BILLINGS (AP) - Alex Rupe scored 17 points Saturday and Billings West won its third straight Class AA girls championship with a 58-47 victory over Bozeman.
West (21-2) trailed 33-26 midway through the third quarter but rallied and took the lead for good when Rupe's 3-pointer beat the third-quarter buzzer and West took a 36-34 lead going into the fourth.
Julie Marshall hit a 3-pointer with 6:30 remaining that gave West a 42-36 lead.
Bozeman (21-2) was forced to foul and West made 14-of-19 free throws over the remainder of the game. The only other field goal was Rupe's runner through the lane. She was fouled and converted a three-point play with 1:54 remaining.
''As soon as they started fouling, and we started hitting those free throws one after another, that's when we knew it was ours,'' said Marshall, who finished with 11 points.
Bozeman got within 43-42 on a basket by Genna Rucker, but the Lady Hawks went cold and didn't make another field goal until Abby Schmaltz's 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. Bozeman's two other points during the final 4:21 came on two free throws by Britney Lohman, who finished with nine points.
Erica Stokke added 10 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the free throw line for West. West joins Great Falls High, which won state titles from 1980-82, as the only Class AA girls teams to win three straight championships.
Bozeman built a 26-19 lead with 1:02 left in the second quarter, but the Lady Bears got within three points at halftime on baskets by Rupe and Marshall.
Jessica Lusin scored 10 points to lead Bozeman, whose only losses during the season were to West.
In the consolation game, Kelsey Hopkins had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead Great Falls Russell to a 47-42 victory over Billings Senior.
Great Falls Russell (18-7) broke a 36-all tie on two free throws by Hopkins with 2:17 remaining and held on the rest of the way.
Senior (11-14) had a couple chances to tie the game late but missed some late free throws.
CMR got two free throws each from Dani Walsh and Shelbi Danelson to seal the win.
Shantell Marquis added 12 points and Danelson 10 for Russell.
Jetton Meadors led Senior with 14 points, while Mara Hoskins added 11.
In the loser-out games, Hopkins had 10 points in CMR's 48-15 victory over Missoula Sentinel (16-7) while, Rachel Kennedy had 13 points in Senior's 44-33 win over Kalispell (13-9).
Class AA Boys
Missoula Hellgate 55, Billings West 49
BILLINGS (AP) - Jack McGillis scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as Missoula Hellgate rallied to a 55-49 win over Billings West in the state Class AA boys basketball championship Saturday night.
West led 29-24 at halftime, but made just 7-of-30 shots in the second half.
The Knights made 11-of-15 to outscore the Bears 31-20 and claim their first title since 1993.
Hellgate (19-4) took the lead for good when McGillis hit a 3-pointer to break a 37-37 tie early in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-6 senior added another basket and a 3-pointer for a 45-37 lead with 5:37 remaining.
The Knights eventually stretched their lead to 10 points and the Bears got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Charlie Cox added 13 points. Trevor Morris and Kyle Shafer added 10 each.
Brett Taylor led the Bears (18-5) with 22 points, including six 3-pointers, and had six steals. Tom Danahy added 10 points for West, which was seeking its first title since 1981.
In the consolation game, Jake Rios scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final seconds, to lift Bozeman to a 57-53 victory over Butte.
Bozeman (16-9) led 55-53 when Butte's Todd Hildreth was fouled with 3.8 seconds remaining. Hildreth missed the first free throw and after two time-outs was trying to miss the second when he was called for a lane violation.
Rios was fouled and made the late free throws to seal the win.
Jamison McBride added 11 points for Bozeman, which has finished in the top three 14 times in coach Mike Cole's 18 seasons with the Hawks. Nate Weidenaar added seven points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jeff Edwards had 14 points for Butte (16-8) before leaving with 3:12 remaining with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Hildreth finished with 13 points and Matt Paul had 11.
The Hawks led much of the way by narrow margins, but Butte tied the score at 49 on an offensive put-back by Hildreth with 4:19 remaining.
McBride made two free throws to return the lead to Bozeman, and Bryson Halse's driving layup gave the Hawks a four-point lead.
Hildreth answered for Butte before McBride was fouled again and made both free throws, giving Bozeman a 55-51 lead.
Kyle Burgman's two free throws cut it to two points again, and Butte got a chance to tie when Rios misfired twice at the line with 48.8 seconds to go.
In loser-out games, Rios had 14 points to lead Bozeman to a 64-52 win over Billings Senior (15-9), while Paul had 17 points in Butte's 59-49 win over Helena Capital (17-7).
