Hellgate girls too much, top Bravettes in final

by Daily Inter Lake
| March 5, 2022 10:36 PM

HELENA — It was a slow start for the Flathead Bravettes Saturday, and a lot of Missoula Hellgate’s opponents know the feeling.

Alex Covill scored 17 points and anchored a Hellgate defense that powered a 49-20 win over Flathead in the Western AA Divisional girls basketball final Saturday.

Bailee Sayler added 11 points for the Knights, who take a 20-1 record to next week’s State AA Tournament. They were runners-up a year ago, and looked to be on a mission Saturday.

Except for Kennedy Moore’s 3-pointer at 5:21 of the second quarter, the Bravettes couldn’t score in the first half.

Hellgate didn’t light the nets on fire while building a 17-3 lead, but then heated up for 23 third-quarter points. Covill had six points as the gap grew to 31-7, and Sayler’s steal and drive for the hoop and harm made it 36-10 at the 2:20 mark.

The Bravettes (16-5), who clinched their first State AA berth since 2013 with a 41-32 semifinal win over Helena Capital Friday, never got untracked. Moore was the bright spot with 11 points and seven rebounds. The 6-foot-1 sophomore hit three 3-pointers.

The 6-5 Covill had eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

Flathead draws Billings Senior (13-9), the third place team out of the Eastern AA, in its opener at state. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at MetraPark.

Flathead 0 3 11 6 - 20

Hellgate 4 13 23 9 - 49

FLATHEAD — Maddy Moy 1-6 0-0 2, Akilah Kubi 1-7 0-0 2, Kennedy Moore 4-7 0-0 11, Avery Chouinard 0-2 0-2 0, Clare Converse 0-6 3-4 3, Celie VandenBosch 0-0 0-1 0, Ivy Gannon 1-3 0-0 3, Olivia Pate 0 0-0 0, Lauryn Burke 0-0 0-0 0, Harlie Roth 0-0 0-0 0, Tali Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Quin Tennison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 7-31 3-7 20.

MISSOULA HELLGATE — Bailee Sayler 4-13 2-3 11, Lauren Dick 3-7 0-0 6, Alex Covill 7-10 3-4 17, Addy Heaphy 1-6 0-0 2, Keke Davis 2-6 4-4 8, Chloe Larson 0-4 00 0, Maddy Petrino 0-1 0-0 0, Alix Mund 0-0 0-1 0, Elly Thorpe 0-0 3-4 3, Perry Paffhausen 1-4 0-0 2, Shannon Kane 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-56 12-16 49.

3-point goals — Flathead 3-10 (Moore 3-4), Hellgate 1-16 (Sayler 1-5). Rebounds — Flathead 23 (Moore 7), Hellgate 46 (Covill 8). Fouls — Flathead 14, Hellgate 13. Blocks — Flathead 3 (Moy, Moore, Converse), Hellgate 3 (Covill 3). Steals — Flathead 4 (Moy 3), Hellgate 10 (3 with 2). Turnovers — Flathead 20, Hellgate 8.