MISSOULA- Hellgate edged the Helena Capital Lady Bruins, 38-30 in a sea-saw Thursday night matchup in Missoula. Chloe Larson and Alex Covill led the Knights with 18 points each, and Carmen Anderson continued her torrid defense this season, tallying 4 steals. Jada Clarkson and Taylor Sayers led Helena Capital, showing their range in three point field goals, while tallying nearly 20 points out of the total 30 on the night for the Lady Bruins. 

Helena Capital (8-3) carried the momentum for the opening minutes of the first quarter, showing the versatility of their program. Gracie Mockel knocked down a jumper to open up the scoring, followed by a Hellgate turnover. Sayers then promptly found the bottom of the net with a jumper, followed by Megan Swanson hitting a three on the wing to quiet down the Hellgate bench. The Knights came rumbling back with Larson and Covill matching a pair of layups, and Alix Mund hitting Covill below the basket for a shot off the glass. After 8, Hellgate led the Lady Bruins 12-7 on a pair of assists. 

“We have gotten a lot closer as a team recently,” said Larson. “Building team chemistry with a new group of girls, and our drive to win and be the best has helped us stay super close and be supportive for one another.”

The Knights (9-3) entered some foul trouble in the second quarter after not giving up a single whistle in the first, and the Bruins took advantage. Kayla Almquist drained a three for Capital- which was the first tally on either side to open up the quarter – followed by Clarkson collecting an extra point after being fouled on a jumper. For the Knights, Anderson collected two more steals alongside an assist to Covill – who inked her commitment to Washington State University 24 hours ago – and scored the only 4 points for Hellgate in the second quarter. At the end of two, Capital snagged the lead from Hellgate 18-16 going into the half. 

“We got super fired up in the locker room,” said Larson. “Realizing what we were doing wrong in the second quarter really helped, but just coming together as a team and deciding that we weren’t gonna lose this game brought our energy back.” 

The start to the second half was another momentum change, this time favoring the Knights. Larson showed her grit in a rough 8 minutes, falling to the deck twice, and throwing up two layups off the glass that both fell through, paired with a jumper to ignite Hellgate’s bench. “The third quarter felt great,” said Larson. “We were being aggressive, playing the best defense of the night, and keeping them from scoring barely at all, really brought our confidence back going into that fourth quarter.” Anderson matched Larson’s energy with yet another steal at the six-minute mark, and Covill added four points of her own into the mix. 

Hellgate exploded for 12 points, and an 8-3 run for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The only highlight for the Lady Bruins was a Sayers three, which came too late in the contest for any major sway. Larson one-upped the third quarter she had just played with an additional 8 points. 2 were off  a euro step that riled coach Maddie Keast and the Hellgate bench, and proved as the last punch to Capital before a foul frenzy with 30 seconds of the contest left, and Hellgate up by 8. Covill added 2 putbacks that both fell for the Knights in the final frame.

Wish these ladies some luck as they head over to Helena Feb. 4  to take on Helena High at 3;30 PM! Be sure to keep up to date on GOLDEN GOAT status, as these awesome athletes take Big Sky on in an annual Hellgate tradition at the Adams Center later this month!