Waggener, Wolfpack rip Knights
Glacier's Baylee Quay (22) jumps up to lift a shot over the arms of Missoula Hellgate's Layna Downey during Tuesday evening's Class AA game in Kalispell.
It took Glacier's Ashlee Waggener just over 90 seconds on Tuesday to be whistled for her first foul.
She picked up her second 20 seconds later and her third with three minutes left in the first half.
"We just really talked to her. We told her, ‘look at what happens to your team when you aren't in there,'" said Glacier coach Kris Salonen.
The senior got the message.
She played foul-free basketball in the second half, finished the night with nine points and helped guide the Wolfpack (7-6 overall, 1-4 league) to a 64-45 victory over Missoula Hellgate.
With Waggener in the contest "everybody lifts and rises. She makes things happen. She's a playmaker. Offensively, she penetrates. She scores and she can dish. She just does good things offensively and that's where we struggle. We need that person who can score.
"I think (Waggener) took some steps after that. She turned a corner," Salonen said.
The entire Glacier team took a step forward.
"We needed to get that ... not just a win, but a good solid win where we felt good and did the little things right. And of course, get a conference win," Salonen added.
"The way (the Wolfpack) played in Helena ... they played so hard, they played so good, competed - and those are two of the top teams in the conference. This week, now that I know how they can play and what they can do, they needed to come out and have a good solid win. They did, so I was proud of them."
Glacier was on in every aspect of its game.
Baylee Quay scored the game's first basket 51 seconds in and the Wolfpack never trailed. It led 34-18 at half and 53-31 after three quarters.
Scoring was balanced - Cassidy Hashley led with 17, but Nicole Heavirland had 10, Patty Hughes eight and both Paige Latimer and Quay contributed seven.
In rebounding, Glacier hung right with the taller Knights. Unofficially, the teams were tied at 22 apiece.
The Wolfpack also wreaked havoc with the Hellgate offense.
The Knights had 12 turnovers in the first half, then opened the second with three straight turnovers.
Paige Latimer scored five points off those turnovers to put the Wolfpack ahead 39-18.
Next up for the Wolfpack is Friday's crosstown game at Flathead.
"No matter what happens, it's a crosstown game. Every kid on that court is going to compete," Salonen said.
"We have to execute and play smart."
Hellgate 5 13 13 14 - 45
Glacier 13 21 19 11 - 64
Hellgate - Raina Walther 2 5-6 11, Katie Martens 2 1-2 5, Leyna Downey 5 6-8 17, Kelsey Meagher 2 3-4 7, Cara Guderian 1 0-0 2, Kady Linnell 1 0-0 3. 13 15-20 45.
Glacier - Nicole Heavirland 4 2-2 10, Rachel Chery 2 0-0 4, Paige Latimer 3 0-2 7, Cassidy Hashley 5 7-9 17, Baylee Quay 3 1-2 7, Amy Lybeck 1 0-0 2, Patty Hughes 3 2-2 8, Ashlee Waggener 3 2-2 9.
3-point goals: Hellgate 4 (Walther 2, Downey 1, Linnell 1), Glacier 2 (Latimer 1, Waggener 1), Total fouls: Hellgate 17, Glacier 19. Fouled out: Downey.