By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
The high school girls basketball season got into full swing this past weekend with a slate full of games. With each team starting the season with high hopes, the first sets of games can be a somewhat nerve-racking time.
However, a a few teams showed little if any effects of early season.
At the Native American Classic, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars showed early why many people have them picked to finish near the top of District 9C.
The Stars scored a pair of wins on the weekend and showed solid balance on offense. On Friday, Rocky Boy had little trouble with Kainai, Alberta in a 69-36 win at the Havre High gymnasium.
Transfer Shaneen Raining Bird made her impact felt immediately with a game-high 20 points. Erin Broncho added 14 points, while Tori Belcourt added 12 points in the win.
The Stars made it a sweep on the weekend with a 65-27 pasting of Two Eagle River on Saturday. Loni Belcourt scored a game-high 20 points while Frances Eagleman added 12 points. Tori Belcourt chipped in with 11 points as the Stars moved to 2-0 on the season.
The Classic was also productive for the Box Elder Bears, who opened their season with a 63-35 win over Two Eagle. Rebecca Eagleman led a balanced effort with 14 points, while Gerri Eagleman had 12 points and Sharlene Yellowtail added 11 in the win.
Saturday wasn't quite as kind to the Bears in a 67-49 loss to District 10C powerhouse Heart Butte. Ida Mountain Chief scored a game-high 19 points to pace Heart Butte. Box Elder got 13 points from Gerri Eagleman in the loss.
District 10C preseason favorite Chester also picked up a pair of wins on the weekend. The Coyotes rolled to an easy 61-35 over Stanford on Friday.
Shawnee Norick scored 21 points while Jackie Alisch and Keyla Briese added 13 and 12 points, respectively in the win.
Saturday night Chester dismantled District 8C power Belt, 81-32. The Coyotes jumped out to a 24-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Norick was once again high scorer with 24 points. Briese had 20 while Alisch chipped in with 11 as the Coyotes moved to 2-0.
The Big Sandy Pioneers also had two wins on the weekend, starting with a 38-28 win over Winifred on Friday night. Shalayna Pearson scored a game-high 17 points and Jessica Amsbaugh added 11 in the win.
On Saturday, Big Sandy grabbed a tough 51-49 win over Denton in Big Sandy. The Pioneers held off a late Trojan rally to pick up their third win of the season. Kacy Herron scored 15 points and Pearson added 12 in the win.
Elsewhere in District 9C, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds picked up a 54-30 win over Roberts on Friday at the Southern Native American Classic in Billings.
Colette Hawley scored 21 points and Suzi Kirkaldie added 10 in the win for the T-Birds.
District 9C preseason favorite Blue Sky/J-I picked up its first conference win, defeating Turner 56-30. The Eagles jumped out to a 13-4 lead and never looked back.
Kaila Warren and Robyn Schnitzmeier scored 15 points each, while Kile Patrick and Hannah Pimley each added 10 in the win.
Turner was led by Kelsey Klindworth's 7 points.
The KG KouGars also picked up a big 56-44 win over the Sunburst Refiners Saturday in Gildford.
Natasha Dyrland and Jodi Norman scored 17 points each to lead the KouGars. Whitney Hanson added 10 in the win.
It wasn't as quite as of a productive weekend for local Class B schools. After falling to Havre on Thursday, the Chinook Sugarbeeters lost a 43-40 heartbreaker to the Malta Mustangs on Friday in Malta.
After falling behind in the first half, Chinook's fourth-quarter rally came up just short.
Whitney Lybeck had 10 points and Georgia Barber added nine in the loss.
The Harlem Wildcats suffered a 78-43 decision to the Cut Bank Wolves in Cut Bank. Marissa Stanchfield scored 25 points to lead the Wolves. Olivia Main scored 13 points and Marty Rae Stiffarm added 12 in the loss.
Friday
Native American Classic
Rocky Boy 69, Kainai, Alberta 36
Kainai 13 6 5 12 - 36
Rocky Boy 16 19 13 21 - 69
Kainai - Angle Small Eyes 12, Danielle Vielle 2, Darcie Weasel Head 2, Heidi Wells 3, Sonja Chief Calf 8, Starr Eagle Child 6, Tiffany Weasel Head 3. Totals: 12 7-22 36.
