Wolfpack buries Bravettes

The message - no lead is safe, no matter how large - was still fresh when Glacier coach Kris Salonen talked to her girls basketball team during her team's halftime break Friday evening at Flathead High School.

"What I told them was to think about what the Glacier boys did to the Flathead boys (earlier)," she said.

"I told them to go out and play hard and be ready."

The Glacier boys trailed Flathead by 18 points in the first half of Friday's opening game of the boys/girls doubleheader, but rallied to claim a thrilling 77-74 overtime victory.

The Glacier girls, playing in the nightcap, led Flathead by what seemed to be a comfortable 14 points at the half, 37-23. The Wolfpack also never let up, rolling to a 61-42 Western AA victory.

The Wolfpack (8-6 overall, 2-4 league) opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run in the first 2 1/2 minutes to push its' margin to 20 points, where it stayed for much of the season half.

Ashlee Waggener, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, had Glacier's offense in high gear with some brilliant passing to kick things off in the final half.

It started when she threaded the needle with a perfect bounce pass inside to a wide-open Baylee Quay for an easy two.

Fifteen seconds later, Waggener wrapped a pass around a Flathead defender to Quay for another two points under the basket.

Waggener followed that with a beautiful hook pass behind her neck from the free throw line to an open Cassidy Hashley along the baseline for an easy basket.

And if that wasn't enough, Waggener showed her ball handling skills with a behind-the-back dribble bringing the ball up court against pressure in the fourth period.

Waggener finished with nine points.

"She creates things out there," Salonen said.

"She's a playmaker.

"She's very unselfish," Salonen added. "Sometimes she will give it up too much, but she does a good job."

Quay wound up leading Glacier in scoring with 12 points. She also had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Nicole Heavirland finished with eight points for the Wolfpack.

Brittany Earnest, off the bench, was Flathead's best scorer with 10 points. Tess Brenneman added eight.

"We just have to pull together as a team," Flathead coach Karly Tait said.

"The effort was definitely there. Our free-throw percentage was better, that's a plus.

"We need to play better defense," Tait stressed.

"We're still making real young mistakes. We're not learning from our mistakes. We keep repeating them.

"Give Glacier credit," Tait was quick to add.

"They took care of the ball and played hard."

Flathead (5-7, 0-5) is back in action today hosting Missoula Hellgate at 4:30 p.m.

Glacier hosts Missoula Sentinel on Tuesday.

"That's two solid wins this week," Salonen said.

"That's what we needed to get some confidence."

Glacier beat Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday, 64-45.

NOTE: Flathead senior center Danika Johnson had shoulder surgery earlier in the week and will miss the remainder of the season.

Glacier 17 20 15 9 - 61

Flathead 9 14 11 8 - 42

GLACIER - Nicole Heavirland 3 2-2 8, Rachel Chery 0 3-4 3, Paige Latimer 2 0-4 5, Cami Mathison 3 0-2 7, Cassidy Hashley 3 1-3 7, Halle Wilson 1 0-0 2, Baylee Quay 3 6-9 12, Amy Lybeck 0 0-2 0, Patty Hughes 2 2-2 6, Ashlee Waggener 2 4-5 9, Tiffany Marks 0 2-4 2. Totals: 19 20-37 61.

FLATHEAD - Emma Andrews 3 0-2 6, Sam Thompson 1 0-0 2, Tess Brenneman 1 6-10 8, Megan Jones 0 2-2 2, Ashlee O'Dell 3 1-1 7, Brittany Earnest 2 6-7 10, Jenessa Heine 2 3-4 7. Totals: 12 18-24 42.

3-point goals - Latimer, Mathison, Waggener; Team fouls: Glacier 21, Flathead 23; Fouled out: Latimer; Technicals-Flathead bench.