Glacier handles Bravettes

The Glacier Wolfpack (9-3 overall, 3-1 Western AA) opened up the first crosstown girls basketball game of the season with an 11-0 run and never looked back as they defeated the Flathead Bravettes (2-9 0-3) 66-42 for a Western AA conference win on their homecourt Thursday night.

“We didn’t want to have a slow start and you could just tell that the girls had so much energy heading into the game,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said.

Feeding off the energy of a packed gymnasium, the Wolfpack jumped out to a 15-7 first-quarter lead.

In the second, Glacier sophomore Hailee Bennett scored the first and last baskets of the half from behind the arc. She went 4-4 from the three-point line in the quarter and finished with a game-high 23 points.

“I didn’t want to shoot too much, but when you’re on you just gotta shoot sometimes and I was on tonight,” Bennett said.

“Our posts always work very hard and they do so well at rebounding and kicking it out and that’s how I get a lot of my shots.”

Glacier out-rebounded the Bravettes 34-25, and senior Cassi Hashley’s double-double included a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with her 15 points.

Trailing 35-16 at halftime, Flathead couldn’t overcome a cold night from the floor, shooting just 34 percent in the game.

The Wolpack used a 16-point third quarter, including an 11-4 run to extend their lead to 29, their largest lead of the night.

In the fourth, after Flathead’s Jenessa Heine’s three-point-play, the Bravettes pulled within 17, but it was too little, too late as Salonen went to the bench allowing 10 different Wolfpack players to score.

Glacier senior Taylor Loomis added nine points in the contest.

“We ran the ball and transitioned well,” Salonen added. It was just a great team effort.”

Flathead was lead by sophomore Lizzie Sherwood’s 11-point effort. Sherwood lead the team in scoring, rebounds and made the Bravettes only basket from behind the arc. She was also a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line.

Flathead senior Emma Andrews, who clocked a game-high 31 minutes on the court, finished with nine points and lead the team with three steals.

Heine and Tiana Johnson each had seven points for the Bravettes.

Glacier will face Helena High next Friday at 7 p.m. and the Bravettes will host Missoula Hellgate on Saturday at 4 pm.

Flathead 7 9 11 15 — 42

Glacier 15 20 16 15 — 66

FLATHEAD — Emma Andrews 4-11 1-5 9, Tana Fountain 1-12 2-4 4, Lizzie Sherwood 4-5 2-2 11, Tiana Johnson 3-10 1-4 7, Jenessa Heine 3-7 1-1 7, Stephanie Wilson 0-0 2-2 2, Jessica Simmons 1-2 0-0 2.

GLACIER — Hannah Atlee 0-1 1-2 1, Katie Wiley 3-5 0-0 6, Cassi Hashley 7-10 1-6, 15, Hailee Bennett 7-10 5-6 23, Taylor Loomis 4-12 1-1 9, Taylor Salonen 1-4 0-0 2, Zoee Boschee 0-0 3-4 3, Katie Thomas 1-2 0-0 3, Nikki Krueger 0-0 1-2 1, Ali Williams 1-2 1-2 3. 3-point goals — Flathead 1-8 (Sherwood 1-1, Fountain 0-6, Heine 0-1) Glacier 5-9 (Bennett 4-5, Wiley 0-1, Loomis 0-2, Thomas 1-1). Rebounds — Flathead 25 (Sherwood 9) Glacier 34 (Hashley 12). Total fouls — Flathead 17, Glacier 15. Fouled out — Flathead (Heine). Technical foul — none. Steals — Flathead 9 (Andrews 3), Glacier 12 (Wiley 3). Blocks — Flathead 2 (Fountain, Johnson), Glacier 1 (Salonen). Turnovers — Flathead 20, Glacier 18.