Chester headed to state tourney

Despite dropping a heartbreaking loss in Friday night's semifinal round, the Chester Coyotes girls basketball team is still heading the 2004 Class C state tournament with a 53-50 overtime victory over Geraldine in a Northern C Divisional challenge game Monday night in Fort Benton.

Chester rallied from a 40-32 third-quarter deficit, outscoring the Tigers 11-3 in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 43 at the end of regulation.

In the overtime period, Chester outscored Geraldine 10-7 to pick up the win to advance to this weekend's state tournament in Belgrade.

Keyla Wendland scored a team-high 14 points on four three-pointers while Shawnee Norick and Mary DeVries chipped in with 11 points in the win.

Geraldine got a game-high 18 points from Kalyn Fairbanks in the loss.

The Coyotes were able to stay alive in the tournament by defeating Winnett 42-39 in the consolation game Saturday night to finish third and that set up Monday night's challenge game with Geraldine.

Chester held onto a slim 22-20 lead at halftime against Winnett but then fell victim to a 15-7 run in the third quarter to trail 35-29. But the Coyotes held Winnett to four points in the final eight minutes of the contest to earn the three-point win and a shot at the state tournament.

On Friday night, the Coyotes were upset by eventual champion Belt in the semifinals, 45-39. The game was tight throughout. Belt led 18-16 at halftime and 30-27 after three quarters. Chester could never quite overcome the three-point deficit. DeVries paced the Coyotes in the loss with a game-high 19 points.

Chester rebounded on Saturday morning to edge District 10C rival Heart Butte 35-33 in loser-out action. Chester was able to grab an early 11-8 on the Warriors. But the Coyotes scored just nine points in the next 16 minutes of action before a 15-9 fourth-quarter run finally put the Warriors away.

DeVries once again paced Chester with 12 points and Wendland added eight points in the win. The Coyotes opened the tournament on Thursday night with a 41-28 route of Grass Range.

Chester (20-4) will face reigning state champion Charlo (22-1) at 2:30 p.m. in its opening game of the state tournament which will be held at the Belgrade Special Events Center.

The weekend wasn't as good for District 9C participants Blue Sky and Rocky Boy. The 9C champion Eagles dropped their opening-round game with Belt by a score of 57-43. The Eagles trailed by just three points at 40-37 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Huskies ripped off a 17-6 run in the final stanza to put the Eagles away.

Blue Sky got 16 points from Kaila Warren and 12 points and six rebounds from Lindsay Anderson in the loss.

Also on Thursday, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars were defeated by the Geraldine Tigers 48-42. The Tigers opened the game on a 19-9 run, but the Morning Stars clawed their way back into the contest but couldn't overtake the Tigers at the end of the game.

Marty Rae Stiffarm scored a team-high 14 points to pace the Stars. Loni Belcourt added 12 points in the losing effort.

Friday afternoon both teams were bounced from the tournament. The Eagles were knocked out of the tournament by Grass Range, 33-29. Blue Sky struggled offensively with only Anderson reaching double figures with 12 points. Blue Sky finished its season with a 17-5 record.

Rocky Boy also saw its season come to an end with a 46-38 loss to Heart Butte. Rocky Boy desperately tried to rally from a 33-20 third-quarter deficit, but could not quite overcome it. Tori Belcourt scored 12 points to lead the Stars, who finished their season with a 14-10 record.

Thursday

Geraldine 48, Rocky Boy 42

Rocky Boy 9 7 16 10 - 42

Geraldine 19 7 10 12 - 48

Rocky Boy - Allie Sunchild 1 0-0 2, Leiloni Belcourt 5 2-3 12, Tori Belcourt 1 5-6 7, Marty Rae Stiffarm 5 3-4 14, Chelsey St. Pierre 3 1-2 7. Totals 15 11-15.

Geraldine - Kalyn Fairbanks 2 6-6 10, Rachel Clark 4 2-4 10, Alicia Burtchett 7 0-0 15, Toni Qunell 1 2-2 4, Courtney Burtchett 1 0-1 3, Beth Scribner 3 0-2 6. Totals 18 10-15.

Total fouls - Rocky Boy 17, Geraldine 9. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Stiffarm, A. Burtchett, C. Burchett. Rebounds - Geraldine 48 (A. Burtchett 13), Rocky Boy 40 (St. Pierre 12).

Belt 57, Blue Sky 43

Belt 12 17 11 17 - 57

Blue Sky 11 15 11 6 - 43

Belt - Aliece Wichman 2, Callie Coughlan 5, Carly Raska 8, Jesse Hansen 8, Cassie Gondeiro 10, Megan Wichman 16, Jessica Golden 2, Rachel Bumgarner 6. Totals: 23 8-16.

Blue Sky - Holly Haas 5, Kaila Warren 16, Lindsey Anderson 12, Robyn Schnitzmeier 2, Maia Aageson 2, Kile Patrick 6. Totals: 13 13-18.

Total fouls: Belt 16, Blue Sky 19. Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: Gondeiro 2, Hansen 1, Anderson 3, Warren 1. Rebounds - Belt 26 (Wichman 11), Blue Sky 21 (Anderson 6).

