The visiting No. 5-ranked Helena High girls scored early and often against Flathead on Friday night, running away with a Western AA win, 62-26.

The Bengals were sharper for most of the game, and took advantage of a flat-footed Bravette squad in the first quarter. Helena senior Kyndal Williams scored the first seven points of the game, burying a 3-pointer with a shade less than two minutes gone to give Helena a 7-0 lead.

After a timeout, Flathead junior Cassie Krueger hit a nice turnaround jumper to get the Bravettes on the board, but the Bengals scored the next six points to take a 13-2 advantage.

Helena's height gave the Bravettes fits all night, with the tandem of 6-foot-1 Mallory Grimsrud and 6-3 Kaitlyn Oliver accounting for six blocked shots and four more changed shots in the game.

With points in the paint so tough to come by, it made it tougher that the Bravettes were struggling to hit their jump shots, shooting just 23 percent from the field in the first half.

Helena scored the first eight points of the second quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers by senior Mykaylee Verworn that broke the game wide open.

The Flathead girls were able to sink a few shots to close the half, with sophomore Emma Andrews hitting once from just inside the 3-point line then stealing the ball and streaking coast to coast for a layup to close the half on a 5-3 run for the Bravettes.

Andrews finished with a team-high nine points.

The biggest blow to the Bravettes came in the third quarter. Helena outscored Flathead 17-2, scoring the first 13 points of the quarter and keeping the Bravettes scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half, closing the period with a 48-15 lead.

In the fourth quarter the teams were fairly even, with Helena slowing down the pace and Flathead finally starting to sink some shots. Flathead senior Brittany Earnest ended strong, hitting a deep 3-pointer from about 23 feet to wow the crowd, the last of six straight points she scored for the Bravettes. Earnest finished with eight points.

Helena outscored the Bravettes in every quarter and shot 52 percent from the field. The Bengals size inside kept Flathead from attacking the lane, with the Bravettes finishing with only seven free-throw attempts. Helena got to the line 17 times, hitting 10 freebies. The Bengals outrebounded Flathead 41-25.

Flathead (5-6 overall, 0-3 conference) will try to notch its first Western AA win of the season today against visiting Helena Capital at 2:30 p.m. The Bruins are 2-2 in conference and 6-6 overall after losing a close game at Glacier 50-47 on Friday night.

Helena 15 16 17 14 - 62

Flathead 4 9 2 11 - 26

HELENA HIGH - Kyndal Williams 7 4-6 19, Mykaylee Verworn 5 0-0 12, Tatum Teegarden 2 4-4 8, Kaitlyn Oliver 3 1-3 7, Mallory Grimsrud 2 2-4 6, Mackenzie Donnelly 3 0-0 6, Callie Kanthack 1 0-1 2, Madison Therriault 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 11-18 62.

FLATHEAD - Emma Andrews 4-12 1-1 9, Brittany Earnest 3-11 1-2 8, Ashlee O'Dell 0-4 1-2 3, Tess Brenneman 1-7 0-0 2, Cassie Krueger 1-4 0-0 2, Emily Russell 1-4 0-0 2, Kelsey Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Jenessa Heine 0 0-2 0. Totals: 11 3-7 26.

3-point goals: Verworn 2, Williams 1, Earnest 1. Team fouls: Helena 11, Flathead 15. Technical fouls: none. Fouled out: none.