Playing on tired legs after a draining crosstown loss to Glacier on Thursday, the Flathead girls struggled to make shots from all over the court against visiting Missoula Hellgate on their way to a 48-23 Western AA basketball loss on Saturday.

The Bravettes opened the game shooting 5-for-34 (15 percent) from the field and scored just 13 points through three quarters.

Hellgate held a double-digit lead for all but seven minutes of the game, riding a tough defense that forced 18 turnovers.

“We played tired,” Flathead coach Lisa Hendrickson said.

“We were feeling sore and tired and that’s how we played.

“Everything was a little off. Everybody was a step slow and shots were short.

“Hellgate played a great game,” she added.

“They played hard defensively and they outrebounded us. We were a little slow.”

Hellgate started the game strong from behind the arc, hitting three 3-pointers to jump out to a 12-2 lead. The Knights opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run, holding Flathead to 0-10 from the field in the first seven minutes of the frame.

Flathead made just one field goal in the third quarter and fell behind by 28 points with 4:53 to play, before making a rally to close the game.

Jessica Simmons was a bright point for the Bravettes, with a team-high 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Lexi Duce had a game-high 16 points for Hellgate.

“She’s a rock for us,” Hendrickson said of Simmons.

“She does a lot of different things for us. She’s a senior so she has a lot of experience. She creates energy for us. She’s relentless on defense, she’s our second leading rebounder, she’s just a great leader for us. We just have to follow her.”

The Bravettes have some time to rest up. They head to Helena on Friday for a conference back-to-back against Helena High on Friday and Capital on Saturday.

Hellgate 12 14 10 12 — 48

Flathead 4 6 3 10 — 23

MISSOULA HELLGATE — Darby Henthorn 2-3 0-0 5, Lexi Duce 7-9 0-0 16, Kule McWilliams 2-8 1-2 5, Katie Stahl 2-4 0-0 5, Kara Hogan 0-5 0-0 0, Claire Hinther 1-3 0-0 2, Kaci Paffhausen 1-3 0-0 2, Sydney Riddle 5-9 0-0 10, Madi Hamilton 1-3 1-1 3. Totals 21-47 2-3 48.

FLATHEAD — Kylee Meredith 1-12 0-0 2, Janae Moon 0-4 0-0 0, Stephanie Wilson 1-5 0-0 2, Jessica Simmons 6-9 1-2 13, Taryn Gutierez 0-1 0-0 0, Sophie Asa 0-2 1-2 1, Sierra Siblerud 0-1 0-0 0, Mary Heaton 1-4 1-2 3, Lauren Clark 0-2 0-0 0, Tiana Johnson 1-13 0-0 2. Totals 10-53 3-6 23.

3-point goals — Hellgate 4-8 (Henthorn 1-1, Duce 2-2, Stahl 1-2), Flathead 0-14. Rebounds — Hellgate 26 (Duce 6), Flathead 24 (Simmons 8). Assists — Hellgate 6 (Henthorn, Hogan, Paffhausen 2), Flathead 5 (Meredith 3). Blocks — Hellgate 0, Flathead 3 (Simmons 2). Steals — Hellgate 17 (Henthorn 3), Flathead 20 (Meredith 3). Total fouls — Hellgate 10, Flathead 12. Fouled out — Flathead, Moon.