Pioneers, Bears win key games

One week is all that stands between area high school girls basketball teams and the postseason. Here's a look back at a pivotal week in girls basketball on the Hi-Line. On Thursday night, the Box Elder Bears, one of the areas hottest teams, took down the Class B Rocky Boy Morning Stars 60-54 in Rocky Boy. Box Elder took a 16-8 lead in the first quarter, and although Rocky Boy played a strong second half, the Bears never trailed in the game. Aricka Wolf Chief led four Bears in double figures with 17 points. Megan Parker added 13 points, while Rylin Burns and Kaycee Henry chipped in with 11 each. Falene Russette scored 17 for Rocky Boy and Shawna Small chipped in with 156 points. Thursday night also saw the Harlem Wildcats drop a District 2B game to top-ranked Malta, 60-25. Rhapsody Rhines scored 12 points to lead the Wildcats in the loss. In Class B action on Friday night, the Morning Stars rebounded with a 56- 37 win over Shelby at home. The game was tied at 17-17 at halftime, but an 18-9 third-quarter run by the Morning Stars put the game out of reach. Falene Russette again led the way for Rocky Boy, scoring a gamehigh 14 points, while Jordan Big Knife added 13 points.. In District 9C action on Friday, the Big Sandy Pioneers took a big step forward, beating the Chinook Sugarbeeters in a thriller, 52-49. The game was nip and tuck all the way, tied at 24-24 at halftime, but the Pioneers took a slight lead in the final stanza and made free throws down the stretch. Hannah Williams paced Big Sandy with 17 points, while MacKenzie Jenkins added 12 points. Chinook got 20 points from Alyssa Brown and 16 from Kayla Hanson in the loss. North Star was also victorious on Friday night. The Knights drubbed Sunburst 53-26 at home. Britnee Dyrland had a big game for the Knights, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. In 10C action, the No. 10 Chester/J-I Hawks were upset by the Power Pirates 64-61 in Power. C/J-I led 26-21 at intermission, but the Pirates ran past the Hawks in the final minutes of the game. Jessica Van- Dyke scored 27 points for the Hawks and Stine Haaland added 11 in the loss. Saturday night saw Harlem win and Rocky Boy fall in Class B games. Harlem rebounded on Saturday with a 71-51 win over Poplar. Jasmine Dumas poured in 18 points to pace the Wildcats in the 2B win. Rocky Boy fell to top-rated Fairfield 71-45 in Fairfield. Shawna Small paced the Morning Stars with 20 points in the loss. The Hawks rebounded from their Friday night loss to beat North Star 47- 39 in Chester on Saturday night. The Hawks led 20-17 at the break and pulled away via a 17-11 run in the fourth quarter. Jessica VanDyke again paced C/J-I with 13 points and Stine Haaland added 11. North Star was led by Britnee Dyrland with 17 points. Saturday night also saw the Box Elder Bears pick up a nonconference win over Heart Butte. The Bears thumped the Warriors 74-18 and got 18 points from Rylin Burns in the process. Chinook also finished the weekend strong. The Beeters picked up an important 9C win, 54-30 over Hays-Lodge Pole in Hays. Kayla Hanson and Alyssa Brown paced Chinook with 12 points each, while Danyel Haider scored 11 and Taryn Norby added 10. HLP got 13 points from Anita Denny in the loss. This week marks the final week of the regular season for Class B and Class C teams.