Glacier led 19-3 at halftime and fended off a late Flathead charge to win 36-24 on Thursday afternoon at Glacier High School and advance to the semifinals of the Western AA divisional tournament.
The third-seeded Wolfpack (13-6) won for the sixth time in seven games and will square off with Helena Capital (17-2) Friday night at 6:30. Glacier swept all three games this season from the Bravettes (6-13), who will face a loser-out contest at 11 a.m. Friday against Missoula Big Sky (1-18).
Flathead made just one field goal in a dreadful first half offensively, but came storming back late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. The Bravettes sank four 3-pointers in the second half and got a game-high 13 points from Jenna Johnson, but it was not enough.
Kali Gulick posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to pace a balanced Glacier attack. Aubrie Rademacher also scored 10 points, Ellie Keller finished with eight and Raley Shirey added six. The Wolfpack forced 20 turnovers and won despite going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The top four teams at the double-elimination divisional tournament advance to the Class AA state tournament, March 7-9 in Butte.
Flathead 1 2 11 10 — 24
Glacier 10 9 11 6 — 36
FLATHEAD — Jenna Johnson 13, Taylor Henley 6, Kennedy Kanter 4, Maddie Walter 1.
GLACIER — Kali Gulick 10, Aubrie Rademacher 10, Ellie Keller 8, Raley Shirey 6, Kaileigh Crawford 2.
BOYS
Helena 46, Glacier 30
Fourth-seeded Helena led by 18 points and halftime and cruised to a first-round win against the fifth-seeded Wolfpack.
The Bengals (10-9) roared out of the gate to take a 31-13 lead after two quarters on Glacier’s home court. The Wolfpack (5-14) shot just 27.5 percent from the field in the game and went 2-for-14 from 3-point range. Helena, meanwhile, sank seven triples, including six in the first half.
Pierce Brown scored 12 points and Connor Murgel added 10 to pace Helena. The Bengals will get top-seeded Missoula Hellgate (17-1) Friday at 5 p.m. in the divisional semifinals.
Michael Schwarz scored seven to lead Glacier in a losing effort. The Wolfpack is idle on Friday but will return to action Saturday at 11 a.m. in a loser-out contest.
Glacier 7 6 7 10 — 30
Helena 16 15 6 9 — 46
GLACIER — Michael Schwarz 7, Drew Deck 5, Ethan Baines 4, Drew Engellant 4, Bret Michaels 4, K.J. Johnson 3, Weston Price 3.
HELENA — Pierce Brown 12, Connor Murgel 10, Hayden Ferguson 6, Carson Woodland 6, Holder Sampson 4, Alex Johnson 3, Logan Brown 3, Sam Norum 2.
Helena Capital 62, Flathead 51
Third-seeded Helena Capital forced 14 turnovers and held off a feisty Flathead 62-51 to move on to the Western AA semifinals.
The Bruins (11-8) will play Missoula Sentinel (14-5) Friday at 8 p.m., while the Braves will tangle with Missoula Big Sky (3-16) at 12:30 p.m. Friday, needing a win to keep their season alive.
Flathead (5-14) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and got a 20-point performance from Brett Thompson to hang close against a Capital team that blasted the Braves by 33 points just 13 days ago. Gabe Adams added 13 and Ethan Vandenbosch scored nine off the bench for Flathead.
Five Bruins scored in double-figures, led by 12 points and six rebounds from Garrett Kueber. Bridger Grovom and Brady Martin both added 11 points, and Shane Haller chipped in 10. Capital led 24-18 at halftime and shot 48.9 percent from the field in the game.
Flathead 6 12 12 21 — 51
Capital 13 11 18 20 — 62
FLATHEAD — Brett Thompson 20, Gabe Adams 13, Ethan Vandenbosch 9, Cooper Smith 3, Tannen Beyl 2, Seth Moon 2, Blake Counts 2.
CAPITAL — Garrett Kueber 12, Brady Martin 11, Bridger Grovom 11, Shane Haller 10, Cade Kidder 8, Trevor Swanson 5, Parker Johnston 5.