Moore, Chouinard shoot down Knights for landmark win
Kennedy Moore went to her signature move and the Flathead Bravettes got a signature win.
Moore, Flathead’s 6-foot-2 junior, rebounded a miss by Maddy Moy and flipped in a reverse layup at the buzzer to give the Bravettes a 49-48 win over Missoula Hellgate Saturday afternoon.
The shot looked a lot like one she hit to beat Billings West at last year’s state tournament. Except this was in Flathead’s gym, where Moore was swarmed afterwards.
“As soon as she got it under the hoop I knew what she was going to do,” said Flathead coach Sam Tudor. “And I knew it had a good chance to go in.”
Moore had 18 points and Avery Chouinard hit five 3-pointers and added 17 for Flathead, which improved to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Western AA.
The Bravettes trailed 11-4 early, used a 9-0 third-quarter surge to pull ahead and then traded leads with the Knights four times in the final 65 seconds.
Many factors added up to the win. Flathead was able to get both 6-6 Hellgate senior Alex Covill and guard Chloe Larson in foul trouble, for one. For another the Bravettes’ pressure defense got the Knights (6-4, 5-2 in league) off balance.
Akilah Kubi had nine points and 10 boards, and took the ball at Covill several times. She scored twice in the second quarter while Chouinard hit two 3-pointers, and Flathead closed a 10-point gap to 27-24 at intermission.
This was news: Since Covill arrived on the scene Flathead had never scored more than 28 points against the Knights.
“I really felt at halftime we were playing well,” Tudor said. “The shots just weren’t falling. It took us a while to get used to that style of play. Covill causes a lot of problems.
“Alikah just attacking there was a big part of the game.”
“First off, our team chemistry on help defense with (Covill) was huge,” said Moore, who also had 11 rebounds, six steals and two blocks. “Knowing somebody would be behind me helping me out was awesome.
“Last year we just got crushed by them (45-28, 58-22 and 49-20). None of us had ever beaten Hellgate, so we really came out and had a mindset that we wanted it really bad.”
Moy and Moore hit put-backs in that third-quarter surge. Moore’s follow put the Bravettes up 33-32, their first lead since very early.
Flathead’s lead grew to six twice in the fourth quarter, the last at 44-38 on Moore’s mid-range jumper over Covill with 3:35 left. Then things got tight, starting with Shannon Kane hitting a 3-pointer for Hellgate.
Kane banked home another three with 1:35 remaining, and when Alix Mund scored in transition with 1:05 left the Knights were back in front, 46-45.
The next 40 seconds belonged to Moy: She stole a pass, only to get called for an offensive foul. So she promptly tipped and stole another pass.
Moy was fouled and hit two free throws for a 47-46 lead.
Covill — she and Kubi picked up their fourth personals seconds apart early in the third quarter — rebounded her own miss and scored to get Hellgate back up with 19 seconds left.
Flathead got the ball upcourt and worked it to Moore, who missed a three — but Moy was there for the rebound, who left a put-back way short.
And there was Moore, again.
“They were on a seven-game win streak,” Moore said of the Knights. “We kind of flipped the whole state around.”
“We needed it,” Tudor said. “We’ve been struggling, but we’re a gritty bunch and we know it. We know we’re going to come in Monday and we’re not going to rest on those laurels, at all. From here on out it’s going to be work, because the Western AA is still very tight.
“I was just happy for the seniors; they just were not going to give up, and they never gave up. That was neat.”
Covill had 12 points, 11 boards and blocked six shots for the Knights, who had won 10 straight over Flathead dating back to 2019.
Hellgate 16 11 7 14 - 48
Flathead 6 18 13 12 - 49
MISSOULA HELLGATE — Maddy Petrino 2-3 0-1 4, Alix Mund 4-9 1-3 9, Alex Covill 5-13 2-3 12, Chloe Larson 4-6 0-0 9, Carmen Anderson 2-8 0-0 5, Shannon Kane 2-2 0-0 6, Gianna Passuccio 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 20-42 5-7 48.
FLATHEAD — Akilah Kubi 3-9 3-4 9, Maddy Moy 1-8 2-2 4, Kennedy Moore 6-19 6-9 18, Avery Chouinard 5-9 2-2 17, Tali Miller 0-4 1-2 1, Celie VandenBosch 0-2 0-2 0, Harlie Roth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-47 14-21 49.
3-point goals — Hellgate 5-12 (Kane 2-2, Passuccio 1-1, Larson 1-3, Anderson 1-5, Mund 0-1), Flathead 5-13 (Chouinard 5-9, Moy 0-1, Moore 0-3). Rebounds — Hellgate 27 (Covill 11), Flathead 37 (Moore 11, Kubi 10). Fouls — Hellgate 16, Flathead 12. Fouled out — Larson. Steals — Hellgate 6 (Anderson 2), Flathead 12 (Moore 6). Blocks — Hellgate 6 (Covill 6), Flathead 3 (Moore 2, Moy). Turnovers — Hellgate 17, Flathead 12.