Prep Weekly Spotlight 2/27

For the final Prep Weekly Spotlight of February we take a look at the Class AA Divisional tournament that will determine the four boys and girls teams that will represent the west at the state basketball tournament.

Ladies First…
Prep basketball at the Class AA level in Missoula has had an exciting season with teams rotating at the top. The girls from Hellgate are trending in the right direction as they head to Kalispell with the fourth seed putting them up against their crosstown nemeses in the Lady Spartans for the third time this season. Young and talented as usual Sentinel grabs the fifth seed going into the divisional with a chance to revenge a pair of losses against Hellgate this season. Big sky pulls the seventh seed at the Class AA Divisional and will have some work to do against the second seeded Capital Lady Bruins to open the tournament.

On the girls bracket the returning two time champion Helena Lady Bengals hold the top seed granting them a bye to open the tournament. The winner of Sentinel versus Hellgate will play the Lady Bengals in the semi-final match on Friday night, the loser will get a bye until Saturday morning. The other game on Thursday between the girls will be the host team and third seeded Glacier against their crosstown rival Flathead, the winner will take on the winner of the Big Sky versus Capital game in the second girls semi-final Friday night.

And Now For the Boys…
Boys prep basketball in Missoula has been dominated by the Hellgate Knights who have stood at the top of Class AA boys basketball all season. For their domination of the Western Class AA conference the Knights will receive a bye on the opening day of  the tournament. With their only two loses on the conference schedule to Hellgate, the Sentinel Spartans claim the second seed at the boys Western AA Divisional tournament with a game against their crosstown brothers in the Big Sky Eagles. Big Sky sits in the seventh seed giving them a tough road to go to get to the state tournament.

With the bye on Thursday Hellgate will await the winner of the fifth seeded host team Glacier Wolfpack versus fourth seeded Helena Bengals game Thursday to open the boys play at the tournament. The winner of the Big Sky versus Sentinel game will take on the winner of the sixth seeded Flathead versus third seeded Capital game, with the possibility for two Missoula schools playing in the semi-finals on Friday night.