Lewistown caps dominant tourney with easy win over Dillon

The Lewistown Eagles left little doubt as to who is the dominant team in Central A girls basketball on Saturday night at the Central A girls divisional basketball tournament.

The Eagles blasted second-seeded Dillon 48-27 in the championship game to claim the Central A title at a packed HHS gymnasium, capping off a dominant weekend of basketball.

Lewistown was able to overcome a very slow start as it trailed Dillon 6-4 at the end of the first period. In the second quarter, the Eagles went on a 13-0 run and outscored the Beavers 18-6 to grab a 24-12 halftime lead.

"It wasn't a good first quarter for either team," said Lewistown head coach Troy Hudson. "But our defense got us going in the second quarter and we were able to get some easy layups that helped get our offense on track.

"From there, our defensive pressure was great the rest of the game," Hudson added. "It has been that way all year. We have relied on our defensive play and our kids are very unselfish and that was a big key to our success this weekend."

In the second half, Lewistown erased any hopes of a Dillon comeback by ripping off 12 unanswered points in the third period to take a 36-18 lead into the final stanza.

After the contest, Dillon head coach Bernie Wasser was admittedly disappointed with the outcome of the contest, but was relieved that his team is still moving on to the Class A state tournament in two weeks, thanks to Browning's win over Havre in the consolation game.

"Obviously, we would have liked to have played better tonight," Wasser said. "But Lewistown is a very sound basketball team and their defense was great all weekend.

"I told the kids after the game that we can put this behind this and we shouldn't hang our heads because no matter how we played tonight, the goal was still accomplished. We are still going to the state tournament and that is what is most important."

Shaylynn Conroy led all scorers with 13 points and she also grabbed five rebounds. The Eagles also got eight points from Kayla Rettig. Dillon was paced by Tiffany Stoddard with eight points.

"This tournament was a total team effort," Hudson said. "I am really proud of all of our kids and they all contributed to this championship."

Both Lewistown (19-2) and Dillon (18-3) will now move on to the Class A state tournament in Hamilton. The state tournament will get under way on Mar. 4.

Butte Central 47, Livingston 46 (lo)

Butte Central 4 17 13 13 - 47

Livingston 13 8 12 13 - 46

Butte Central - Kelci Thatcher 7, Brenna Mannion 2, Jodi Hogart 3, Meghan Walsh 9, Caitlin O'Neill 6, Jordan Kambich 10, Darci Shea 10. Totals 19 4-11 47.

Livingston - Brianna Ackerman 10, Robyn Keyes 3, Cissy Story 5, Agnas Kestin 11, Shannon Bosley 12, Sara Meyer 3, Marissa Olson 2. Totals 17 10-17 46.

Total fouls - Butte Central 16, Livingston 15. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none. 3-point goals - Keyes, Kesting, Hogart, Walsh, Kambich 2, Shea.

Anaconda 49, Belgrade 37 (lo)

Belgrade 14 11 4 8 - 37

Anaconda 13 11 8 17 - 49

Belgrade - Rachael Frost 3, Adrienne Dues 5, Keri Hein 3, Amy Bolen 4, Jen Smith 22. Totals 11 11-20 37.

Anaconda - Sammie Barkeil 3, Car Laslovich 13, Courtney Austin 2, Kristy Mihelic 4, Heather Jones 12, Autumn Domitrovich 11, Ayla Mariamaa 4. Totals 22 1-5 49.

Total fouls - Belgrade 15, Anaconda 20. Fouled out - Hein. Technicals -none. 3-point goals - Barkeil, Domitrovich 3, Frost, Dues.

Dillon 44, Browning 39 (sf)

Dillon 9 14 5 16 - 44

Browning 7 7 12 13 - 39

Dillon - Valory Monaco 12, Tiffany McGinley 6, Kelly Godecke 7, Darcy Hahnkamp 6, Tanya Lalicker 4, LizzyCastro 7, Tiffany Stoddard 2. Totals: 11 16-27.

Browning - Erica Edwards 3, Loris Whiteman 6, Teresa Kennerly 2, Bobbi Woodworth 2, Jenna Skunkcap 15,

Tamara Guardipee 11. Totals: 14 7-13.

Total fouls: Dillon 13, Browning 24. Fouled out: Godecke. Three point goals: Monaco 1, Godecke 1, Hahnkamp 1, Skunkcap 4.

Browning 64, Anaconda 56 (lo)

Anaconda 12 14 22 8 - 56

Browning 16 14 12 22 - 64

Anaconda - Cara Laslovich 14, Courtney Austin 3, Christina Laslovich 5, Krisby Mihelic 3, Jeather Jones 7, Autumn Domitrovich 8, Ayla Marjamaa 16. Totals: 20 10-18 56.

Browning - Wasewi Shawl 5, Melanie Calf Boss Ribs 3, Erica Edwards 4, Loris Whiteman 5, Ronelle Rose 1, Teresa Kennerily 2, Jenna Skunkcap 13, Tamara Guardipee 31. Totals: 23 13-29 64.

Total fouls - Anaconda 22, Browning 16. Fouled out - Mihelic, Marjamaa. Technical fouls - none. Three point goals - Ca. Laslovich, Austin, Ch. Laslovich, Jones 2, Domitrovich 2, Shawl, Skunkcap 4.

Lewistown 48, Dillon 27 (1st)

Dillon 6 6 6 9 - 27

Lewistown 4 18 14 12 - 48

Dillon - Valory Monaco 3, Kayla Shepherd 4, Tiffany McGinley 2, Kelly Godecke 3, Darcy Hahnkamp 2, Tanya Lalicker 1, Jenna Nield 4, Tiffany Stoddard 8. Totals: 8 11-16.

Lewistown - Brenda Bassett 7, Sonya Rogers 2, Shaylynn Conroy 13, Alira Carpenter 7, Lesly Richter 7, Lauren Tognetti 4, Kalya Rettig 8. Totals: 17 9-15.

Total fouls: Dillon 17, Lewistown 17. Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: Bassett, Carpenter.