Glacier surges past Helena High

Outplayed through the middle of its game Thursday, the Glacier Wolfpack found a way to rally past a talented Helena squad in Western AA girls’ basketball action.

Specifically, they found their way to the line.

It wasn’t just free throws that paved Glacier’s 60-54 win at the Wolf Den, though the hosts hit 31 of those. There was also a 3-pointer by Kiersten Smith that sparked a fourth-quarter surge; Emma Anderson’s basket off a dish from Ellie Keller gave the Pack the lead for good, 55-54, with 1:33 left; and a three by Kenzie Williams with 4:40 left was critical to Glacier improving to 4-2.

But if the field goals were hard to find for Glacier, there was a store-wide clearance on free throws, The Pack shot 47 of them.

“That seems like a lot,” said Keller, whose game-high 21 points included a 13-for-16 performance at the line. “We knew they were calling a lot of fouls, both ways, and we knew if we could get to the line — I had confidence I could put those shots down.”

Glacier led 15-11 before Helena (2-2) surged in the second quarter. Carly Ryan’s bucket capped a 7-0 run that put the Bengals up 25-19, and Reegan Walsh’s three made it 28-21 with 2:00 before halftime.

Helena led 32-27 at intermission and pushed the gap to 39-30 on a Kylee Lantz free throw at 4:49 of the third quarter. Williams, who had 18 points and four steals, started Glacier back with a basket, then two free throws.

Keller’s basket cut the deficit to 43-39 entering the fourth quarter.

Two Elizabeth Heuiser free throws moved Helena’s lead back to six, which is when Smith dialed up her three. Anderson hit two free throws, then another as Glacier moved in front 46-45 with 5:00 left.

The lead changed hands four more times, partly because Lantz was fouled behind the arc and hit three freebies of her own.

“We seemed to be getting into games with a lot of fouls lately,” Glacier coach Amanda Cram said. “We need to clean it up, defensively. We were not our best tonight.

“But I have to give credit to Helena High. They shot lights out — they are shooters.”

The Bengals’ last lead came at 54-53 when Avery Kraft hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 left. It took a couple possessions before Anderson converted the Keller pass.

“We just knew we had to outwork the other team,” said Keller, who was 4-for-12 from the floor and snared 10 rebounds. “That’s what we focus on; if we’re not shooting the ball right, we know we have to outwork the other team if we’re going to get wins.”

“Classic Ellie Keller game,” Cram said. “She’s exhausted and she earned every bit of that exhaustion.

“The reason we won tonight was because of heart. That’s what’s so special about these kids. They have a goal; they love each other; they’re going to get it done one way or another.”

Glacier’s next action is at Helena Capital Saturday.

Helena 11 21 11 11 - 54

Glacier 14 13 12 21 - 60

HELENA (2-2) - Alex Bullock 1-6 1-2 3, Kylee Lantz 2-8 4-5 8, Elizabeth Heuiser 4-7 2-3 12, Carly Ryan 3-4 0-1 7, Brook Ark 1-2 2-2 5, Reegan Walsh 2-5 0-1 6, Kim Feller 1-2 0-0 2, Avery Kraft 2-5 2-6 7, Maloree English 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 18-41 11-20 54.

GLACIER (4-2) - Sidney Gulick 0-1 3-6 3, Kaylee Fritz 1-3 1-2 3, Emma Anderson 2-7 4-6 8, Kenzie Williams 4-9 8-11 18, Ellie Keller 4-12 13-16 21, Janessa Henson 0-2 1-4 1, Bethany Sorenson 1-1 1-2 3, Kiersten Smith 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 13-36 31-47 60.

3-point goals - Helena 7-14 (Walsh 2-4, Heuiser 2-2, Ark 1-1, Kraft 1-2, Ryan 1-2, Bullock 0-1, Lantz 0-2), Glacier 3-9 (Williams 2-5, Smith 1-1, Keller 0-2, Fritz 0-1). Rebounds - Helena 33 (Heuiser 7, Bullock 7), Glacier 30 (Keller 10). Fouls - Helena 30, Glacier 18. Fouled out - Gulick, Fritz. Steals - Helena 5 (Ark 3), Glacier 9 (Williams 4). Blocks - Helena 4 (Bullock 2, Lantz, Heuiser), Glacier 2 (Anderson, Williams). Turnovers - Helena 19, Glacier 10.