Glacier eyes two state trips with doubleheader play-in
The Glacier Wolfpack basketball programs are one win away from another remarkable season.
With the girls hosting Missoula Hellgate at 6 p.m. and the boys following with Missoula Big Sky at 7:30, a trip to the Class AA state tournament at the Butte Civic Center on March 13-14 is just 32 minutes away for each team.
The girls kick off the doubleheader, vying for their fourth-consecutive state tournament appearance.
The green and blue contingent could overtake Butte should the boys defeat Big Sky. It would be their seventh-straight trip to state and the fourth year in a row both the boys and girls endure a postseason run.
GIRLS
No. 6 Missoula Hellgate at No. 3 Glacier
The Glacier girls (16-4) won both regular season matchups against the Knights but not without a little fight from Hellgate.
The first meeting between the two squads was a six-point road win for the Wolfpack, who used a balanced a scoring attack to regroup from a third-quarter lull.
Glacier led 28-19 at halftime before managing just six points in the third quarter.
The Knights (8-12) took a 37-35 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Wolfpack finished the game on a 9-2 run for a 45-39 win.
Senior Katie Wiley led the Wolfpack with nine points while junior Hailee Bennett added eight and senior Tessa Krueger scored seven.
Kylie McWilliams led all scorers in the first meeting with 11 points and teammate Darby Henthorn added 10.
The Knights outrebounded Glacier 27-26 in the first matchup, but the Wolfpack dominated the glass the second time around.
In Kalispell, Glacier grabbed 35 boards to Hellgate’s 23 while both teams struggled to score in the second quarter.
The Wolfpack outscored the Knights 5-4 in the second to hold a 27-21 halftime lead before exploding for 27 points in the third en route to a 57-41 victory.
Bennett finished with a game-high 16 points and Krueger poured in a season-high 14 points.
Although Glacier limited McWilliams to a single point in the second meeting, Henthorn dropped 13.
The Wolfpack enter the play-in game having won five of their last seven.
“Our gameplan going in is having confidence and a positive attitude. I think we’re going to play with confidence do a good job of being smart offensively,” Wolfpack head coach Kris Salonen said.
“We talked about executing and utilizing what we have inside. (Hellgate) will be really packing it in saying, ‘You guys need to shoot,’ but if we can execute and work to get our posts open that’s what we need to do to have success.
Hellgate has lost four of their last five, but the second Glacier loss is fresh in their minds since it was their final contest of the regular season.
“Hellgate is not going to lie down and die by any means. They’re scrappy and they’re going to compete,” Salonen added.
BOYS
No. 5 Missoula Big Sky at No. 4 Glacier
The Wolfpack (11-9) and Eagles (9-11) split the regular-season series, each winning on their home floor in dramatic fashion.
The conference foes finished with identical records in league play, but Glacier’s two-game advantage in the overall standings earned them a fourth-place finish in Western AA and a home court reward.
“They’ve had a great week of practice and have been very focused. They know what they have to do,” Glacier boys coach Mark Harkins said of his sqaud.
The Wolfpack’s first conference loss of the year came in Missoula on Jan. 10 to the Eagles. Big Sky’s Nick Simmons, who led all scorers with 17 points, drained a buzzer-beating field goal from just inside the free-throw line to break a tie ball game, giving the Eagles a 55-53 home victory.
Nearly a month later, Glacier avenged the loss with a defensive showcase in Kalispell.
Behind sophomore Jaxen Hashley’s double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, the Wolfpack outscored Big Sky 14-3 in the final period of play to earn a decisive 44-39 victory.
Glacier erased a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter while outrebounding the Eagles 34-16 in the contest.
Each team comes into the play-in game with recent struggles down the final stretch of the regular season. Both Big Sky and Glacier have lost three of their last four matchups.
The Eagles are coming off a demoralizing 66-39 road loss to defending state champion and second seeded Helena Capital.
The Wolfpack ended a three-game skid in the last contest of the regular season, a grueling 53-50 crosstown victory over Flathead.
“These are two similar teams. Both have a a strong post presence, both are athletic on the perimeter and both have their own strengths and weaknesses,” Harkins said.
“I’m sure both teams are going to adjust. Both teams will have something a little different in their game plan to get a couple of buckets, but what it’s going to come down to is just executing on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.”
To call these teams evenly matched would be an understatement. This rubber match isn’t just for bragging rights, it’s for a trip to the state tournament and a chance for an elusive hardwood championship.