HELENA -- In their second to last games of the regular season, the Helena High Bengals quashed the Kalispell Flathead Braves 53-26, and the Helena Capital Bruins downed the Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack, 60-31.
At Helena High, the Bengals rattled the Braves from the get go after a quick 4-0 run, the Braves called a timeout to regroup, but there was no chance of slowing down the Bengals on Feb. 28. Helena High jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead through the first quarter and from there McKayla Kloker had a night. The Bengals senior rattled off 27 points with 3 three-pointers, and went 5-6 from the free-throw line as the Bengals now sit a single game behind the Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack in the Western AA Standings. The Bengals will host the Wolfpack on Feb. 29 and a win would create a tie for fourth place in the standings, but regardless of the outcome, the Wolfpack and the Bengals will square off with one another in the first round of the Western AA Divisional tournament.
At Helena Capital, the Bruins also led 14-4 after the first quarter, but with a little over three minutes left in the first half the Wolfpack some traction. Down 27-8, the Wolfpack went on an 8-2 run to close out the half and looked poised to make the game interesting in the second. Paige Bartsch had other ideas. The Bruins junior put up 17 of her 23 points on the night in the second half en route to the win. The Bruins will close out their season when they play host to the Flathead Braves on Feb. 29.
