BUTTE — Missoula Big Sky and Helena Capital were the first teams to move on Thursday at the Western AA girls divisional basketball tournament at the Civic Center.
Big Sky beat Kalispell Flathead 52-42 while Capital ran past Missoula Sentinel 56-33 to secure spots in Friday's semifinal round.
Later Thursday, Helena High joined the semifinal party with a 42-37 victory over Butte in the first round, and Missoula Hellgate advanced with a 44-38 win over Kalispell Glacier.
Big Sky and Capital will square off in Friday's first semi while Helena and Hellgate will meet in the other.
Missoula Big Sky 52, Kalispell Flathead 42
Kaydynce Couture had a big game with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four steals to lead Big Sky over Flathead 52-42 in the first round.
Sadie McGuinn added 11 points and five rebounds for the Eagles, while Audrey Hale had nine points and five boards.
Flathead was led by Kennedy Moore, who also filled the stat sheed with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Sami Dalager also had a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bravettes, who fell into loser-out action.
Helena Capital 56, Missoula Sentinel 33
Capital got 20 points from Taylor Sayers and 10 more from Riley Chandler in a 56-33 win over Sentinel to advance to the semifinals.
The Bruins shot 47% from the floor and hit seven 3-pointers. Sentinel made just 26% from the field and hit four 3s.
Emily McElmurry led the Spartans with 11 points and four rebounds. Sentinel will look to stay alive in loser-out action.
Helena 42, Butte 37
A big third quarter helped Helena surpass Butte 42-37 and advance into Friday's semis.
The Bengals outscored Butte 17-9 in the third quarter, then held on in the fourth quarter to prevail. Avery Kraft had nine points to lead the Bengals, while teammates Madi Todorovich and McKenna Pipinich each added 10.
Cadence Graham's 18 points led the way for Butte, which fell into the loser-out bracket. Selene Morrell and Addie Hiatt each had six rebounds.
Missoula Hellgate 44, Kalispell Glacier 38
Alix Mund, Gianna Passuccio and Chloe Larsen each scored nine points in Hellgate's 44-38 first-round win over Glacier.
Larsen also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists for the Knights, who led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.
Resse Ramey's 12 points led Glacier, which moves into the loser-out bracket. Kenedee Moore, Charlotte Osler and Noah Fincher each had seven points for the Wolfpack.
