ONE MORE TIME
Flathead post Mary Heaton and Glacier post Nikki Krueger fight for a rebound during the crosstown game last week at Flathead. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
If the third matchup between the Flathead and Glacier girls is anything like the first two, local high school basketball fans should be in for a treat.
The Wolfpack (7-13) and Bravettes (10-10) meet tonight for the final time this season, playing each other for a spot in next weekend’s Class AA state tournament. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. at Flathead High School, following a boys play-in game between Flathead and Helena High.
Flathead enters the game having won its final three games of the regular season, vaulting itself from sixth in the conference to fourth in the span of a week.
The crowning jewel of the Bravettes winning streak came on Saturday against previously undefeated Missoula Sentinel, which saw the Flathead girls shoot past the top-seeded team from the West, making 10 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter and nine 3-pointers in the game.
The 3-point shot and solid free-throw shooting is what helped Flathead edge Glacier in the game before that. A 3-pointer from Bravettes senior Sierra Siblerud gave Flathead a lead early in the fourth quarter of that game and the Bravettes closed by making 7 of 9 free throws down the stretch to hold on for a narrow win.
The Bravettes lead the Western conference in 3-point percentage this season.
Glacier has ridden its defense to the fifth seed, with only top-seeded Sentinel holding teams to fewer points this season in conference. However, it’s been the Wolfpack offense that has struggled in a recent slump that has seen the it lose six of its last seven games, averaging only 38 points in the stretch.
Each team is led by an all-around star on the front line. Flathead senior Tiana Johnson is having a player-of-the-year season, averaging a state-best 17.2 points per game this season and 8.7 rebounds. Johnson is also among the state leaders in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, showing her versatility on the floor. The Wolfpack held Johnson to four points in last week’s contest, only for Bravettes senior Kylee Meredith to get loose for 20 points.
Glacier is led by senior post Nikki Krueger, who is also in the top 10 in the state in both scoring and rebounding.
BOYS
Helena at Flathead
Like their counterparts, the Flathead boys (11-9) closed the season on a hot streak, winning their last five games to finish in the fourth seed.
That run of play, which includes wins over top two seeds Glacier and Missoula Hellgate, earned the Braves a home play-in game against Helena High (6-14).
The Braves have powered the run through hustle and defense, holding opposing teams to an average of 48 points a night in the winning streak.
On offense, juniors Tyler Johnson and Sam Elliott have driven the play. Johnson scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Braves past Glacier and Elliott has averaged nearly 14 points in the stretch.
The Braves have split a pair of meetings with Helena this season, each team losing at home. The last meeting came at the end of a mid-season swoon for Flathead that saw the Braves lose five straight games, the last a 66-51 loss to Helena.
The Bengals are led by 6-6 senior center Taylor England, who is among the top five in the state this season in scoring and rebounding.
Since the last win over Flathead, however, the Bengals are in a slump, losing three of five games to close the year. Their two wins, over bottom seeds Helena Capital and Missoula Big Sky, helped the Bengals secure the fifth seed.
The game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. tonight at Flathead High School.