Hellgate girls hold off Glacier’s late charge

The Wolfpack girls took it to the No. 1 team in Western AA, but in the end Hellgate held on.

Hellgate took a 61-54 victory Tuesday over Glacier at the Wolf Den as the Wolfpack looked to secure a spot in the AA play-in games. 

“I thought our effort was tremendous,” Glacier coach Amanda Cram said. “Hellgate is the No. 1 seed for a reason and we knew it was a tall order. What I asked of the girls was to give their best effort and be free and play the game. They competed tonight.” 

Glacier closed the deficit to as close as four, 57-53 in the final two minutes, and after a charge taken by Cazz Rankosky looked poised to make it a one possession game. 

But after a Wolfpack miss, Elly Reed and Gianna Passuccio knocked down four free-throws to secure the win for Hellgate. 

The Wolfpack fell to 8-10 overall and 5-8 in Western AA games with the loss, while Hellgate moves to 12-6 overall and 10-3 in league play. 

Glacier sits fifth in the Western AA standings, even with Helena Capital — who Glacier owns the tiebreaker with — and a game ahead of seventh-place Missoula Sentinel. The Wolfpack play Sentinel Thursday to wrap up the regular season. 

“I think tonight was the first step in preparing for Sentinel,” Cram said. “We knew it could come down to needing a win in Missoula and the challenge was needing momentum, and despite the loss tonight I think the momentum is in our favor.” 

Passuccio led all scorers with 24 points for the Knights, including four 3-pointers. Reed tallied 17. 

Reese Ramey led the Wolfpack with 20 points, with Karley Allen adding 11. 

The Wolfpack got a spark in the first half thanks to four points and two steals from Rylee Bigelow off the bench to give the Wolfpack a 21-19 lead late in the second quarter.  

“Rylee is a kid with a huge motor,” Cram said. “It all stems from her love for the game and for her teammates. To see how she has progressed every week of the season and is coming into it at the right time is wonderful for our team.”  

An 8-0 run helped the Knights take a 27-23 lead into the half. 

Out of the break, Hellgate started to show their muscle as Passuccio knocked down a pair of triples to extend the lead out to 39-29 midway through the quarter. Reed knocked down a jumper a few possessions later to give Hellgate their biggest lead at 43-31. 

Ramey found her form in the third frame as well — after just four points in the first half, she exploded for 10 in the quarter. 

Passuccio again took the wind out of Glacier’s sails to start the fourth quarter with her fourth 3-pointer of the game to extend the lead to 51-41. 

The Wolfpack made a game of it late as Ramey and Madi Stevens combined to give Glacier a 9-3 run and cut the deficit to 57-53. 

The Knights closed it out from the free throw line where they were 16 of 23, while the Wolfpack were 9-for-17 from the line. 

Hellgate    12    15    21    13    -    61 

Glacier    13    10    18    13    -    54 

MISSOULA HELLGATE — Paisly Johnson 2 2-2 7, Elly Reed 5 7-9 17, Ryan Meservy 0 0-0 0, Savannah Shepard 0 0-0 0, Cady Schneider 1 1-2 3, Lucy Hutchins 2 0-0 4, Shannon Kane 3 0-2 6, Gianna Passuccio 7 6-8 24. Totals 20 16-23 61 

GLACIER — Rylee Bigelow 2 0-0 4, Karley Allen 4 2-5 11, Allie Krueger 3 2-5 8, Madi Stevens 2 1-1 5, Reese Ramey 8 4-6 20, Olivia Warriner 0 0-0 0, Cazz Rankosky 3 0-0 6. Totals 22 9-17 54. 

3-point goals — Hellgate 5 (Passuccio 4, Johnson), Glacier 1 (Allen). Fouls — Hellgate 10, Glacier 17. Fouled out — none. 

    Glacier's Reese Ramey (22) drives to the basket in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Karlee Allen (14) knocks down a jumper in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Rylee Bigelow (2) knocks down a shot in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Madi Stevens (21) goes to the basket in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Reese Ramey (22) drives to the basket in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Cazz Rankosky (25) drives to the basket in the first half against Missoula Hellgate at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider