HELENA -- The Helena High girls basketball team wrapped up the first half of the 2019-20 Western AA season in unfamiliar territory. With a 3-4 record at the half way point, the Bengals are looking up the leaderboard, not down.
On Jan. 31, the Bengals lost to the Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack 51-49. With an opportunity to get back in the win column the next afternoon, the Bengals seized the opportunity.
"Saturday, we played more as a team. We played together, more confident in each other," said junior guard Kylie Lantz.
The Bengals bounced back with a 59-43 win over the Kalispell Flathead Braves. Lantz provided 17 points, and senior McKayla Kloker snapped off 16 more, but it was also a game where every single Bengals player saw playing time on the court. Helena High head coach Eric Peterson believes moving forward his team merely needs a bit more pep in its step.
"We turned around and really played well, and I think one of the keys for us is just having fun and celebrating each other and picking each other up when were down," said Peterson. "That was really the only thing we focused on on Saturday, and moving forward I think that's what we'll need to do, too."
The Bengals will get a chance to move forward when they take on the Butte Bulldogs on the road to open the second half of the Western AA season on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
