Capital crushes Flathead girls

Helena Capital smothered the Flathead offense in the first half, pulling away to take a Western AA conference girls basketball win 52-39 on Friday night at Flathead High School.

The Bruins (1-0 Western AA, 6-2 overall) and the second-best defense in the state held Flathead to 11 points in the first two quarters, and held Bravettes standout Tiana Johnson to just six points in the rout.

Johnson was leading the state with 20 points per game entering the contest.

Kylee Meredith led Flathead (0-1, 5-4) with 15 points.

Sydney Sheridan led the Bengals with 19 points and Taylor Sullivan added 12 points.

Capital 11 12 15 14 — 52

Flathead 7 4 11 17 — 39

CAPITAL — Aubrey McMaster 2 0-0 5, Ayanna Syvrud 0 0-2 0, Megan Lindbo 0 4-6 4, Kacie Gross 1 1-4 4, Taylor Sullivan 3 6-12 12, Sydney Sheridan 6 7-9 19, Aryn Cummings 0 0-1 0, Shea Sampson 1 1-4 3, Shelby Vanhemelryck 1 2-2 5. Totals: 14 21-40 52.

FLATHEAD —Kylee Meredith 5 3-4 15, Averie Olson 0 0-2 0, Mary Heaton 1 4-6 6, Sierra Siblerud 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Gillespie 1 0-0 2, Clara Vandenbosch 0 1-2 1, Allie Gagnon 0 1-2 1, Taylor Henley 2 2-5 6, Tiana Johnson 2 1-3 6. Totals: 12 12-16 39.

3-point goals — Capital 3 (McMaster, Gross, Vanhemelryck), Flathead 3 (Meredith 2, Johnson). Total fouls — Capital 23, Flathead 29. Fouled out — Cummings. Heaton, Gillespie, Johnson.

Helena 51, Glacier 45

Glacier had a seven-point lead entering the final quarter of play but couldn’t knock off a pesky Helena team in a Western AA conference game.

The Wolfpack (0-1 Western AA, 2-6 overall) held Helena to 25 points through three quarters but the state’s top scoring offense revved up in the final eight minutes, haning 26 points in the quarter to pull away for the win, all without shooting a single 3-pointer in the game.

“We played three quarters very solid,” Glacier coach Bill Sullivan said.

“They went on a run and we made a few mistakes and couldn’t recover from it. For us to come out like we did was nice. We just have to finish and take care of all four quarters.”

Nikki Krueger had a game-high 18 points for Glacier.

Jamie Pickens led Helena (1-0, 6-1) with 17 points and Kamden Hilborn had 12 points.

Helena 8 9 8 26 — 51

Glacier 15 4 13 13 — 45

HELENA — Hailey Crawford 1 2-4 4, Kamden Hilborn 3 6-8 12, Taelyr Krantz 3 2-4 8, Jamie Pickens 6 5-10 17, Sam Holman 2 1-2 5, Vanessa Walsh 1 0-0 2, Jessica Ellsworth 1 1-2 3. Totals: 17-36 17-30 51.

GLACIER — Ellie Stevens 2 0-2 4, Nikki Krueger 5 6-9 18, Anna Schrade 4 0-1 8, Cadie Williams 2 3-7 7, Ahna Kreitinger 2 0-0 5, Courtney Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Kali Gulick 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16-40 10-21 45.

3-point goals—Helena 0-0, Glacier 3-3 (Krueger 2-2, Kreitinger 1-1). Rebounds—Helena 28 (Pickens 9), Glacier 26 (Krueger 6). Total fouls—Helena 17, Glacier 21. Fouled out—Pickens.

Frenchtown 59, Polson 32

POLSON — Frenchtown ran away in the second quarter and never looked back, beating Polson in a Northwest A game.

The Broncs (1-1 Northwest A, 8-1 overall) outscored Polson 12-5 in the second quarter and 27-10 in the third quarter to turn a one-point game into a drubbing entering the fourth quarter.

Kaelyn Smith led Polson (0-2, 1-8) with 13 points.

Frenchtown 9 12 27 11 – 59

Polson 8 5 10 9 – 32

FRENCHTOWN – Meg Delaney 2, Liv Williams 13, Lexi Statelen 5, Calliana Bagnell 1, Kylie Willet 8, Shannon Worster 13, Emilie Hinrichs 7, Allison Hochhalter 6, Carley Thompson 4.

POLSON – Lauren Lefthand 8, Kaelyn Smith 13, Quinn Motichka 2, Mollie Fisher 6, Mikayla Croft 3.

