A scoreless third quarter from the Flathead Bravettes was all the difference in the game, as the Bozeman Hawks won a non-conference girls basketball game easily 43-20 Friday night. 

The Bravettes started out strong, outscoring the Hawks 9-7 in the first quarter with senior Mattie Thompson getting six points. In the second quarter, sophomore Caitlin Converse scored five of her team’s six points and they went into halftime down 20-15. 

“We got really cold on the offensive end of the floor and started settling for outside shots,” Bravettes’ coach Kaylee Fox said. “We started rushing our offense a little bit and stopped trying to create shots for ourselves around the rim.” 

The Hawks (1-1) were able to get plenty of shots inside the paint in the second and third quarters when they extended their lead. Nula Anderson finished with a game-high 12 points. 

“We had some over rotating at times in our 2-3 zone and were really focused on keeping the ball out of a couple players’ hands,” Fox said. “We got out of position, especially in that third quarter.” 

The Bravettes saw a 5-point deficit balloon to a 20-point gap heading into the final quarter, which was too large to make up. 

The Hawks unloaded their bench. After a 9-point first quarter, the Bravettes scored 11 points the rest of the game.  

“I was happy with our defense for the most part, but we have to get more confidence in our offense and start knocking down shots when we are open,” Fox said.  

Thompson finished the game with a team-high seven points. Converse added six. Sophomore Grace Gall scored four, including the only 3- pointer made by the Bravettes.  

After splitting games last weekend, the Bravettes are 1-2 and will have a quick turnaround as they host Gallatin tomorrow, with tipoff slated for 1 p.m.  

It will be the last game before the holiday break, and they won’t return to action until Jan. 10 against Helena Capital.  

Bozeman    7    13    15    18    —    43 

Flathead    9    6    0    5    —    20

BOZEMAN — Zahara Willis 0 0-2 0, Marlee Embry 0 0-0 0, Lexie Cotton 2 1-2 7, Charlie Scott 3 0-0 7, Nula Anderson 5 2-2 12, Lauren Kelm 2 0-0 4, Rose O’Brien 3 1-2 9, Maddy Johnson 0 0-0 0, Nizhoni Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Chloe Burkhart 0 0-0 0, River Spencer 2 0-2 4, Taylor Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-10 43. 

FLATHEAD — Teagan Flint 0 0-0 0, Tayler Greene 0 0-0 0, Caitlin Converse 3 0-0 6, Sami Dalager 0 2-2 2, Ava Malmin 0 1-4 1, Grace Gall 1 1-2 4, Mattie Thompson 3 1-2 7. Totals 7 5-10 20.  

3-point field goals — Bozeman 5 (Cotton 2, O’Brien 2, Scott) Flathead 1 (Gall) Fouls — Bozeman 11, Flathead 15. Fouled out — none.