BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Bravettes making progress in Hendrickson's third season

Former college assistant Lisa Hendrickson took her first head-coaching job two winters ago at Flathead High School, ready to put the rigors of college recruiting behind her and to settle down with her young family.

But did she know just what she was getting in to?

“No,” Hendrickson said quickly, with a chuckle.

“Not really. I wasn’t ready. There were growing pains for sure.”

Just 7-35 through her first two seasons at the helm, Hendrickson has used that time to “start from scratch” with the Bravettes, beginning with the game’s most basic fundamentals. Now with a roster of players who have played almost exclusively under her, the former St. Martin’s University assistant is starting to see clear signs of progress after a frustrating start.

“I don’t think (it’s been) discouraging, but I was definitely very hard on myself because I wanted and expected more out of myself right away,” Hendrickson said.

“I didn’t realize the amount of time — physically and mentally — that it was going to take to get them to turn around.

“It’s just been about building a new program and them getting used to me,” she said. “The last two years have really been an adjustment for them because they had to learn everything over.

“Now that we’re going into our third year it’s just kind of a different feel. There’s a lot of positive energy, they’re getting me now.”

Flathead endured a miserable season a year ago, going 2-19 and getting outscored by an average of more than 18 points per game. The Bravettes open the 2015-16 season this afternoon at 4 p.m. against Bozeman, a team that walloped Flathead 64-15 last December.

More than just chemistry and positive energy, however, there are tangible reasons for optimism.

The Bravettes were a very young team last season and even this year boast a roster made up primarily of juniors, a class that not coincidentally has played only under Hendrickson and her assistants.

“This year (the juniors) have a lot more expectations on them and a lot more to carry,” Hendrickson said.

“I feel like on any given day any one could just step up and contribute.”

Hendrickson wants to push the pace and use her team’s depth to her advantage, but when the Bravettes are on offense they will look primarily to junior wing Tiana Johnson, a second team all-conference pick last year.

“(Johnson) had skills last year but she didn’t have the confidence to just do it,” Hendrickson said. “Right now, she’s got all the confidence in the world and she’s worked on her mid-range game which she didn’t have before. Now that she has that she’s a lot harder to guard.”

Johnson led the Bravettes in scoring last year at 10.5 points per game, nearly 30 percent of the team’s offensive output. At 6-foot-1 Johnson is a talented rebounder — she also led the team with 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore — who possesses a guard’s skill-set and shot 33.3 percent from three-point range last season.

Kelsey Gillespie, another junior, moves into the starting lineup this year alongside Johnson in the backcourt after averaging 4.3 points per game in 17 games last year. Taryn Gutierez, a 5-10 post, also returns after scoring five points and pulling down four rebounds per game in 2014-15.

Flathead went 11-11 in 2012-13, the last year before Hendrickson was hired, and it’s her goal to get back to break even this year.

“I definitely am shooting for .500,” Hendrickson said.

“We had a really tough year last year, so (the goal) is always to get better. We want to win our home games and maybe sneak a few on the road along the way.”