Hellgate girls swamp Flathead
Flathead's Clare Converse (15) spots up for a three-pointer against Missoula Hellgate at Flathead High School on Saturday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Flathead's Maddy Moy (5) battles Missoula Hellgate's Perry Paffhausen (12) for a loose ball at Flathead High School on Saturday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Alex Coville scored 16 points and snared 11 rebounds and the Missoula Hellgate Knights cruised to a 46-25 win at Flathead Saturday in Western AA girls’ basketball.
Bailey Saylor added 10 points for the Knights (13-1) in a possible preview of next week’s play-in game. Flathead (2-10) will be the seventh seed and either Hellgate or Helena Capital will be the second seed — which will be decided by a coin flip.
The Bravettes will be on the road for the play-in, either way.
Hellgate built a 19-5 lead after one quarter Saturday. Flathead got a second straight strong game from freshman Kennedy Moore, who came off the bench for 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Hellgate 19 11 9 7 - 46
Flathead 5 6 3 11 - 25
MISSOULA HELLGATE — Laurel Dick 3 0-0 6, Perry Paffhausen 1-3 0-0 2, Alex Covill 7 2-2 16, Bailey Saylor 4 2-4 10, Keke Davis 2-5 2-2 6, Kennedy McCorkle 0 0-0 0, Elly Thorpe 1 0-0 3, Hailey Flamand 1-3 0-1 3, Chloe Larsebn 0 0-0 0, Austyn Covill 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-9 46.
FLATHEAD — Maddy Moy 2 0-0 6, Akilah Kubi 1 0-1 2, Molly Winters 0 0-0 0, Clare Converse 2 0-0 5, Bridget Crowley 0 0-0 0, Olivia Pate 0 0-0 0, Kuyra Siegel 0 0-0 0, Avery Chouinard 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Moore 5 2-3 12, Tali Miller 0 0-0 0, Macy Craver 0 0-0 0, Ivy Gannon 0 0-0, Harlie Roth 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Eacker 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 2-4 25.
3-point goals - Hellgate 2 (Thorpe, Flamand), Flathead 3 (Moy 2, Converse). Rebounds — Hellgate 34 (Covill 11), Flathead 24 (Moore 10). Fouls — Hellgate 8, Flathead 10. Fouled out — none.
BOYS
Big Sky 61,
Flathead 56
MISSOULA — The Flathead boys dug a hole Saturday at Missoula Big Sky, climbed most of the way out and eventually fell to the Eagles in the regular-season finale for both boys’ basketball teams.
The Eagles drew even with Flathead in the Western AA standings at 6-8, though Flathead owns the tie-breaker and the fifth seed. The Braves will have a play-in game at Butte next week.
Kade Olson’s 19 points led the way for Big Sky: He was the answer when Flathead drew to 51-50 on two Joston Cripe free throws, and 55-54 on a basket by Gabe Adams with 1:45 left.
Olson hit two free throws to offset Cripe’s, and scored down low to make it 57-54 with 1:08 remaining.
Flathead misfired on its next three possessions and Olson and Tre Reed hit two throws each in the final minute to clinch the outcome.
Adams had a big game with 22 points before fouling out. Ezra Epperly added 11.
Big Sky surged to a 21-9 lead and was up 32-24 at halftime, but from the time Cripe hit a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 34-31 at 5:44 of the third quarter, the Braves kept the pressure on.
The Eagles survived in part by hitting 23 of 34 free throws for the game.
Cripe added nine points and Ethan VandenBosch checked in with eight.
Flathead 9 15 16 16 - 56
Big Sky 21 11 15 14 - 61
FLATHEAD — Hunter Hickey 1 4-5 6, Ethan VandenBosch 3 2-2 8, Gabe Adams 10 2-3 22, Ezra Epperly 4 3-4 11, Joston Cripe 2 4-4 9, Luca Zoeller 0 0-0 9, Gavin Chouinard 0 0-0 0.. Totals 20 15-29 56.
MISSOULA BIG SKY — Tre Reed 5 2-2 12, Caden Bateman 3 3-4 9, Louis Sanders 2 6-11 11, Chaz LaDue 0 2-5 2, Shane Shephard 3 0-1 7, Towe 0 0-0 0, Jacob Gardanier 1 2-2 4, Kade Olson 4 8-9 16. Totals
3-point goals — Flathead 1 (Cripe), Big Sky 2 (Sanders, Shepard). Fouls — Flathead 21, Big Sky 19. Fouled out — Cripe, Adams.