Bigfork 59,

Thompson Falls 32

BIGFORK — Bigfork swarmed Thompson Falls, taking a 20-9 lead in the first quarter to run away with a District 7B win.

The Valkyries (3-1 7B, 5-4 overall) smothered Thompson Falls (0-4, 0-8) on defense, outscoring the Blue Hawks 32-16 in the first half en route to the blowout.

Abby Ellison had a game-high 14 points to lead Bigfork and Ellie Berreth had 10 points in her first varsity game for the Vals.

Thompson Falls 9 7 9 7 — 32

Bigfork 20 12 16 11 — 59

THOMPSON FALLS — Sarah Detlaff 1, Gillian Nelson 3, Haley Wilson 7, Haley Morgan 8, Lexi VanElswyk 5, Ember Schwindt 8.

BIGFORK — Haile Norred 8, Shae Anderson 6, Abby Ellison 14, Reese Nissen 2, Jaime Berg 9, Ellie Berreth 10, Emilee Park 2, Rakiah Gende 8.

Eureka 51, Troy 44

EUREKA — Eureka outscored Troy 22-10 in the final eight minutes of play to rally for a District 7B win.

Stacy Cooper had 12 points and Erynn Their had 11 points to lead the Lions (2-2 7B, 4-4 overall). Eureka trailed 34-29 after three quarters.

Allie Coldwell led Troy (2-2, 3-3) with 12 points and Alyssa Lewis had 11 points.

Troy 12 4 18 10 — 44

Eureka 9 12 8 22 — 51

TROY — Aurora Becquart 9, Allie Coldwell 12, Kaitlyn Downey 9, Allie Brown 3, Alyssa Lewis 11.

EUREKA — Sienna Utter 9, Liz Pacella 7, Maggie Graves 9, Ashlyn Waldo 3, Stacy Cooper 12, Erynn Their 11.

Stillwater Christian 52, Helena Christian 24

HELENA — Dori Smith had 16 points as Stillwater Christian pulled away from Helena Christian in a Montana Christian Athletic Association rout.

The teams were tied at 8-8 in the first quarter when the Cougars went on a 18-6 run to close the half. Stillwater outscored Helena 12-6 in the third quarter and 26-10 in the second half.

Stillwater 8 18 12 14 — 52

Helena Cn 8 6 6 4 — 24

STILLWATER — Cora Boll 2, Rauney Metzger 4, Haleigh Shwartz 3, Adrianna Lambert 5, Chloe Erb 2, Dori Smith 16, Helen Hashley 9, Lulu Neumann 7, Julie Bey 2, Selah Neumann 2.

HELENA CHRISTIAN — Jaelynne Harlan 2, Caitlyn Walth 2, Noa Criddle 4, Shelley Austin 16.

Late Thursday

Libby 43, Bonners Ferry 40

BONNERS FERRY, Idaho — Jayden Winslow scored 16 points as Libby edged Bonners Ferry in a nonconference game.

Libby (5-4) took afvantage of a strong first quarter, leading 8-3 after the opening frame to hold on for the tight victory.

Shannon Reny added 11 points for the Loggers.

Libby 8 11 14 10 — 43

Bonners Ferry 3 12 12 13 — 40

LIBBY — Alli Collins 6, Madison Monigold 2, Abby Ennenga 3, Jayden Winslow 16, Sammee Bradeen 1, Khalyn Hageness 3, Shannon Reny 11, Isabelle Martineau 1. Totals: 12 16-22 43.

BONNERS FERRY — Brittany Spangler 4, Miranda Wenle 6, Grace Coughlin 2, Kadi Bateman 8, Nicole Donn 9, Natasha Webster 11. Totals: 16 3-9 40.

BOYS

Flathead 50, Capital 44

HELENA — The Flathead boys held off a big rally from Capital, clawing past the Bruins for a Western AA conference victory.

The Braves (1-0 Western AA, 5-4 overall) led 26-17 at half and looked to have the momentum in its corner when Capital woke up in the third quarter to narrow the Flathead lead to 37-34. Flathead hit 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.

Eric Seaman had 14 points to lead the Braves and Sam Elliott had 10 points.

Willie Gross had 13 points and Bradley Haller 12 points for Capital (0-1, 1-7).

Flathead 15 11 11 13 -- 50

Capital 10 7 17 10 -- 44

Flathead – Cade White 3 0-0 6, Wyatt Potter 3 0-0 8, Bridger Johnson 1 2-2 4, Eric Seaman 2 9-11 14, Tyler Johnson 3 0-0 8, Sam Elliott 5 0-1 10. Totals 17 11-14 50.

