Sentinel girls top Flathead cagers
As the Missoula Sentinel Spartans came sprinting out of the gates, the heavy-footed Flathead Bravettes struggled to keep up.
It didn’t last long, but it was enough time for Sentinel to claim a large lead and coast the rest of the way to a 62-41 Western AA road girls basketball victory on Saturday afternoon.
The opening quarter saw the Spartans shoot six free throws and navigate a 7-0 run, ending with a Haley Rogers’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a commanding 14-4 lead after just eight minutes of play.
Rogers finished 2 for 2 from behind the arc and a perfect 8 for 8 from the charity stripe. She led all scorers with a game-high 20 points.
“When you’re playing good competition in AA you can’t take a quarter off,” Bravettes coach Lisa Hendrickson said.
“We seem to have that one quarter or a quarter and a half where we’re just really lethargic. We have to be able to play a full four quarters.
“They played really hard in the third and fourth quarter, I’m really proud of them for not giving up, going hard and making some adjustments,” Hendrickson continued.
“Everybody contributed, but we can’t take possessions off.”
Coming out of the halftime break, trailing 35-16, the Bravettes finally solved Sentinel’s half-court press.
Kelsey Gillespie’s field goal started the scoring and then fellow sophomore Tiana Johnson went on a tear.
Freshman post Taryn Gutierez grabbed an offensive board and scored on her put back before Johnson netted the Bravettes’ next nine points.
After Johnson hit two free throws, Flathead stole a Spartan pass. Guard Stephanie Wilson swung the ball over to senior Jessica Simmons, who fed Johnson in the post. Her floater in the lane found the bottom of the net.
The Bravettes got another defensive stop and saw Johnson drive the line, launching a high arcing layup from the right side that banked high off the glass and in.
Johnson hit a 3-pointer on Flathead’s final possession of the quarter, giving the Bravettes a 9-4 run as they outscored Sentinel 13-11 in the third.
“She’s gaining confidence everyday and I have total confidence in her,” Hendrickson said of Johnson, who finished with a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds).
“She’s a good overall player. She can play inside or outside even though she’s pretty tall. We’ve just been working on keeping her out of foul trouble and keeping her from reaching and learning everyday what she can contribute to the team.”
Flathead, who committed 27 turnovers, couldn’t overcome the slow start and a Sentinel squad who had eight different players score. The Spartans put up 16 points in the final frame while holding Flathead to 12.
Simmons scored the final four points for the Bravettes. She stole an inbound pass for a layup before intercepting another pass on the defensive end and hitting a jumper from the right corner before the buzzer. She finished with eight points while Gutierez reached double figures with 10.
“(Sentinel) is a great team. They’re a very well coached team and they mix up a lot of stuff,” Hendrickson said.
“Even though it’s a loss, we got better today. We definitely did. That’s what it’s about.”
Flathead hits the road on Friday for a nonconference matchup against C.M. Russell at 7:30 p.m. in Great Falls.
Sentinel 14 21 11 16 — 62
Flathead 4 12 13 12 — 41
SENTINEL — Brittany Delrudge 2, Haley Rogers 20, Kylie Frohlich 6, Lexi Steele 6, Shannon Worster 16, Jordyn Schweyen 8, Jayden Mueller 2, Brie Finbraaten 2. Totals — 23-42 15-19 62.
FLATHEAD — Kelsey Gillespie 7, Tiana Johnson 16, Jessica Simmons 8, Taryn Gutierez 10.
3-Point goals — Sentinel 3-7 (Rogers 2-2, Steele 1-3), Flathead 3-13 (Gillespie 1-4, Johnson 1-4, Simmons 1-3). Rebounds — Sentinel 41, Flathead 30 (Johnson 10). Assists — Sentinel 15, Flathead 6 (Johnson 2). Steals — Sentinel 18, Flathead 11 (Simmons 3). Turnovers — Sentinel 11, Flathead 27. Fouled out — none.