HELENA -- The Helena Capital boys and girls basketball teams picked up big wins on Saturday over Missoula Sentinel. The boys powered to a 72-59 victory over a previously undefeated Spartans squad and the Bruin girls took sole possession of first place in the Western AA by also downing the previously undefeated Spartan girls 53-42.
Aside from crosstown matchups, Class AA schools traditionally schedule games with the boys in one location and the girls in the other. On Saturday, though, Capital played host to all contests, which girls head coach Katie Garcin-Forba believes helped pack the gym just a week removed from their matchup against another top team in the state.
"I think it’s awesome. Last weekend we hosted Missoula Hellgate, and our crowd was OK, but that was a battle of No. 1 and No. 2 and you want a better crowd for that," said Garcin-Forba. "Here was a battle of the undefeateds, and we had a great crowd. I think it’s awesome. Being able to watch the boys in their game was really cool, the head coach’s daughter plays on the JV team for us, so it’s cool for him to be able to see that."
According to many players and coaches, nothing can match the energy of a crosstown matchup, but Garcin-Forba said combining the schedule added to the atmosphere of playing because the combination of schedules drew in a crowd that might not normally attend.
"I thought it was a great atmosphere. It was high energy, the girls played hard and I think it’s a really cool thing for us to do," said Garcin-Forba.
Capital and Sentinel will meet one more time before the end of the regular season, with the Bruins making the trip to Missoula on Feb. 15 for another doubleheader.