Capital – Matt McGinley 2 0-0 6, Xavier Melice 1 1-1 3, Mark Northey 2 0-0 4, Willie Gross 5 1-1 13, Bradley Haller 5 1-4 12, Parker Johnston 1 2-2 4, Peyton Koch 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 5-8 44.

3-pointers – Flathead 5 (Potter 2, T. Johnson 2, Seaman), Capital 5 (McGinley 2, Gross 2, Haller). Total fouls – Flathead 11, Capital 20. Technicals – None. Fouled out – None.

Glacier 48, Helena 31

HELENA — Jaxen Hashley had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Glacier to a methodical Western AA win over Helena High.

The Wolfpack (1-0 Western AA, 7-1 overall) ran out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and never let Helena threaten, pulling away in the fourth quarter for the victory.

Taylor England had 10 points to lead the Bengals (0-1, 1-6).

Glacier 12 12 8 16 — 48

Helena 7 7 9 8 — 31

GLACIER - Caden Harkins 2-6 0-0 6, Tadan Gilman 1-5 1-4 4, Collin Kazmier 0-0 1-2 1, Brec Rademacher 3-6 0-0 9, Kody Jarvis 2-4 0-0 4, Jaxen Hashley 7-10 2-3 17, Torin Bowden 2-3 2-3 7, Cody Hartsoch 0-1 0-2 0; Totals 17-35 6-14 48.

HELENA (1-6, 0-1) - Gabe Walsh 0-3 0-2 0, Keair Adgerson 0-5 2-2 2, Taylor England 2-5 6-7 10, Brian McMahon 1-4 2-2 5, Caleb Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Emmett Buckley 0-1 0-0 0, Grady Koenig 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Johnson 0-3 2-2 2, Kendall Johnson 2-3 0-0 4, Connor Murgel 2-8 3-5 8; Totals 7-33 15-20 31.

3-pointers - Gla 8-17 (Rademacher 3-6, Harkins 2-4), HHS 2-12 (McMahon 1-3, Murgel 1-6); Rebounds - Gla 30 (Hashley 11), HHS 16 (England 6); Assists - Gla 7 (Harkins 3), HHS 4 (Adgerson 2); Turnovers - Gla 15, HHS 14; Fouls - Gla 19, HHS 14; Fouled out - Rademacher, Bowden; Technicals - None.

Frenchtown 76,

Polson 75, 2OT

FRENCHTOWN — Frenchtown freshman Cade Baker hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left in the second overtime period to edge Polson in a Northwest A conference game.

The Broncs (2-0 Northwest A, 5-4 overall) led for most of the game, entering the fourth quarter with a 51-35 lead, but Polson outscored them 21-5 in the final eight minutes of regulation to force overtime.

Polson (1-1, 4-5) took the advantage into the final seconds of the second overtime, but for the second time in the early season lost on a late 3-pointer. The Pirates lost 58-57 to Hamilton on Dec. 17 on a last-second 3.

Austin Means led Frenchtown with 22 points and Jacob Price had 14.

Matthew Rensvold had a game-high 27 points for Polson and Tanner Wilson had 21 points. Jeremiah North Piegan added 13 points.

Polson 12 9 14 21 10 7 –75

Frenchtown 15 12 24 5 10 8 –76

POLSON – Jaydon Bautista 7, Tanner Wilson 21, Jeremiah North Piegan 13, Connor Lanier7, Matthew Rensvold 27.

FRENCHTOWN – Ethan Pyron 9, Jacob Price 14, Brock Rugg 5, Ty Hoppie 8, Cade Baker 9, Adam Botkin 9, Austin Means 22.

Eureka 66, Troy 65, OT

EUREKA — Troy scored five points in the last 10 seconds of regulation to force overtime, but Eureka was the better team in the extra session to secure a District 7B win.

The Lions (1-3 7B, 2-6 overall) led 22-13 after the first quarter but couldn’t hold on to the lead in regulation. Eureka held a four-point lead for most of the overtime period, with Troy hitting another 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead cosmetically.

Troy (0-4, 1-5) scored a lay up and a 3-pointer in the last seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Brad Stein and Jamie Good each had 16 points to lead Eureka and Riley Durham added 13.

Mason Chapel had a game-high 24 points and Dillon Savage and Zach Cotten each had 16 points for the Trojans.

Troy 13 7 21 19 5 — 65

Eureka 22 6 13 19 6 — 66

TROY — Zach Cotten 16, Dillon Savage 16, Tucker Winn 4, Jordan Day 5, Mason Chapel 24.

EUREKA — Jamie Good 16, Brad Stein 16, Matthew Anderson 3, Riley Durham 13, Colten Cooper 5, Taylor Sherwood 6, Jake Cardinale 7.