Hi-LIne Girls Roundup: Sugarbeeters, Bears win key matchups

With every passing weekend, the district tournament season in girls high school basketball draws closer and closer. And for Hi-Line teams, each game becomes more intense.

And it was an intense week of high school basketball up and down the Hi-Line, as area teams fight for position in their respective district standings.

Last Thursday night saw the Turner Tornadoes win their sixth game of the season, as they stepped out of District 9C play, and beat Dodson 62-43 in Dodson. The game was close for a half, but Turner scored 21 points in the third quarter to blow it open. Ella Billmayer scored 18 points and Rylee Conlan added 17 in the win.

Things didn’t go as well for a couple of other 9C teams Thursday night.

For the second time in seven days, North Star lost to Northern C power Highwood. Thursday in Rudyard, the Mountaineers beat the Knights 50-48. The Knights took a 43-36 lead into the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t hold it, as the Mountaineers went on a 14-5 run to finish the game. Highwood also beat North Star in overtime the week before. Mackenzie Hansen scored 20 points in the loss for the Knights, while Sheridan Spicher added 10.

Thursday night also saw the Big Sandy Pioneers lose 43-30 to Denton-Stanford-Geyser, with Abby Gregory and Maddie Reichelt each scoring eight points, while in a Northern B showdown, Rocky Boy took care of Harlem in Harlem.

As the action moved to Friday night, there were two huge 9C games on tap.

And in Chester, the Chinook Sugarbeeters and Chester/J-I Hawks needed overtime to settle their rivalry. In the end, the Beeters won 46-45 as they got a late score to lift them to the big road win. The game was back-and-forth throughout the night, but in the extra period, Chinook got the last bucket.

Katelyn Neibauer was huge for the Beeters, scoring 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Hannah Weber also hit two 3-pointers for Chinook. Sophomore Allix Goldhahn also buried two treys for C/J-I and led the way with 19 points.

In the other showdown between the top four teams in the 9C, the Fort Benton-Geraldine Longhorns got the better of the North Star Knights. Playing at home, the Longhorns ran away from the Knights, 58-33. The third quarter proved to be the difference for the Longhorns, as they outscored the Knights 13-1.

Coya Nack led all scorers with 17, while Longhorn teammate Cassidy McCarthy added 16. Alissa Borlaug led the Knights with nine points.

Two more 9C teams also picked up impressive wins Friday night.

In a non-conference game, the steadily-improving Box Elder Bears edged Highwood in a thriller, 49-48 in Box Elder. The Bears led by three points heading into the final eight minutes, and while Highwood did all it could to rally, especially behind the play of senior Markayla Francis, the Bears got the stops when they needed them, and held on for an impressive Northern C win. Alyssa LaMere posted 12 points for Box Elder, and Tia Russell added 10.

Meanwhile, in Hays, in a battle for last place in the 9C standings, the young Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds pulled off an exciting one-point win over the equally young Big Sandy Pioneers. Late in the contest, it looked like Big Sandy was going to get its first win of the season, as the Pioneers led by as many as five points in the final stanza. But HLP rallied for an 11-6 run, lifting the T-Birds to their third win of the season.

Rayleigh Kirkaldie came up big for the T-Birds, scoring 19 points and hitting a key 3-pointer. Maddie Reichelt scored 12 for the Pioneers (0-14, 0-10), while Jenna Leader pitched in with eight points.

But as excited as the T-Birds were to win on Friday night, it was short-lived. Saturday in Gildford, the host North Star Knights snapped their losing streak with a 51-22 win over HLP. Alissa Borlaug led a balanced North Star (9-6, 7-4) offense with nine points, while Kristyn Lavery added seven. HLP’s (3-11, 2-9)Tia Zander led all scorers with 10 points.

C/J-I also bounced back Saturday night, as the Hawks blew out Turner 55-22 in Turner. The Tornadoes were in the game until C/J-I (10-4, 8-3) used a 19-0 run in the third quarter to put the contest out of reach. Allix Goldhahn again paced C/J-I with 21 points, while Kristina Dahinden added 10. Kristina Conlan led the Tornadoes (6-8, 2-8) with 10 points.

Saturday night also saw Chinook remained in a first-place in the 9C standings as the Beeters took care of Box Elder (7-7, 5-5) 42-27 in a critical conference game. Meanwhile, the Beeters (12-2, 10-1) just ahead of Fort Benton-Geraldine. The Longhorns (12-2, 8-2) knocked off Class B Conrad 45-40 Saturday night in Conrad. Makae Nack and Cassidy McCarthy paved the way for the Longhorns with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

In the Class B ranks Saturday night, Harlem suffered a 61-47 setback at the hands of 1B rival Cut Bank in Harlem. But the biggest game of the weekend was played out in Rocky Boy, where the host Morning Stars did all they could to snap Fairfield’s record-setting winning streak.

