Wolfpack stumbles in loss to Bruins
Turnovers and foul trouble sent the No. 4 Glacier girls in a spiral at the beginning of the fourth quarter against No. 2 Helena Capital and the Wolfpack never recovered, losing 53-45 at home on Friday in a Western AA conference basketball game.
Glacier (6-3 Western AA, 13-4 overall) led for most of the game despite a bad case of the fumbles. Entering the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack led 35-34 and by as many as six points in the third before giving the ball away again.
Capital (8-1, 16-1) closed the third quarter on a 5-0 run and scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, turning a 35-29 deficit into a 41-35 lead over the stretch, while holding Glacier scoreless for nearly eight minutes of gameplay.
“We weren’t patient, we didn’t play very smart,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said. “We didn’t execute offensively well.”
The Wolfpack committed 27 turnovers, though just 11 came after halftime. Glacier also struggled against the high pick and roll in the fourth quarter, as its two starting forwards played with four fouls. Capital forward Kaye Bignell scored 10 points in the final period, all in the Bruins’ 15-4 run at the start of the quarter.
“They ran some great stuff,” Salonen said. “She ended up posting up hard. She ate us up.”
Cassi Hashley had another huge performance despite the loss, scoring 21 points and pulling in 16 rebounds, her 11th straight game scoring in double digits and her fourth 20-point game of the season.
Bignell led Capital with 17 points. Mckenzie Johnston scored eight points with nine steals and six rebounds for the Bruins.
“We just played tentative,” Salonen said. “Hopefully they’ll Sbattle back and play better tomorrow.”
Glacier will have to rebound quickly as it hosts Helena High (3-6, 4-12) at 2:30 p.m. today.
“We have to battle back,” Salonen said. “Helena High is a tough squad. We’re going to have to be fundamentally better.”
Capital 12 14 8 19 — 53
Glacier 12 15 8 10 — 45
CAPITAL — Alexa Welch 2-2 0-2 4, Sadie Pilgeram 2-10 1-3 5, Mckenzie Johnston 2-5 4-9 8, Kaye Bignell 7-11 3-5 17, Julia Anderson 3-4 2-4 8, Michaela Dowdy 1-4 0-0 2, Quinci Robertson 1-3 3-4 5, Sierra Bignell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 20-42 13-27 53.
GLACIER — Rachel Chery 1-5 1-1 3, Cassi Hashley 7-10 7-8 21, Hailee Bennett 1-4 0-0 2, Kailea Vaudt 1-8 4-4 6, Kirstyn Haugenoe 3-7 0-0 8, Hannah Atlee 1-2 0-0 2, Katie Wiley 1-3 1-2 3. Totals: 15-39 13-15 45.
3-pointers — Capital 0-10, Glacier 2-9 (Haugenoe 2); Rebounds — Capital 25 (Anderson 7), Glacier 30 (Hashley 16); Assists — Capital 5 (Johnston 3), Glacier 10 (Three with 3); Blocks — Capital 1 (Anderson), Glacier 2 (Vaudt, Wiley); Steals — Capital 20 (Johnston 9), Glacier 6 (Haugenoe 2); Fouls — Capital 15, Glacier 20; Technical fouls — none. Fouled out — Welch.