Bad 2nd half sinks Bravettes
Great Falls C.M. Russell (2-7 overall) outscored the Flathead Bravettes (2-6) 23-8 in the second half of a nonconference AA girls basketball game to claim a 46-35 victory at Flathead High School on Saturday night.
Flathead opened the first quarter with a 14-2 run and lead 27-23 at halftime. But after shooting just 9 percent from the field in the second half, including a scoreless third quarter, they saw their lead slip away for good.
“When we get down we cannot show our frustration and we didn’t do a good job of that today,” Bravettes head coach Lisa Hendrickson said.
“We can’t have lulls like that and expect to win games.”
Although they trailed at halftime, the Lady Rustlers navigated a 13-3 run in the second quarter and continued their momentum into the second half where they outscored Flathead 9-0 in the third period of play.
Flathead senior Tana Fountain hit two three-point baskets in the fourth quarter to keep the Bravettes within striking distance, but they couldn’t overcome the third quarter drought.
Hendrickson praised the senior’s 11-point effort.
“We need senior leadership; when you go through adversity you need someone to step up and hit a big shot or get a big steal and she did that for us,” Hendrickson said.
Lead by junior Taylor Edwards’ game-high 13 points, CMR shot 69 percent from the free-throw line and was in the bonus in both halves as Flathead committed 23 fouls.
If it wasn’t for the poor performance in the second half the Bravettes could have continued to dominate the post. They outscored CMR in the paint 18-8, and senior Jenessa Heine’s 10-point night also came with a game-high six rebounds.
The Lady Rustlers, who stifled Flathead with a full-court pressure throughout the night, weren’t intending to stick with their press for the whole game according to head coach Brain Crosby.
“I wanted to work on it, but I didn’t really think about using it the whole night,” Crosby said.
“It worked. Our guards got a lot of ball pressure so we stuck with it.”
Senior Emma Andrews added seven points and three steals for the Bravettes, who will look for more consistency in their Friday night matchup against Columbia Falls with tipoff schedule for 6 p.m.
“We need to gel as a team and find that cohesion,” Hendrickson added.
“You’re never going to have a perfect game. Stop trying to be perfect and play hard. That’s where we need to get to. We need to get through the mental part of the game.”
C.M. Russel l 8 15 9 14 — 46
Flathead 16 11 0 8 — 35
C.M. RUSSELL — Kaydee Parsons 1-4 1-3 3, Kirsten Kaste 2-4 2-2 7, Taylor Edwards 4-13 4-5 13, Maggie Reilly 2-5 2-4 7, Maddy Gregoire 2-3 6-8 11, Courtney Schroeder 0-2 2-2 2, Maddy Watkins 1-4 1-2, 3. Totals 12-39 18-26 46.
FLATHEAD — Emma Andrews 3-9 1-4 7, Stephanie Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Montana Fountain 4-13 0-0 11, Kelsey Noland-Gillespie 0-3 1-2 1, Lizzie Sherwood 1-3 0-0 2, Tiana Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Jenesa Heine 4-13 2-7 10. Totals 14-45 4-13 35.
3-point goals — C.M. Russell 4-11 (Kaste 1-2, Edwards 1-4, Reilly 1-2, Gregoire 1-1 Parsons 0-2), Flathead 3-11 (Fountain 3-8, Andrews 0-3). Rebounds — C.M. Russell 32 (Schroeder, Edwards 4), Flathead 30 (Heine 6). Total fouls — C.M. Russell 17, Flathead 23. Fouled out — C.M. Russell (Atchison) Flathead (Sherwood). Technical Foul — Flathead 3 (Team 2, Heine). Steals — C.M. Russell 19 (Watkins, Reilly, Atchison 2), Flathead 22 (Sherwood, Andrews 3). Blocks — Flathead 2 (Fountain). Turnovers — C.M. Russell 23, Flathead 18.