Bengals stop Wolfpack in OT
The Glacier girls pushed No. 5 Helena High to the brink on Saturday, but couldn't hit their shots in overtime, losing at home 63-55.
The Wolfpack made their push early in the second half with junior guard Nicole Heavirland leading the charge. Down six, she made a smooth pass down low to Cassidy Hashley for a layup, then got the girls moving, scoring herself on a layup in transition and hitting a teardrop over the outstretched arms of the Bengals posts to tie the game at 28-28. Just a minute later, she hit a nice stepback 3-pointer that gave the Pack its first lead in nearly 12 minutes of play, 31-30.
Just as she was heating up though, the roughness of the game started to show. She got a bloody nose after a foul early in the fourth quarter, forcing her to come out of the game to clean it up in between free throws.
Minutes later, after hitting another 3-pointer and a pretty midrange jumpshot to take the lead back for the Pack, she had to leave the floor to clean up a bloody lip.
"She took a couple," Glacier coach Kris Salonen said.
"It was just a hard-fought game."
While Heavirland was out her teammates picked up the slack. Hashley, who sat for most of the second quarter after getting two early fouls, showed her versatility on the court, popping out for a pair of mid-range jumpshots and using her 6-foot-1 frame in the post to score a few hooks in the paint, giving the Pack a 50-46 lead with 2:40 left to play.
Helena senior Kyndal Williams brought the Bengals back, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give Helena a 52-50 lead with 1:46 to play. Glacier's Rachel Chery scored in the post the next trip down the floor to even the score.
Each team turned the ball over in an attempt to win in regulation and Helena held the ball for the final 53 seconds to try for a shot at the buzzer, which Williams missed.
In overtime, the Wolfpack missed a pair of opportunities to hang with the Bengals, as Helena spread the score hitting 8 of 11 free throws in the extra session.
Helena's Tatum Teegarden opened the period with a 3-pointer from the corner and hit all four of her free throws to ice it. The Pack had a couple good looks near the basket but couldn't convert and had to resort to fouling to extend the game.
"We played Sentinel on Jan. 7 and they just annihilated us," Salonen said. "Sentinel and Helena High are the top teams in the state right now. We've got to be able to compete with the best and tonight we did.
"They hit some big buckets there at the end and we didn't. That was the difference in the game."
The Wolfpack (2-2 in conference, 7-4 overall) started strong, with Heavirland and Hashley each hitting 3s to take an early 8-6 lead. The Pack closed the first with a 14-13 lead but struggled in the second with its two big scorers sitting on the bench. The team shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first half and trailed 25-20 at halftime.
Heavirland finished with a game-high 22 points matching the total of Helena's Williams. Hashley finished with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
The biggest difference in the game came at the free-throw line, with Helena getting to the line 10 more times, hitting 20 of 25 while the Pack hit just 9 of 15. Helena is now 4-0 in conference and 8-4 overall.
Hashley and Chery played outstanding defense in the post, holding Helena's tall duo of forwards to just eight points, and only three after the first quarter. The Glacier pair were aggressive on offense too, getting their counterparts into foul trouble early.
"I really commend (Chery) on her defense tonight," Salonen said. "She just battled in there and she saved us when Cassidy was on the bench. They took away their inside game but still did a good job getting open for some shots."
Glacier plays next at Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday.
Helena 13 12 8 19 11 - 63
Glacier 14 6 13 19 3 - 55
HELENA - Kyndal Williams 6 7-8 22, Tatum Teegarden 3 4-4 12, Kaitlyn Oliver 2 3-5 7, Callie Kanthack 2 3-4 7, Mykaylee Verworn 3 0-0 6, Mackenzie Donnelly 2 0-0 4, Madison Therriault 1 0-0 2, Molly Grimsrud 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 20-25 63.
GLACIER - Nicole Heavirland 8 3-4 22, Cassidy Hashley 7 1-2 16, Rachel Chery 2 2-4 6, Emily Gilbertson 3 0-0 6, Dayna Niebaum 0 3-3 3, Amy Lybeck 1 0-0 2, Tiffany Marks 0 0-2 0. Totals: 21 9-15 55.
3-point goals: Williams 3, Heaverland 3, Teegarden 2, Hashley 1. Team Fouls: Helena 14, Glacier 17. Technical Fouls: none. Fouled out: Chery.