It's been a long time since the Helena High basketball teams met up with Great Falls High for their first game of the season.

And, a lot has changed since then.

The Bengals boys (8-6 overall, 6-2 Western AA) dropped their first four games of the season, but are 8-2 since then and in second place in their conference.

The girls (2-10, 2-4) have also improved on their season. After being blown out 69-43 in that first game, they've beaten two teams and have been challenging more and more as they go along.

Now, they'll have a chance to prove they aren't the doormats a lot of teams thought they were.

"We kind of have some unfinished business, we kind of let that game slip away," said Helena boys head coach Willie Schlepp.

The Bengals are looking forward to the opportunity to play a few nonconference matchups as they head to the Bison's grounds on Friday before returning home to host Class A Butte Central, both game at 7:30 p.m.

The girls will switch off, hosting GFH before traveling to Butte for the same starting time.

"It's nice to kind of gear down and have an opportunity to play some different teams," Schlepp said. "We've got some things we've got to work on this week, some kinks we had against conference opponents."

For starters, they look to have better control of the ball. They gave up 26 turnovers in their 62-46 loss to Missoula Sentinel last week, and they hope to change that.

Teams have been trying to push the tempo and keep the Bengals from using their size to their advantage.

"We've been really focusing this week on on-ball pressure offensively," Schlepp said. "We still need to be making it into a half-court game and use our big guys and shooters to our advantage."

Those include 6-foot-7 senior, Grant Fink, at the post along with fellow senior Steven Foster. Fink leads the team with 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, while Foster chips in 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.

They'll focus on stopping Austin Heavyrunner, who averages 11.7 points per game and can shoot well from the floor, as well as 6-8 post Kevin Semmins who averages over seven points per game.

The Bengals' guards like Brian Evans (7.9 ppg) and Reil Cornelius (6.4 ppg, 2.4 apg) will need to run the perimeter.

Helena's girls, meanwhile, will have their hands full with GFH leader Kezia Ford. She leads the team with 16.9 points while pulling down 5.4 rebounds.

"We went zone against them early on for the first game out," said Helena head coach Cyndie Lockett. "I think our man defense has come a long way, and I'm sure the way our girls have been getting better at defense I would say Kelsey Williams or Mariah Shein could match up with her well.

"Maybe even Monica Grimsrud."

It's that kind of confidence that the Helena girls hope to keep as they face off with the two teams before their final four games of the regular season.

"We're trying to get into a rhythm and every game from here on out, finishing strong is important," Lockett said. "I think Great Falls High especially is just going to come out with aggressiveness. But, they're also about being patient on offense and we're going to have to come out ready defensively to dictate the game."

That means there will have to be big games from Sarah Jackson, Williams and Kelli Hubley who lead the team offensively and defensively. Jackson is averaging 11.6 points per game, hitting 39 percent from outside the 3-point arc, while getting 1.7 steals per game. Williams has 7.4 points per game while leading the team with 7.4 rebounds and adding 1.1 steals per game. Hubley has 5.8 points and 1.3 steals per game.

Other than that, they'd just like to start out and finish strong.

"We're just looking to have a strong weekend where we play Friday and Saturday night all out. I think the girls are ready to do that," she said.