Rocky Boy - Brittany St. Pierre 4, Chelsey St. Pierre 6, Shaneen Raining Bird 20, Loni Belcourt 6, Tori Belcourt 12, Stormy Adams 4, Frances Eagleman 6, Erin Broncho 14. Totals: 25 12-16 69.
Total Fouls - Kainai 17, Rocky Boy 18. Fouled out - Vielle. Three-point goals - Small Eyes 4, Wells, Raining Bird, T. Belcourt 2.
Box Elder 63, Two Eagle River 35
Two Eagle River 6 16 2 11 - 35
Box Elder 20 21 13 9 - 63
Two Eagle River - Whitney Brown 24, Charla Brown 11. Totals: 16 2-8 35.
Box Elder - Tasha Parisian 8, Gerri Eagleman 12, Sharlene Yellowtail 11, Rebecca Eagleman 14, Helen Russette 6, Ashley Parisian 7, Loni LaMere 5. Totals: 23 12-20 63.
Total Fouls - Two Eagle River 16, Box Elder 14. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - W. Brown, G. Eagleman, Yellowtail 2, LaMere.
Malta 43, Chinook 40
Chinook 10 11 4 15 - 40
Malta 10 16 5 12 - 43
Chinook - Whitney Lybeck 10, Crystal Roseberry 8, Kassie Dugan 8, Georgia Barber 9, Brittany Williams 5.
Malta - Laramie Schwenke 12, Roshon Nordlund 11, Kelly Pankratz 6, Whitney Jones 3, Megan Skiff 2, Tracy Kaldenberg 9.
Total Fouls - Chinook 13, Malta 17. Fouled out - Kaldenberg. Three-point goals - Nordlund
Cut Bank 78, Harlem 43
Harlem 9 10 11 13 - 43
Cut Bank 15 13 15 35 - 78
Harlem - Olivia Main 13, Star Carrywater 4, Amanda Stiffarm 4, Danielle Dirden 2, B. Filesteel 2, Gemma Doore 2, Marty Rae Stiffarm 12, Leandra Thomas 2, Colleen Filesteel 2. Totals: 15 11-18 43.
Cut Bank - J. Gage 17, T. Bauer 8, K. Minnis 6,J. Murphy 1, M. Stanchfield 25, R. Ollinger 8, J. Wilson 2. S.Sheble 7., A. Koepke 4. Totals: 28 22-32 78.
Total Fouls - Harlem 19, Cut Bank 17. Fouled out - A. Stiffarm, C. Filesteel.. Three-point goals - Meyer 2.
Big Sandy 38, Winifred 28
Big Sandy 8 9 7 14 - 38
Winifred 6 12 8 2 - 28
Big Sandy - Kacy Herron 4, Jessica Amsbaugh 11, Shalayna Pearson 17, Naomi Williams 6.
Winifred - Erin Econom 4, Robin Boyce 2, Steph Schmitt 8, Heather Berg 7, Kelsey Willson 2, Angie McReynolds 1, Kari Econom 4.
Total Fouls - Big Sandy 11, Winifred 14. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Schmitt 2
Chester 61, Stanford 35
Stanford 7 14 6 8 - 35
Chester 14 12 22 13 - 61
Stanford - Heather Kirby 9, Ashley Kolar 5, Katie Clare 2, Jordan Merrill 9, Kylene Coquelind 4, Kelsey Vestveer 4, Jenna Dallamura 2.
Chester - Amanda Violett 7, Shawnee Norick 21, Jillien Johnson 3, Chelsea Stokes 3, Brianne Wolfe 12, Keyla Briese 2, Jackie Alisch 13.
Total Fouls - Stanford 16, Chester 19. Fouled out - Merrill. Three-point goals - none
Hays-Lodge Pole 54, Roberts 30
Roberts 6 6 10 8 - 30
Hays-Lodge Pole 8 15 17 14 - 54
Roberts - Brianna Kirkness 20, Ashley Thomas 5, Amelia Popp 3, Amanda Pitts 2.
Hays-Lodge Pole - Colette Hawley 21, Suzi Kirkaldie 10, Sheena Shambo 9, Jennifer Messerly 4, Jeanette Whiteman 4, Twai Werk 2, Marika Werk 2.
