KALISPELL- The Missoula Hellgate Knights punched their ticket to the Butte Civic Center next week to compete in the Montana AA State Basketball Tournament, with a hard fought 46-37 rematch win over the Missoula Big Sky Eagles. 

Hellgate (13-5) was led by Washington State signee- Alex Covill with 23 points on the night, accompanied by junior standout Chloe Larson adding 14 of her own in the mix. 

“It was such a great team win,” said Covill. “I know it means a lot to us, being able to punch our ticket to State, and getting to the divisional championship. We’ve worked so hard for this moment, and I am so proud of everyone on this team.” 

Avory DeCoite led the Eagles (8-8) with 19, alongside Kadynce Couture and Audry Hale tallying 8 and 5, respectively.

In the blink of an eye the scoreboard showed a 5-0 Big Sky lead after three consecutive Knights turnovers to begin the match. Hellgate entered major foul trouble with 6 quick penalties. Covill then showed her true grit in sparking Hellgate to 7-2 run tallying all Hellgate points in the first quarter, aside an Elly Reed backwards layup that opened up Hellgate’s scoring. After one, the Knights settled down, and drew Big Sky’s lead to 1. 

“Maddie told us straight up that our communication had to be better than what we were displaying,” said Covill on the rough first quarter. “After that little wake up call, we went out there and never looked back. We trusted each other, and she trusted us to all step up.”

Covill eventually surpassed 1,000 career points in the championship game against the Flathead Bravettes the following night, while moving up to number 5 in the all time Montana AA ranks for blocked shots. 

The Eagles held strong, despite Hellgate’s big run to end the 1st. Big Sky held the Knights scoreless for the first 4 minutes of the second frame. Kadynce Couture tallied 4 unanswered points via free throw, as well as a Sadie McGuinn jumper. Sparking a Maddie Keast unwanted timeout, Hellgate then came out and took their first lead of the night on their way to a dazzling 5-0 run to close out the first half. Heading into the locker room, the Eagles maintained an 18-16 lead. 

“We did not come out as strong as we wanted,” said Larson. “Getting some momentum at the end of the second quarter really helped us. We stayed confident and knew that we needed to come out way stronger in the second half.”

The Knights came out into the second half firing on both sides of the ball. For nearly six minutes Hellgate held the Eagles to only 3 points via a DeCoite triple, and marched their way offensively to an 8-3 run. Covill erupted for her second 7 point quarter of the night, and Shannon Kane keyed possibly Hellgate’s biggest bucket of the night, with a fouled jumper touching the twine, giving the Knights their first lead since the previous quarter. After 24 minutes, Hellgate marched into the final quarter with a 26-25 lead.

The Knights played the same championship level basketball in the 4th quarter that they have all year to this point. Larson exploded for 12 points, alongside Covill contributing 5, and a Carmen Andwerson free throw for a combined 20 Hellgate points. The Knight’s  protected a 9 point lead, when the Big Sky foul frenzy began with 90 ticks left on the clock. 

“This was a huge win for us, and a big momentum changer,” said Larson after the game. “We were able to show what we can accomplish, when we put the pieces together. We are super grateful and excited to be going to state. It’s a big weekend for us to have fun and just show off all of the hard work that we have put in these past few months.”

With the win, Hellgate advanced to the Western AA Divisional championship game for the second consecutive year, but fell just short, off an Avery Chouinard buzzer beating three pointer against the Flathead Bravettes. The loss dropped Big Sky to the win-or-go-home game, which they won, and will accompany 5 Missoula teams to Butte next weekend. 

Watch these awesome athletes on NFHS if you are unable to make the trip to State next week! First game is set for 3/9/2023 against Bozeman Gallatin at 12:00 PM. Winner is on to the state semifinals to then take on the winner of Billings West and Missoula Sentinel for a shot at the AA State championship game.