HELLGATE GIRLS- 47  SENTINEL GIRLS- 45 

MISSOULA- Shannon Kane knew the game was over the moment she snagged Kassidy Kirgan’s heave with 1.1 ticks left on the clock. 

Chloe Larson knocked down two free throws with that same 1 second to give Hellgate a two-point lead, and the deciding blow to the Knights’ crosstown rivals. 

Alex Covill broke her career high in points, accounting for over half of the Knight’s scoring in the contest, with 25 of her own. 

It’s safe to say that this Knight’s team re-took a share of the conference lead with their victory over Missoula Sentinel 47-45 on Tuesday night. 

After an unfortunate Saturday in Helena, the Hellgate girls basketball team bounced back in the absence of their head coach Maddie Keast, who was disqualified from the contest on Tuesday night. Hellgate 8-2; 10-4 snagged a share of the top spot in the Montana AA conference, catapulting next to the Flathead Bravettes, who were idle on Tuesday. 

Covill’s two 10-point quarters, matched with Kane’s defense and Larson’s clutch shooting, proved to be too overpowering for a defense-heavy Spartans club. 

“The feeling was unbelievable,” said Kane. “When I saw (Kassidy) chuck it up, I knew that it was my chance to secure the win. The adrenaline going through me made it feel like a dream.”

Hellgate started off strong, thanks to a 10-point contribution of Covill in the first quarter. Restraining Sentinel to only 8 points in the first frame, the Knights held the Spartan’s phenom 6 foot 2 senior Olivia Huntsinger, to only 3 points in the first eight minutes. 

“We knew from the start that it was going to be a battle,” said Kane. “In the locker room, we emphasized having positive attitudes, and keeping our heads up regardless of the outcome.”

The second quarter was the polar opposite of the first. Sentinel stunned the Knights and took a 29-27 lead into the half. Hellgate had their best offensive quarter of the game, but Kirgen, Lilly Allen, and CC Size’s combined 21 points outlasted the Knight’s 16. Sentinel re-took the lead with a 5-0 run at the two minute mark. Elly Reed, Maddy Petrino, Larson, Covill, and Kane all found the basket in the second eight minutes of the game. 

“The support from my teammates, the student section, and the parents, helped light a spark that ended up in a win,” said Kane. 

Hellgate came out of the locker room in the second half of the contest fired up, and competitive. Covill had her second double digit scoring quarter of the night, and the Knight’s retook their lead, thanks to their opening 7-0 run to calm down the red hot Spartan shooting. Hellgate held the Spartans to 8 points in the third quarter, after over double that being thrown up in the previous quarter. Hellgate nursed a 41-37 lead going into the final frame. 

Covill hit Larson with a dime underneath the basket to open up the scoring in the fourth quarter with some razzle-dazzle. Emily McElmurry knocked down 5 points for the Spartans before Huntsigner hit an uncontested 3 to tie the game with one minute left. The game came down to a Sentinel timeout at 8 seconds with the ball underneath their basket. Both teams came out of huddles ready for a physical finish. Sentinel inbounded and missed their first layup and a putback. Larson came down cradling the basketball with 1.1 seconds left and got fouled in a bonus. She promptly knocked down both free throws, much to the delight of the Hellgate student section. 

“All of the upperclassmen from this year and last year have been so supportive,” said Kane. “Everyone is a leader, and knowing I have the support helps me encourage everyone.” 

The contest improved Hellgate to 8-2; 10-4, and dropped Sentinel to 5-5; 8-6. 

HELLGATE BOYS- 63  SENTINEL BOYS- 46

MISSOULA– In the nightcap, Connor Dick followed up an amazing performance with an uncontested three late in the game, which sparked the Hellgate boy’s to a 13-0 run on their way to clipping the Sentinel Spartans 63-46. 

Dick contributed 16 points on the night, with help from Donoven Headswift’s 15, Mario Rosemond’s 12, Chance McNulty’s 10, and Easton Sant’s 5. 

“Crosstown games are always so fun,” said Dick. “ We are excited and nervous. We had been off all game, but at the end we started playing like ourselves again.”

Trevor Rausch scored half of Sentinel’s points in the first quarter of the match, leading the Spartans to a 6-1 run to open up the game. Forcing Hellgate to take an unwanted time out after a fancy assist, the Spartans lit up the scoreboard at 16-11 leading after one. 

 “We had a terrible first half,” said Dick. “But we adjusted and knew there was another half left.”

The Knight’s flipped a switch to begin the second quarter, cutting the Spartan lead to 19-17 on a 6-3 run. Sentinel’s big man Holter Schweyen, then knocked down a triple at the top of the key, to settle the Hellgate bench down. Headswift knocked down a corner three, paired with a jumper to collect 5 on the quarter for Hellgate. Rausch then made his most impressive shot of the night, going uncontested way beyond the arc, and hitting a triple at the buzzer to send Sentinel into the locker with the momentum, and a 31-23 lead.

The Knights, as they have all year, refused to go down without a fight. To open up the last half of basketball for the night, Headswift sparked a 7-0 run to start, with a grab and go, forcing not one, but two stunning Sentinel timeouts. Schweyen knocked down his second triple from downtown, which gave the Spartans some spark, but not for long. Dick had his first of two seven point quarters, with a contested euro-step, that put Hellgate within one point at the buzzer, concluding the third quarter. 

“We knew it was a matter of time, and we had all the momentum,” said Dick.

Hellgate exploded for 25 points in the fourth quarter and put the game away. Dick gave the Knights their first lead since the opening quarter with an uncontested three, after the Knight’s had been flirting with a one point deficit for most of the second half. Hellgate’s defense held the Spartans to only 2 points in the opening six minutes from Riley Allen. Hellgate ran away with 13 unanswered points to finish the game, ignited from the Dick triple, followed by a putback after a Sentinel turnover. All 5 starters, including Chance McNulty, Cuinn Powers, and Colter Russell, contributed to the final Hellgate score at the end of the night. 

The win kept Hellgate in the AA Western Conference lead at 8-2; 11-3 and plummeted the Spartans to 1-9; 2-12. 

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