SATURDAY
Native American Classic
Heart Butte 67, Box Elder 49
Heart Butte 17 14 14 22 - 67
Box Elder 8 12 17 12 - 49
Heart Butte - Rachel Wild Corn 16, Stephanie Morgan 14, Keila Gaurdipee 12, Terraise Edmo 4, Ida Mountain Chief 19 Sharlie Mountain Chief 2. Totals: 29 3-9 67.
Box Elder - Tasha Parisian 6, Gerri Eagleman 12, Rebecca Eagleman 13, Sharlene Yellowtail 9, Ashley Parisian 6, Lori LaMere 1, Helen Russette 2. Totals: 18 7-12 49.
Total Fouls - Heart Butte 14, Box Elder 9. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Wild Cord 2, Morgan 2, I. Mountain Chief 2, G. Eagleman 3, R. Eagleman, Yellowtail, A. Parisian.
Rocky Boy 65, Two Eagle River 27
Two Eagle River 3 10 7 7 - 27
Rocky Boy 16 11 12 26 - 65
Two Eagle River - Angie Mendoza 2, Whitney Brown 19, Chara Brown 5, Raelyn Sanchez 1. Totals: 9 8-16 27.
Rocky Boy - Brittany St. Pierre 4, Shaneen Raining Bird 8, Loni Belcourt 20, Tori Belcourt 11, Frances Eagleman 12, Eric Broncho 8. Totals: 29 3-11 65.
Total Fouls - Two Eagle River 14, Rocky Boy 19. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - W. Brown, L. Belcourt, T. Belcourt.
Chester 81, Belt 32
Chester 24 17 16 24 - 81
Belt 8 12 5 7 - 32
Chester - Shawnee Norick 24, Keyla Briese 20, Jackie Alisch 11, Brianne Wolfe 9, Jillien Johnson 7, Amanda Violett 4, Brittany Kolstad 4, Leisha Kolstad 2. Totals: 33 14-27.
Belt - Kelsey Bumgarner 10, Abby Bumgarner 8, Callie Coughlan 3, Kayla O'Connell , Jessica Golden 2, Jessica Munkres 2, Mel Ranum 2, Ellyn Bumgarner 2, Brittany Roubinek 1. Totals: 15 2-5 32.
Total Fouls - Chester 12, Belt 26. Fouled out - Ranum. Three-point goals - Briese.
KG 56, Sunburst 44
Sunburst 13 15 11 5 - 44
KG 15 12 11 18 - 56
Sunburst - Rachel Kleinert 9, Kayla McCoy 2, Cassie Myers 4, Amanda Beck 5, Kendra Hovland 16, Rachel Schulze 4, Darcy Johannsen 4. Totals: 19 6-11 44.
KG - Whitney Hanson 10, Britta Umbach 6, Jodi Norman 17, Kate Vosen 4, Tasha Dyrland 17, Kendra Donoven 2. Totals: 25 7-11 56.
Total Fouls - Sunburst 14, KG 14. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Dyrland.
Blue Sky/J-I 56, Turner 30
Turner 4 6 8 12 - 30
Blue Sky/J-I 13 15 8 20 - 56
Turner - Celeste Hedegaard 4, Cheryl Cowan 6, Kelsey Klindworth 7, Ashley Van Voast 6, C. Carmel 2, Chelsea Jones 5. Totals: 14 0-2 30.
Blue Sky/J-I - Kaila Warren 15, Maia Aageson 2, Robyn Schnitzmeier 15, Kile Patrick 10, Hannah Pimley 10, Megan Warren 4. Totals: 22 9-13 56.
Total Fouls - Turner 12, Blue Sky/J-I 9. Fouled out - Van Voast . Three-point goals - Klindworth, Warren 2, Schnitzmeier.
Big Sandy 51, Denton 49
Denton 14 7 13 15 - 49
Big Sandy 12 12 15 12 - 51
Denton - Denise Musick 8, Emily Linker 7, Barbara Todd 7, Jenessa Todd 20, Brianna Todd 7 Totals: 17 15-23 49.
Big Sandy - Naomi Williams 8, Sarah Yirsa 6, Kacy Herron 15, Sandy Zeiger 2, Shalayna Pearson 12, Jessica Amsbaugh 6, Morgan Darlington 2. Totals: 17 17-25 51.
Total Fouls - Denton 18, Big Sandy 19. Fouled out - Williams, Zeiger, Pearson. Three-point goals - none.
