Glacier defense checks Flathead

One defensive change made all the difference on Friday for the Glacier Wolfpack.

The Wolfpack switched from a 2-3 zone to straight man defense against the Flathead Bravettes — and changed a tight ballgame into a 10-point difference in a 50-40 crosstown victory at Glacier.

“We just believe enough in our half-court, man-to-man defense that we’d be able to shut them down,” said Glacier coach Kris Salonen.

Glacier (6-6) sweeps the series for 2011-12 and picks up its fourth straight crosstown win.

The Wolfpack also got its offense rolling.

Glacier’s Cassidy Hashley put in another double-double effort with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Nicole Heavirland led all scorers with 18 points.

Tess Brenneman led Flathead with 10 points. Emily Russell added eight.

“That’s what I wanted to see (out of Hashley). She’s been so consistent. That’s huge. And it’s been nice getting (Heavirland) on an offensive run again.

“Us having some success offensively, breaking the press, running our zone offense and being patient was key,” Salonen said.

This one was close for quite awhile, though.

“Their press did cause a little havoc, but we were able to get under control,” she added.

With 2:49 left in the first half, the Bravettes led 21-20. But Glacier scored the last seven points of the half to go ahead 27-21 at the break.

“That’s been kind of the same story for most of the season. We’re playing 16 minutes and not playing 32,” said Flathead coach Karly Tait.

“We lost the second quarter — and that’s really the one that hurt us the most.

“We didn’t take care of the ball as well as we should have. Our shot selection wasn’t the best ... and still we only lose by 10. Take back a couple of those possessions and get a couple buckets and it’s a different ballgame,” she said.

“The third quarter, I thought we’d come back,” Tait said.

Instead, the Wolfpack widened the gap, building the advantage to as many as 12 points.

The Bravettes didn’t score until the 2:53 mark of the third period.

“We played hard. There probably could have been times when we could have played harder. We fouled too much. The free throw line difference was huge — they shot 28 and we shot eight,” Tait said.

One thing that helped keep Flathead in the game was Glacier didn’t make a lot of those free throws. The Wolfpack was 16-for-28 for the game. It could have really pulled away in the third quarter, but it was 4-for-11 from the line.

The Bravettes did close the gap a bit in the fourth period, but it was too little, too late by that time.

Flathead (3-9) will likely play either Helena Capital or Big Sky, but that won’t be determined until after this weekend’s games.

“We still have a chance to get to state. This game didn’t affect our standings at all, so we have to bounce back and figure out what to do for the playoff,” Tait said.

Glacier will likely finish fifth in Western AA, Salonen said. The Wolfpack should know today who it will take on in the play-in game next week.

“We just have to put this all together and wipe away all the silly mistakes,” Salonen said.

Flathead 13 8 5 14 — 40

Glacier 12 15 12 11 — 50

Flathead — Emma Andrews 1 0-0 2, Tess Brenneman 4 2-2 10, Emily Russell 2 2-2 8, Megan Jones 2 0-0 4, Ashlee O’Dell 3 0-0 6, Brittany Earnest 3 0-0 6, Cassie Krueger 1 0-0 2, Jenessa Heine 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 4-8 40.

Glacier — Rachel Chery 1 3-8 5, Emily Gilbertson 0 2-2 2, Cassidy Hashley 4 6-9 14, Nicole Heavirland 7 4-8 18, Dayna Niebaum 3 0-0 6, Grier Smithwick-Hann 1 0-0 2, Tiffany Marks 1 1-1 3. Totals 17 16-28 50.

3-point goals: Flathead 2 (Russell 2), Glacier 0; Total fouls: Flathead 21, Glacier 14. Fouled out: Earnest. Rebounds: Flathead 29 (Brenneman 7), Glacier 26 (Hashley 11). Turnovers: Flathead 16, Glacier 11.