In the end however, the Morning Stars came up short, as the Eagles escaped Rocky Boy with a 55-40 victory. Rocky fell behind early, but rallied, only to watch the mighty Eagles, who have now won 118 games in a row, go on a 19-11 run in the fourth quarter. Jude The Boy led the Rocky Boy effort with 12 points, while Lizzy Klinker scored 17 for the Eagles.

Thursday

Turner 62, Dodson 43

Turner15 8 21 18 -- 62

Dodson11 6 7 19 -- 43

Turner - Ella Billmayer 18, Tyler Anderson 2, Melanie Watkins 8, Jaye Anderson 1, Rennay 4, Charley Anderson 2, Raegan Conlan 3, Kristina Conlan 7, Rylee Conlan 17. Totals: 24 11-18.

Dodson - Donna Dale 1, Janessa Henry 26, Kyla Racine 2, Shawnee Kill Eagle 4, Wozek Chandler 2, Jacina Doney 8. Totals: 17 9-15.

3-point goals – Billmayer 1, K. Conlan 1, Rylee Conlan 1. Total fouls – Turner 18, Dodson 15. Fouled out – Doney.

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 43, Big Sandy 30

DGS 15 10 9 9 - 43

Big Sandy 11 7 7 5 - 30

DGS - Molly Ward 6, Kyra Randel 14, Megan Dempster 2, Landra Lucas 13, Alex Schafer 6, Chelsea Kilgore 2. Totals 18 6-12.

Big Sandy-J. Leader 4, A. Rutledge 3, J. Roth 2, C. Johnson 5, A. Gregory 8, M. Reichelt 8. Totals 12 6-11.

3-point goals-DGS 1 (Lucas). Total fouls-DGS 13, Big Sandy 16. Fouled out-Leader. Technical fouls-none.

Highwood 50, North Star 48

Highwood 17 16 3 14 -- 50

North Star 24 9 10 5 -- 48

North Star – Mackenzie Hansen 20, Alissa Borlaug 11, Sam Pester 2, Katelin Harvey 2, Sheridan O'Neil 3, Sheridan Spicher 10. Totals: 15 12-24.

Highwood – Katy Long 5, Jaclyn Bates 6, Adrian Malek 8, Markaela Francis 22, Denise LaFontaine 8, Taylor Larson 1. Totals: 20 6-16.

3-point goals –Bates 2, Francis 2, Hansen 4, Borlaug 2. Total fouls – Highwood 21, North Star 15. Fouled out – None.

Friday

Chinook 46, Chester/J-I 45, OT

Chinook 10 9 9 11 7 - 46

C/J-I 9 8 10 12 6 - 45

Chinook - H. Weber 8, K. Mathon 3, S. Swank 2, T. Neibauer 3, K. Neibauer 28, B. Elliot 2. Totals: 16 8-16.

C/J-I - Kendall Knapton 8, Peyton Cole 9, Madeline Woods 7, Allix Goldhahn 19, Kristina Dahinden 2. Totals: 15 12-22.

3-pointers - Weber 2, Knapton, Goldhahn 2. Total fouls - Chinook 18, CJI 17. Fouled out - Elliot, Cole, Woods.

Fort Benton-Geraldine 58, North Star 33

North Star 9 8 1 15 - 33

FB-G 17 14 13 14 - 58

North Star – MacKenzie Hansen 6, Lily Pedersen 4, Alissa Borlaug 9, Sam Pester 2, Sheridan Spicher 2, Peyton King 4, Sheridan O'Neil 6. Totals: 12 8-16.

Fort Benton-Geraldine – Kaitlyn Bird 4, Hannah Pimperton 4, Coya Nack 17, Makae Nack 7, Cassidy McCarthy 16, Ally Pointexter 4, Madison Thompson 6. Totals: 27 3-5.

3-point goals – Borlaug 1, McCarthy 1. Total fouls – North Star 8, Fort Benton-Geraldine 17. Fouled out – None.

Hays-Lodge Pole 40, Big Sandy 39

Big Sandy 10 14 9 6 - 39

Hays-LP 12 8 9 11 - 40

Big Sandy - J. Leader 8, A. Rutledge 5, C. Johnson 3, A. Gregory 2, M. Reichelt 12, V. Turmy 4.

Hays-Lodge Pole - Kiara Shambo 8, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 19, LaTasha Kirkaldie 8, Miquela Perez 3.

3-pointers - Leader, R. Kirkaldie. Total fouls - BS 16, HLP 17. Fouled out - Leader, Gregory.

