Helena vs Big Sky Preview

With one week left in the Class AA boys and girls basketball season Big Sky will have two games this week against both Helena schools starting with Helena high on Tuesday night.

Ladies First…

Looking at prep basketball in the west regardless of classification their are more freshman players in girls basketball than in recent years and Big Sky is no different. With a handful of seasoned seniors the girls that have been stepping up to lead the Lady Eagles of late have been freshman. On the other side of the court the reigning champion Lady Bengals are running through their competition with ease one the legs of seasoned upper class girls as Helena heads toward a third consecutive state title.

The first match up between Big Sky and Helena to open the month of February went down in Helena with the Lady Bengals sending the Lady Eagles home with a 30 point loss. Big Sky freshman Avari Batt was just starting to make a name for herself that night, but since then Batt has been the leading scorer for the Lady Eagles. In order for the Big Sky girls to contain Helena the Lady Eagles will need to break the press to minimize on Lady Bengal fast break points. Tip off for the girls is at 7:15 pm from Big Sky high school.

And Now For The Boys…

Coming off a pair of loses to crosstown teams last week the Big Sky Eagles will hop on the bus to take on the Class AA Western Conference third place Helena Bengals. The Eagles sit in the seventh place spot of the west in Class AA boys basketball with a pair of wins, while the Bengals are two games behind Sentinel, and five games back from top seeded Hellgate. For both teams it is of utmost importance to pick up wins to finish the regular season in order to have a rhythm going into the divisional tournament.

When the two teams faced off February 2nd with Big Sky keeping it tight until the end when the Bengals slipped away with a win in Missoula. Helena has a full cast of characters that can hurt a team so the Eagles will have their hands full. A key to a win for Big Sky will be for the Eagles to knock down their perimeter shots while preventing any fast break opportunities for Helena. The boys will have the late game as tip off from Helena high will be at 7:30 pm.