Wolfpack ladies rally by CMR
<p>Glacier's Rachel Chery, 5, pushes past a C.M. Russell defender during their game on Friday night in Kalispell. Glacier won the match up 49-43.</p>
The Glacier girls’ basketball team prides itself on its defense, and showed why in a masterful performance Friday night, holding Great Falls C.M. Russell scoreless for more than five minutes in the second half to win 49-43.
The Wolfpack scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter and smothered CMR on the other side of the court, keeping them from even getting off a clean shot until more than half of the period had elapsed. By the time CMR scored in the final quarter, Glacier turned a seven-point deficit into a 42-36 lead.
“Our saying this year is relentless,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said.
“We’re just not ever going to let up and give up. The girls just stepped up. (That was) the best team defensive effort since I’ve been involved at Glacier.”
Glacier trailed for most of the game, unable to reel in the sharpshooting Rustlers in the first half. CMR shot 27 percent from 3-point range in the first two quarters, building an 11-point lead with two minutes left in the second quarter.
“I knew they were a good shooting team, but you watch them warm up and they didn’t miss,” Salonen said.
Glacier struggled adjusting against CMR’s zone defense in the first half, shooting just 25 percent from the floor. The normally man-to-man heavy Rustlers were able to keep Glacier from consistently getting the ball to the post.
“We prepared (against man defense) all week, we threw in a little zone just in case,” Salonen said. “Offensively, they kind of took us out of it. The girls battled, did a good job.”
The offense didn’t loosen up until the fourth quarter, when senior guard Kailea Vaudt opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the corner.
“It was huge for Kailea to get a shot off,” Salonen said.
“She’s been shooting the ball so well in practice. She shot quite a few times but couldn’t get one to knock down. For her to knock down that 3 to start off the fourth, that was huge.”
The big bucket got the Wolfpack within four and, coupled with tough defense, swung momentum in Glacier’s favor. The Wolfpack was able to turn turnovers into buckets down low for Cassi Hashley, who scored eight of her 19 points in the fourth quarter. Hashley finished with a double double, also leading the Pack with 13 rebounds.
“We’ve been working really hard the past three weeks,” Hashley said. “We just wanted to show everyone that we wanted that (win).”
Freshman point guard Hailee Bennett had a fantastic debut for Glacier, scoring 10 points and leading the team with five assists and two steals.
“She’s very smart,” Salonen said. “I’m glad I have her for four years. You never know with a freshman, you don’t want to bring them up too early. She stepped on the court, we just knew. She’s ready.”
Taylor Edwards led the Rustlers with 12 points, while Hannah Vining scored 10 points with six rebounds.
This was Glacier’s first win over CMR in program history. The Wolfpack is back on the court Tuesday hosting Whitefish.
GF Russell1410109—43
Glacier613822—49
C.M. RUSSELL — Ashlee Atchison 4-9 1-1 9, Taylor Edwards 5-11 0-0 12, Maggie Reilly 2-5 0-0 4, Diondra Denton 4-12 0-0 8, Hannah Vining 3-8 1-2 10, Kaydee Parsons 0-6 0-0 0, Kirsten Kaste 0-1 0-0 0, Maddy Watkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-53 2-3 43.
GLACIER — Rachel Chery 1-5 0-0 2, Katie Wiley 2-8 0-0 4, Cassidy Hashley 7-13 5-7 19, Hailee Bennett 2-4 6-8 10, Kailea Vaudt 3-8 2-4 9, Hannah Atlee 2-3 1-4 5, Katie Thomas 0-7 0-0 0, Anna Jenks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-49 14-23 49.
3-pointers — CMR 5-24 (Hannah Vining 3, Taylor Edwards 2), Glacier 1-7 (Kailea Vaudt). Rebounds — CMR 35 (Atchison 8, Denton 6, Vining 6), Glacier 40 (Hashley 13). Assists — CMR 3 (Edwards, Reilly, Parsons), Glacier 8 (Bennett 5, Wiley 3). Blocks — CMR 0, Glacier 5 (Hashley 2, Atlee 2). Steals — CMR 5 (Reilly 3, Edwards 2), Glacier 9 (Wiley 2, Hashley 2, Bennett 2). Turnovers — CMR 17, Glacier 12. Fouls — CMR 19, Glacier 10. Technical fouls — none. Fouled out — none.