Box Elder 49, Highwood 48

Highwood 13 11 13 11 -- 48

Box Elder 16 12 11 10 -- 49

Highwood – J. Bates 8, D. LaFontaine 9, A. Malek 7, M. Francis 24. Totals: 15 13-18.

Box Elder – Leilani Gardipee 8, Tia Russell 10, Alicia Wolf Chief 5, Dominique Nault 6, Alyssa LaMere 12, Tyra Gopher 8. Totals: 19 8-13.

3-point goals – Bates 2, Malek 1, Russell 2, Wolf Chieef 1. Total fouls – Highwood 13, Box Elder 13. Fouled out – Gopher.

Saturday

Chester/J-I 55, Turner 22

C/J-I 12 17 19 7 - 55

Turner 4 9 0 9 - 22

Chester/J-I - Kendahl Knapton 3, Peyton Cole 4, Karrin Harmon 5, Madeline Wood 6, Allix Goldhahn 21, Kristina Dahinden 10, Katelyn Hansen 6. Totals: 19 14-21.

Turner - Ella Billmayer 2, Melanie Watkins 2, Raegan Conlan 4, Kristina Conlan 10, Rylee Conlan 4. Totals: 8 5-16

3-pointers - Knapton, Goldhahn 2, K. Conlan. Total fouls - CJI 18, Turner 16. Fouled out - Wood.

Cut Bank 61, Harlem 47

Cut Bank 18 12 13 18 - 61

Harlem 14 12 9 12 - 47

Cut Bank: Marissa VandenBos 15, Dakota Dosch 15, Brylee Crossguns 11, Alex Kraft 10, Duana Gobert 5, Rayenn Thompson 3, Katryna Racki 2

Harlem: Ticia Cliff 15, Autumn Little Plume 8, Brooke LaValdo 8, Marie Ereaux 6, Teche' Ereaux 6, Anita Bently 2, Jazzamyn Benson 2

North Star 51, Hays-Lodge Pole 22

Hays-Lodge Pole 5 3 8 6 -- 22

North Star 14 17 10 10 -- 51

Hays-Lodge Pole – Kiara Shambo 2, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 5, Latasha Kirkaldie 5, Tia Zander 10. Totals: 10 1-9.

North Star – Mackenzie Hansen 6, Megan Kurtz 2, Hali Kapperud 2, Alissa Borlaug 9, Sam Pester 4, Kristyn Lavery 7, Sheridan O'Neil 5, Sheridan Spicher 6, Chelsea Donaldson 6. Totals: 23 5-12.

3-point goals – L. Kirkaldie 1. Total fouls – Hays-Lodgepole 14, North Star 12. Fouled out – None.

Fort Benton-Geraldine 45, Conrad 40

Fort Benton 15 13 6 11 -- 45

Conrad 5 7 9 19 -- 40

Fort Benton – K. Bird 1, K. Witt 4, H. Pimperton 1, M. Schumacher 2, C. Nack 8, M. Nack 17, C. McCarthy 12. Totals: 15 11-24.

Conrad – Andrea Russell 2, Augusta VanDyke 2, Kinsey Harris 2, Maddie Hampton 10, Michalea DeBoo 11, Emily Harwood 13. Totals: 10 18-24.

3-point goals – Witt 1, M. Nack 1, McCarthy 2, Hampton 1, Harwood 1. Total fouls – Fort Benton 17, Conrad 15. Fouled out – M. Nack, Gabby Drishinski.

Fairfield 55, Rocky Boy 40

Fairfield 18 5 13 19-55

Rocky Boy 9 10 10 11-40

Fairfield-Claire Ruckman 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Klinker 7 3-5 17, Kylee Ruckman 0 0-0 0, Taleigh Isakson 3 1-4 7, Brooke Poor 2 2-4 8, Logan Kolste 0 0-0 0, Allie Steinbach 3 4-4 10, Austyn Rogers 0 0-0 0, Natalie Klinker 3 1-3 7, Aspen Kolwyck 3 0-1 6, Mariah Maddox 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-21 55.

Rocky Boy - Minnie The Boy 1 2-2 4, Lauren Four Colors 1 2-2 4, Sean Henry 1 0-2 3, Jude The Boy 4 3-7 12, Kiona Cantrell 0 0-0 0, Adrienne Gopher 0 0-0 0, Jurnee Laforge 1 1-2 3, Rosie Parker 2 1-2 6, Jaylynn Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Jai-lynne Day Child 3 1-2 8. Totals 13 10-19 40.

3-point goals-Fairfield 2 (Poor), Rocky Boy 4 (Henry, J. The Boy, Parker, Day Child). Total fouls-Fairfield 19, Rocky Boy 17. Fouled out-N. Klinker, Parker. Technical fouls-none.