The excitement howled from the team room into the crowded gymnasium at Glacier High School.
The Pack is going back to the state basketball tournament.
Propelled by talent and athleticism at every position, the well-rounded Glacier girls team ended another impressive regular season by defeating Missoula Hellgate 57-30 last week, qualifying for the Class AA state tournament.
It was a bittersweet evening at Glacier High School on March 5 as the girls punched their ticket for the fourth year in a row while the boys team fell just short of its seventh consecutive state tournament appearance. Missoula Big Sky snapped Glacier’s playoff streak, winning 47-41 in a playoff and ending the Wolfpack’s season at 11-10 overall.
The boys and girls state tournaments are March 12-14 in Butte.
“I feel good. I think the girls have so much confidence and team leadership,” head coach Kris Salonen said. “They know what to expect.”
The Glacier girls (17-4) are hoping to build on an already memorable season by bringing home hardware for the first time. As the No. 3 seed from the West, the Wolfpack takes on Billings West (11-10), the No. 2 seed from the East, at 6:30 p.m., Thursday.
In other first-round action, defending state champ Missoula Sentinel (18-3) plays Billings Senior (13-8) at noon; Eastern A champ Bozeman (15-5) plays Missoula Big Sky (14-7) at 1:30 p.m.; and Western A champ Helena Capital (18-2) plays Great Falls CMR (9-12) at 8 p.m.
Last year Glacier lost in the semifinal round 37-26 to Missoula Sentinel. The Wolfpack fell one game shy of the consolation championship, losing 50-41 to Billings Senior.
This year, the roster features almost the entire starting lineup of talented players from a year ago, including honorable mention all-conference senior Katie Wiley and junior Hailee Bennet, an all-state guard.
Bennett, the team’s point guard, leads in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, and is also averaging nearly 4 assists per game. Wiley, a 6-foot-1 guard who has started all four years Glacier has advanced to state, is averaging 7 ppg, 3.2 rebounds per game and 2 assists per game. Tessa Krueger, a 6-0 senior forwar, is averaging nearly 7 points and 4 rebounds per game. Taylor Salonen, a 5-11 junior guard, is averaging 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Brielle Bumgarner, a 6-1 senior forward, is averaging 5 points and 5 rebounds per game. Nikkie Krueger and Ali Williams, another pair of tall forwards, are both averaging nearly 5 points per game.
In other words, Glacier is tall and talented at every position.
“Glacier’s a good team. All credit to Kris and her staff and those kids,” Hellgate head coach Gary McLaughlin said after the playoff defeat. “They got a great guard and they’re big and they play well together. They’re well coached. They have all the things that it takes to get to the state tournament.”
It’s been another strong season for a group of athletic girls who rolled into the basketball season after a successful volleyball campaign. Glacier went 24-3 in volleyball, but the season ended earlier than expected when the Wolfpack was bounced in the second round of the state tournament.
“A lot of us from volleyball are on this team. We had a disappointing end to that season, so we’re coming in with that and we’re trying to prove we can be there and we deserve to go,” Krueger said. “I think we can go pretty far.”
Three of Glacier’s four losses came against arguably the two best teams in Montana. Helena Capital narrowly beat Glacier 48-39 on Feb. 20 and 45-39 on Feb. 6. Missoula Sentinel edged Glacier 49-37 on Feb. 14. The Wolfpack got the best of Sentinel on Jan. 2, winning 50-44 on the road. Glacier’s only other loss came against Great Falls in the season opener.
“We’ve been playing well the last few games but we have to finish,” Salonen said. “We’re striving for perfection now. It’s that time of season. The next three, that’s what we have to shoot for — perfection.”
This will be the first meeting between Glacier and Billings West, which boasts one of the best players in the state, Tobey MorningRose. MorningRose is averaging 16.6 points per game this winter, second most in the state. Kennedy Hildebrand, a junior for West, is leading the state in rebounds with 11 per game. Haylea Elkin is also averaging 13 points per game for West.
“These kids know what to expect. They’ve got to work hard from now on,” Salonen said. “I think we’re getting it and it’s at the best time.”