The Glacier girls shook off two weeks of rust and two quarters of sluggish play to pick up their first conference win of the season, beating Missoula Big Sky 61-45 Thursday night at Glacier High School.

The Wolfpack (3-1 overall, 1-0 Western AA) outscored Big Sky 25-9 in the game’s final 10 minutes, picking itself up off the mat after giving up a 14-point lead.

Sophomore forward Katie Wiley sparked the final push, stealing passes at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, passing off the first for an assist on the fast break and taking the second herself for a layup.

The stretch put Glacier up 41-36 and keyed a 10-0 run that put the Wolfpack up for good.

“I think the big test for us was when we got down in the third,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said.

“The Wolfpack of the past maybe would have crumbled and quit. We turned a corner and got ahead.”

Glacier scored 22 points in the fourth quarter alone, scoring 10 of its final 12 points from the paint or the free-throw line.

The Wolfpack fell flat in the second quarter as the Eagles were able to get around the defense and find open shots. Big Sky went on a 14-6 run to close the half, nearly erasing a 22-8 deficit. In the third, the Eagles’ Dani Baker hit three 3-pointers to pull her team even and found Kendra Joyce on a cut to the basket to give Big Sky a 36-34 lead.

“We were flat,” Salonen said.

“They were getting comfortable in their half-court offense so we put the full-court press back on.”

The changed worked as Wiley and the rest of the Pack were able to get into passing lanes and get in transition.

“You know (Wiley’s) going to get there,” Salonen said.

“Her long arms cause a little havoc, which is fun for us.”

Senior guard Kailea Vaudt had a team-high 15 points for Glacier, going 7 for 9 from the free-throw line.

Wiley finished with 13 off the bench and Cassi Hashley scored 10 with 15 rebounds.

“We had a huge break,” Salonen said.

“I was a little nervous. We hadn’t played since Dec. 15. It was nice to see Kailea Vaudt come out and have a good game. The last game she really played was against Whitefish (on Dec. 11).”

Baker led Big Sky (3-3, 0-1) with 26 points and seven rebounds in the game.

“It’s a give and take,” Salonen said.

“She scored 26 but the next player scored only seven. She’s a great player. You’ve definitely got to keep her in check. She’s the one that kept them in the game.”

Glacier heads to defending state champion Missoula Sentinel (6-0, 1-0) on Saturday for its next game. The Spartans beat Flathead 66-24 on Thursday.

Big Sky 6 16 14 9 — 45

Glacier 14 14 11 22 — 61

BIG SKY — Dani Baker 9-16 3-7 26, Kendra Joyce 3-15 0-2 6, Kelsey Donnelly 1-6 0-0 2, Jenna Sedgwick 3-7 1-3 7, Maddy Sharde 1-4 0-0 2, Mac Freeman 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 18-54 4-12 45.

GLACIER — Hannah Atlee 4-5 0-0 8, Cassi Hashley 5-13 0-1 10, Hailee Bennett 0-8 3-4 3, Kailea Vaudt 4-8 7-9 15, Kirstyn Haugenoe 2-9 2-2 8, Rachel Chery 1-5 2-2 4, Katie Wiley 6-12 0-1 13. Totals: 22-60 14-19 61.

3-pointers — Big Sky 5-11 (Baker 5), Glacier 3-9 (Haugenoe 2). Rebounds — Big Sky 36 (Joyce 10), Glacier 44 (Hashley 15). Assists — Big Sky 4 (Sharde 2), Glacier 11 (Bennett 6). Blocks — Big Sky 0, Glacier 2 (Hashley, Chery). Steals — Big Sky 7 (Joyce 3), Glacier 11 (Atlee, Vaudt, Haugenoe, Wiley 2). Fouls — Big Sky 17, Glacier 17. Technical fouls — none. Fouled out — none.