Flathead Bravettes Claim Third Place Trophy

Kalispell Flathead girls basketball coach Sam Tudor emerged from a joyous locker room, where his team had been singing — almost yelling, really — along to Journey’s 1981 hit “Don’t Stop Believing,” which sounded to be at full blast.

“My ears are ringing,” he said to no one in particular.

Flathead’s first trip to the state tournament in nine years turned out to be productive and the impetus for the celebration.

The Bravettes bounced back from a first-round loss and claimed the third-place trophy by beating Missoula Sentinel. The Bravettes hadn’t won tournament hardware since 2007, when that group of Bravettes also placed third.

“It took us a while to get comfortable on this court, but they started performing like I knew they would,” Tudor said of his team, which won three in a row at the tournament, including two on Saturday, after Thursday’s loss to finish the season 19-6. “I had a lot of confidence we could do it.

“Even just this last game, they’re kind of sleepwalking right now. They’re going to sleep well this week. But they’ve earned it. I’m just humbled and proud.”

Kennedy Moore scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Maddy Moy added 11 points for the Bravettes. The team’s lone senior, Clare Converse, closed her career with a seven-point, five-rebound performance.

Flathead trailed 31-24 with 5:10 to go in the third quarter, but a 12-0 run gave the Bravettes a 36-31 lead heading into the fourth. Sentinel never regained the lead, though the Spartans were within 42-41 at one point.

“It was just guts,” Tudor said. “I mean, I didn’t go very deep on my bench and when I did, the bench came through when we needed them. So, just a great performance. It’s good to see Clare go out on a win. It’s pretty rare what they accomplished today, so a lot of guts.”