Western AA divisional hoops tip off today
It’s not just bad pennies that turn up, especially in the Western AA, where it seems like every school’s divisional opener is against the team they just played.
The Flathead boys (Helena Capital) and Glacier girls and boys (Helena High) are in that group: Capital’s boys won at Flathead 76-60 on Saturday, while the Glacier boys won 48-41 over Helena High. Over in Helena, Glacier’s girls prevailed 57-52.
All six teams square off again in the Western AA Divisional, which begins today at Missoula Sentinel High School.
The exceptions are the Flathead girls, who follow up a loss at top-seeded Capital with a game against No. 2 seed Missoula Hellgate Thursday.
A first-round loss won’t be the end of the world, since the top four teams in this double-elimination tournament advance to the State A March 12-14 in Bozeman.
Here’s how things line up today:
Glacier Wolfpack boys (9-9) vs. Helena (7-11),
11 a.m.
Glacier owns two league wins over the Bengals, which either gives a team confidence or adds a little nervousness.
“It’s a little bit of both,” Wolfpack coach Mark Harkins said.“It’s good for us to have won last Saturday. It helps their confidence level and it gives them confidence. I think it’s better that we won than lost, for sure.”
Weston Price (12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds per game) and Drew Engellant (10.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg) continue to lead the Wolfpack, which may or may not get KJ Johnson (6.4 ppg) back from an ankle injury suffered a month ago.
Helena’s 1-2 punch of Logan Brown and Hayden Ferguson are dangerous and Harkins remembers well the first half Saturday, when the Bengals switched defenses often and built a 24-11 lead.
“We were inconsistent offensively,” he said. We can’t have a half like that again – we can’t have a 7- and a 4-point quarter. Everybody has something up their sleeve, and you just wonder what they have waiting for you.”
Glacier Wolfpack girls (9-9)
vs. Helena (8-10), 2 p.m.
Like Harkins’ crew, Coach Amanda Cram’s Wolfpack is 2-0 against Helena.
“Double-edged sword,” Cram said. “What I particularly liked is we improved from the first time we played Helena High (a come-from-behind 51-49 win on Jan. 21). That was encouraging. But as the adage goes, it’s hard to beat a team three times.”
The Pack has some formidable players in Aubrie Rademacher, Ellie Keller and inside, Emma Anderson. Helena’s McKayla Kloker is a scoring machine and Kylie Lantz is deadly from the arc.
“We got off to a great start and that allowed us to keep our foot on the pedal throughout the entire game,” Cram said the last matchup, in which the Bengals got down big and then rallied. “We shot the ball pretty well, but defensively we have improved. I think our defense kept us going when Helena got gong in the fourth quarter and made their attack.”
Flathead Braves (3-15) vs. Helena Capital (14-4),
5 p.m.
Taking the opposite psychological viewpoint is Flathead boys’ coach Ross Gustafson, whose club is 0-2 against the Bruins including a 76-60 deficit Saturday.
“It might be an advantage two the lower seeds, too,” Gustafson said of another rematch. “I know the top teams are good teams but it’s tough to continue to beat up on a team. We played Capital Saturday and lost… but we maybe can make some adjustments and close that gap.”
Flathead has been led all year by a talented top three in Gabe Adams (11.2 points and 7 rebounds per game), Joston Cripe (12.2 ppg) and Hunter Hickey (9.7 ppg). The Braves will vie once again with the sharpshooting trio of Bridger Grovom, Brayden Koch and Trevor Swanson.
“It’s weird how that worked out,” Gustafson said. “I think Hellgate is the only team that didn’t finish up with who they’re playing, and they play Big Sky – who they played Tuesday.”
Flathead Bravettes (4-14) vs. Hellgate (16-2), 8 p.m.
Jenna Johnson and Clare Converse helped Flathead pull one 32-point turnaround this year: a 56-52 win at Butte after the Bulldogs had pinned a 67-39 home loss on the Bravettes in the first meeting.
They’ll need something similar against Hellgate, which is the lone team to beat Capital this season and owns victories of 49-25 and 47-27 over Flathead.
Western AA Divisional
Boys
March 5-7, Missoula Sentinel
Thursday
9:30 a.m. — Missoula Hellgate (18-0) vs. Missoula Big Sky (2-16)
11 a.m. — Glacier (9-9) vs. Helena (7-11)
3:30 p.m. — Missoula Sentinel (14-4) vs. Butte (6-12)
5 p.m. — Flathead (3-15) vs. Helena Capital (14-4)
Western AA Divisional
Girls
March 5-7, Missoula Sentinel
Thursday
12:30 p.m. — Helena Capital (17-1) vs. Missoula Big Sky (0-18)
2 p.m. — Glacier (9-9) vs. Helena (8-10)
6:30 p.m. — Missoula Sentinel (14-4) vs. Butte (7-11)
8 p.m. — Missoula Hellgate (16-2) vs. Flathead (4-14)