Bruins clobber Flathead girls

Top-ranked Helena Capital flexed its muscles against Flathead and proved why it is favored to make a deep run in the state tournament as the Bruins defeated the Bravettes 59-24 for a Western AA road victory on Friday night.

Flathead managed just one basket in the first quarter on its home court and could not counter the Bruins offensive assault, which gave Capital a 24-2 lead after the first period of play.

The Bravettes offense woke up in the second quarter when freshman Kelsey Noland-Gillespie drove the lane from the top of the key and maneuvered between Bruins defenders with a jump-stop and finished with a lay-up to energize the Flathead crowd.

Noland-Gillespie saw her minutes on the floor with the starters increase as Flathead coach Lisa Hendrickson saw an opportunity to give the underclassmen some experience with some of her players ailing from a sickness.

“We had a couple of young girls out there and we’re trying to get them to learn quick,” Hendrickson said. “[Kelsey] is playing hard and she has a good looking shot so hopefully we can get her some confidence and more playing time.”

After a Tiana Johnson field goal and another stop on defense, Bravette senior Emma Andrews snuck behind Bruins post player Michaela Dowdy to put back a rebound off a missed three-point shot.

Unfortunately, the run was short-lived. Capital’s Sierra Bignell and Rayna Pilgeram each hit field goals from behind the arc and kept Flathead away from any type of comeback. The Bruins lead 34-12 at halftime.

Jenessa Heine, who led the Bravettes in scoring with 10 points, featured her elusive footwork in the post with a couple of spin moves that led to easy lay-ups in the third quarter.

Five-foot-eight-inch sophomore Lizzie Sherwood garnered a lot of attention from Capital. Although the undersized forward didn’t score in the contest, her pump-fake and pass to Heine led to a Bravette basket to the delight of Hendrickson.

“She’s just a sophomore and we’re giving her big shoes to fill,” Hendrickson said. “She’s working hard on the backside and that’s her job to get rebounds and put-backs and look for Jenessa on the other side.”

The teams combined for 17 fourth-quarter points as Capital road out the victory to remain on top the Western AA standings.

Capital’s Dowdy led all scorers with 16 points. Alexa Welch and Mckenzie Johnson added 15 and 13 points for the Bruins, respectively.

“When you’re playing a great team like that it’s all about each possession, playing hard and having lots of energy, so we just try to keep our heads up and move forward,” Hendrickson added.

Flathead will look to rebound from this defeat with a home matchup against Helena High today at 2 p.m.

Helena Capital 24 10 16 9 — 59

Flathead 2 10 4 8 — 24

CAPITAL— Alexa Welch 6-9 1-3 15, Michaela Dowdy 6-11 3-3 16, Kasidee Campbell 1-2 0-0 2, Mckenzie Johnson 3-6 6-6 13, Sierra Bignell 2-4 0-0 4, Rayna Pilgeram 1-5 1-2 4, Tjaden Pallister 0-3 1-1 1, Savanna Bignell 2-5 0-0 4, Totals 21-48 12-16 59.

FLATHEAD — Emma Andrews 2-11 1-3 5, Montana Fountain 2-8 0-0 4, Tiana Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Jenessa Heine 4-12 2-2 10, Kelsey Noland-Gillespie 1-6 0-0 2, Jessica Simmons 0-1 1-1 1, Totals 10-47 4-7 24.

3-point goals — Capital 5-15 (Welch 2-4, Dowdy 1-1, Campbell 0-1, Herrera 0-2, Sa. Bignell 0-1, Pallister 0-1, Johnson 1-2, Pilgeram 1-3), Flathead 0-10 (Andrews 0-2, Fountain 0-3, Noland-Gillespie 0-4, Simmons 0-1). Rebounds — Capital 31 (Si. Bignell 5) Flathead 25 (Heine 6). Total fouls — Capital 10, Flathead 10. Fouled out—none. Technical foul — none. Steal — Capital 13 (Johnson 6), Flathead 10 (Andrews 4). Blocks — Capital 2 (Dowdy, Johnson 1). Flathead 2 (Andrews, Fountain 1). Turnovers — Capital 13, Flathead 13.