western AA basketball victory over the Wolfpack at Glacier High.

Capital outrebounded Glacier 52-29 thanks to a starting lineup that includes four girls 5-foot-10 or taller — Glacier’s varsity roster has one.

“I never want to make excuses for them, but physically this is the hardest game that they’ve had I think all year,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said.

That said, the Wolfpack was scrappy all the way into the third, when they cut Helena’s lead to six with 2:38 left.

But then Capital squashed the spirited comeback with one second-chance basket after another. The Bruins piled on a 19-4 run, and with that Glacier was done.

“I told the kids just give yourselves a chance, and they did,” Salonen said. “I mean we got down early but the girls battled back ... but then (the Bruins) go on that run. That’s one of those situations where suddenly the game gets away from you. It’s like water going through your fingers and there’s not much you can do about it. I think the kids were just gassed by that point.”

Capital (6-5 overall, 3-1 Western AA) had four players score in double figures, including Maggie Rickman, who had 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and the Bruins won their third-straight.

Rachel Cutler scored 14 points for the second-straight game to pace Glacier (5-6, 0-3). Patty Hughes had five points and five rebounds while Paige Latimer, Cami Mathison, Sydney Sharaf and McKell Bennett each added four points apiece for Glacier.

“Any time you can come to Kalispell and get a win on the road, you have to be happy with that,” Capital coach Bill Pilgeram said. “We knew we had a size advantage and we also knew against a zone (defense) we needed to move the ball. We didn’t shoot well from the outside but we got a lot of (offensive) boards. We had 27 offensive boards.”

Glacier trailed by eight at halftime and slowed up the Bruins’ offense to start the second half. But midway through, Capital’s constant fast-break transitions seemed to take its toll. The Bruins only shot 37 percent (22-for-59) from the floor all game, but were able to get second, and sometimes third, attempts thanks to the reliable rebounding.

“They’re going to learn that. You’ve got to find somebody to box out every time,” Salonen said. “And when you’re smaller you have to be a little more aggressive ... We’re going to have to get our knees scuffed up a little bit and box out. But like I said, nobody’s going to give up.”

The Wolfpack is in a restless stretch of four home games in seven days. It continues today with a conference showdown against Helena High at 2:30 p.m.

Helena Capital    17    10    17    16    —    60

Glacier    6    13    10    15    —    44

HELENA CAPITAL(6-5) — Sammi Bignell 3 0-1 7, Caity Pilgeram 0 2-2 2, Emily Burk 2 0-0 6, Jordan Johnston 4 2-4 11, Kaci Matthies 5 1-4 11, Smith Wells 4 4-7 12, Maggie Rickman 4 3-7 11, Kelsey Robertson 0 0-0 0, Mary Miller 0 0-0 0, Jasyn Mulcahy 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 12-25 60.

GLACIER (5-6) — Rachel Cutler 3 5-8 14, Paige Latimer 1 1-2 4, Cami Mathison 2 0-0 4, Sydney Sharaf 2 0-0 4, Baylee Quay 1 1-2 3, Patty Hughes 2 1-1 5, Brooke Watkins 1 0-0 3, Ashlee Waggener 1 1-4 3, McKell Bennett 1 2-4 4. Totals 14 11-21 44.

3-point goals — Capital 4 (Burk 2, Bignell, Johnson), Glacier 5 (Cutler 3, Watkins, Latimer); Rebounds — Capital 52 (Rickman 14, Johnston 9, Matthies 8), Glacier 29 (Waggener 6, Hughes 5); Turnovers — Capital 16, Glacier 13; Team fouls — Capital 16, Glacier 18; Fouled out — None.