Paige Bartsch, Helena Capital roll past rival Helena High

HELENA -- On Friday night, the Helena Capital boys basketball team overcame a slow start to earn a crosstown win. Saturday afternoon, the Capital girls flipped the script, starting fast and finishing faster, as the Bruins earned the weekend sweep.

Paige Bartsch flirted with a triple-double, scoring 12 points to go with nine rebounds and seven blocks, as Helena Capital cruised past crosstown rival Helena High 51-32 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bruins started the game on an 11-3 run, leading 16-7 after the opening quarter. An Audrey Hofer 3-pointer lifted the lead to 12 in the first half, then Bartsch added her eighth point of the game to push Capital ahead 23-9.

Helena cut the deficit to 25-15 at halftime.

But Bartsch was dominant on the inside on both ends of the floor, scoring Capital's first points of the second half -- her eighth point off offensive rebounds. Twin sister Dani and Hofer knocked in 3s as Capital doubled the Bengals in the period, 16-8, to lead 41-23 after three.

Helena Capital led by as many as 23 points in the contest. The Bruins improved to 15-1 overall and 11-1 in Western AA play. Helena High fell to 7-9, 5-7. Each team caps its regular season next weekend when the Kalispell schools -- Flathead and Glacier -- visit the Capital City.