Chester 41, Grass Range 28

Chester 14 12 6 9 - 41

Grass Range 9 4 10 5 - 28

Chester - Shawnee Norick 3 0-0 6, Alisha Fossen 2 0-0 4, Mary DeVries 6 5-6 17, Brianne Wolfe 1 0-0 2, Courtney Fraser 4 0-0 8, Keyla Wendland 2 0-0 2.

Totals: 22 5-6 41.

Grass Range - Jessica Martin 5 1-3 11, Brittany Olson 2 1-2 5, Marisa Griffith 1 0-0 2, Rachel Nelson 1 0-0 2, Carmine Mury 1 0-0 2, Charlee Fleharty 2 0-0 4, Jena Schnitzmeier 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 2-5 28.

Total fouls - Chester 10, Grass Range 5. Fouled out - none. Technical fouls - none. Three point goals - none. Rebounds - Chester 43 (DeVries 12, Norick 9), Grass Range 31 (Fleharty 8, Martin 6).

Friday

Heart Butte 46, Rocky Boy 38 (lo)

Heart Butte 10 11 12 13 - 46

Rocky Boy 6 8 6 18 -38

Heart Butte - Idalee Mountain Chief 10, Stacy Aimsback 2, Heidi Crawford 9, Stephanie Morgan 14, Keila Guardipee 8, Stephanie Last Star 3. Totals 18 8-20.

Rocky Boy - Rebekah Jarvey 2, Leiloni Belcourt 4, Ronnie Jo LaMere 5, Tori Belcourt 12, Marty Rae Stiffarm 5, Chelsey St. Pierre 7, Deidra Sunchild 3. Totals 12 9-13.

Total fouls - Heart Butte 10, Rocky Boy 14. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Morgan 2, L. Belcourt, LaMere, T. Belcourt 2, Sunchild. Rebounds - Heart Butte 44 (Stiffarm 10), Rocky Boy 37 (Guardipee 16).

Grass Range 33, Blue Sky 29 (lo)

Blue Sky 14 4 5 6 - 29

Grass Range 8 10 4 11 - 33

Blue Sky - Holly Haas 2, Keila Warren 4, Lindsay Anderson 12, Brianne Horinek 2, Robyn Schnitzmeier 6, Kile Patrick 3. Totals 11 7-13.

Grass Range - Jessi Martin 9, Raechel Nelson 5, Charlee Fleharty 4, Brittany Olson 3, Jena Schnitzmeier 2, Carime Mury 4 2-2 10. Totals 13 5-12.

Total fouls - Blue Sky 14, Grass Range 12. Fouled out - none. Three-point goals - Martin, Nelson. Rebounds - Blue Sky 42 (R. Schnitzmeier 10), Grass Range 44 (Martin, 9, Fleharty 9).

Belt 45, Chester 39 (sf)

Belt 6 12 12 15 - 43

Chester 8 8 11 12 - 39

Belt - Carly Raska 5, Jesse Hansen 3, Cassie Gondeiro 14, Megan Wichman 7, Jessica Golden 2, Kelsey Bumgarner 14. Totals: 15 15-21.

Chester - Alisha Fossen 2, Courtney Fraser 6, Shawnee Norick 4, Amanda Violett 4, Mary DeVries 19, Keyla Wendland 4. Totals: 14 11-18.

Total fouls: Belt 18, Chester 21. Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: none.

Saturday

Chester 35, Heart Butte 33 (lo)

Heart Butte 8 6 10 9 - 33

Chester 11 4 5 15 - 35

Heart Butte - Idalee Mt. Chief 7, Heidi Crawford 6, Stephanie Morgan 2, Keila Guardipee 16, Stephanie Last Star 2.

Chester - Alisha Fossen 2, Courtney Fraser 5, Shawnee Norick 7, Amanda Violett 1, Mary DeVries 12, Kayla Wendland 8.

Total Fouls - Heart Butte 21, Chester 7. Fouled out - Morgan. Three point goals - Mountain Chief 1, Wendland 1.

Chester 42, Winnett 39 (3rd)

Winnett 10 10 15 4 - 39

Chester 13 9 7 13 - 42

Winnett - Cassie Kiehl 3, Danna Hughes 8, Brandie Cummings 4, Carrie Brady 10, Holly Hanson 14.

Chester - Alisha Fossen 5, Courtney Fraser 4, Shawnee Norick 2, Amanda Violett 6, Mary DeVries 12, Brianne Wolfe 13.

Total Fouls - Winnett 14, Chester 11. Fouled out - None. Three point goals - Kiehl 1, Wendland 3.

Monday

Chester 53, Geraldine 50 (ot)

Chester 11 14 7 11 10 - 53

Geraldine 11 16 13 3 7 - 50

Chester - Alisha Fossen 8, Courtney Fraser 5, Shawnee Norick 11, Amanda Violett 4, Mary DeVries 11, Keyla Wendland 14. Totals 20 9-17 53.

Geraldine - Kalyn Fairbanks 18, Rachel Clark 2, Alicia Burtchett 14, Toni Qunell 8, Courtney Burtchett 3, Beth Scribner 5. Totals 20 6-9 50.

Total fouls - Chester 15, Geraldine 18. Fouled out - DeVries, Clark, Qunell. Technicals - none. 3-point goals - Wendland 4, Fairbanks 2, A. Burtchett, C. Burtchett.