Hellgate Girls Punch Their Ticket To State With Upset Win Over #1 Helena

In the first girls semi-final game on Friday the Hellgate girls shocked the top team in girls Class AA basketball as Hellgate beat the Lady Bengals 54-50 to move on to the girls championship game Saturday night.

Taking on a team that had beat them in the previous two regular season games Hellgate laced up their shoes and hit the floor with the intent to win the most important meeting between the two teams. It was a battle from the tip off as Hellgate and Helena swapped points in the opening half, finishing the first quarter tied at 19, and ending the half tied at 29. Hellgate was prosperous from the field against the tenacious defense of the Lady Bengals in the first half with Hellgate shooting 53% from the field.

Opening the half even Hellgate sparked a run to start the third quarter which made the difference in the game as Hellgate would out score Helena 13-9. Slowing the pace of the game down on the offense side of the ball by Hellgate kept the ball out the hands of the Lady Bengals shooters, allowing Hellagte to hold on to a small lead. Tightening down their defense late in the game Hellgate began to control defensive boards by doubling up on Helena’s Jamie Pickens on the block out, sealing the win for for Hellgate.

With the win Hellgate punches their ticket to their first appearance at the girls Class AA state basketball tournament in over a decade, and Hellgate will play for the first place spot out of the west in the championship game Saturday night.