A halftime pep talk was all the Glacier girls needed to get back to their dominant defensive selves, outscoring Hellgate 43-9 after the break to win 68-35 in a Western AA conference girls basketball game on Tuesday. 

“We had a great first quarter,” Glacier coach Kris Salonen said. “We came out we scored 18 then we just were missing baskets in second.”

The Wolfpack trailed 26-24 at halftime, but was able to regroup, outscoring the Knights 27-4 in the third quarter and 16-5 in the fourth to turn the game into a rout. 

“I’m really proud of how they responded,” Salonen said. “It could have easily been an ugly game. It was definitely a team effort offensively.”

Hailee Bennett had a game-high 18 points to lead the Wolfpack and Taylor Loomis had 12. Cassi Hashley finished with another double-double, scoring 11 points with 13 rebounds. Katie Wiley had 10 points.

Lexi Duce led Hellgate with 15 points.

Hellgate141245—35

Glacier1862716—68

HELLGATE — Darby Henthorn 1-3 1-2 3, Claire Hinther 2-6 0-0 5, Lexi Duce 7-15 2-4 15, Kylie McWilliams 1-6 4-4 6, Katie Stahl 1-6 1-2 3, Kara Hogan 1-3 0-0 2, Caitlynn Anschuetz 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 12-35 9-14 35.

GLACIER — Taylor Salonen 1-2 0-0 2, Hailee Bennett 6-20 4-4 18, Taylor Loomis 6-11 0-0 12, Hannah Atlee 2-5 2-3 6, Cassi Hashley 5-10 1-1 11, Katie Thomas 1-6 0-0 2, Katie Wiley 5-13 0-1 10, Brielle Bumgarner 2-4 1-2 5, Tessa Krueger 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 29-73 8-11 68.

3-pointers — Hellgate 2 (Hinther 1, Duce 1), Glacier 2 (Bennett 2). Rebounds — Hellgate 22 (Duce 6), Glacier 35 (Hashley 13). Assists — Hellgate 6 (Three with 2), Glacier 15 (Salonen 5). Blocks — Hellgate 1 (Duce), Glacier 5 (Hashley 2). Steals — Hellgate 6 (Henthorn 4), Glacier 13 (Bennett 3, Loomis 3). Fouls — Hellgate 9, Glacier 15. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none.

BOYS

Hellgate 64, Glacier 54

MISSOULA — Trailing big early, Glacier tied defending state champions Missoula Hellgate early in the fourth quarter only to go cold from the floor, losing on the road in a Western AA conference boys basketball game.

The Wolfpack, who trailed by nine points after the first quarter and by 14 midway through the second, pulled even at 45-45 at the start of the fourth quarter on an alley-oop layup to senior guard Bryan Michaels. 

But, Hellgate held the Pack scoreless for the next five minutes of game time, ripping off a 13-0 run to take a commanding lead and ice the game.

“It was a good game for our kids as far as a learning experience,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. 

“The kids did a nice job of playing with them.”

Evan Epperly led Glacier with 22 points. Tres Tinkle had 18 for Hellgate.

Glacier12141711-54

Hellgate21101419-64

GLACIER – Kyler Harkins 1-4 0-0 3, Tanner Olsen 3-6 1-2 8, Bryan Michaels 4-10 1-2 9, Evan Epperly 8-17 2-4 22, Cain Boschee 2-3 0-0 4, Sam McCamley 3-7 0-0 8. Totals 21-47 4-10 54.

MISSOULA HELLGATE – Tres Tinkle 7-14 3-4 18, Pat Colberg 3-3 5-6 11, Brady Henthorn 3-5 1-3 7, Devin Bray 4-5 1-2 11, Rhett Baerlocher 5-7 0-2 11, Dylan Harvala 1-5 0-0 2, Mark Lebsock 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 24-41 12-19 64.

3-point goals – Glacier 8-22 (Epperly 4-10, McCamley 2-4, Olsen 1-2, Harkins 1-4, Michaels 0-2), Hellgate 4-11 (Bray 2-3, Baerlocher 1-1, Tinkle 1-3, Henthorn 0-1, Harvala 0-3). Rebounds – Glacier 22 (Harkins 7), Hellgate 28 (Tinkle 7). Total fouls – Glacier 17, Hellgate 13. Fouled out – McCamley. Steals – Glacier 5 (Harkins 3), Hellgate 6 (Henthorn 2, Tinkle 2). Blocks – Glacier 0, Hellgate 2 (Tinkle 2). Turnovers – Glacier 9, Hellgate 8.