Hi-Line Girls Roundup: Hawks on a roll; Beeters in first place

One weekend is all that stands between area Class B and C girls basketball teams and a date with their respective district tournament. And because the regular season has come down to one last weekend, that made last weekend’s games across the Hi-Line ultra-important.

In a big District 9C game last Thursday night, which had lasting implications on the 9C standings, the Chester/J-I Hawks took down arch rival North Star 48-34 in Chester. The Hawks trailed the Knights 19-18 at halftime, but C/J-I stormed in front via a 30-15 second-half run, earning an important win in the process.

Allix Goldhahn scored 13 points and Madeline Woods added 10 for C/J-I, while the Knights (9-7, 7-5) got 16 points from Mackenzie Hansen and 10 from Sheridan O’Neil in the tough loss.

C/J-I kept things rolling on Friday night as the Hawks remained at home for a 9C clash with Big Sandy. And the young Pioneers were no match, as C/J-I (12-4, 10-3) went on to win, 48-9. Big Sandy struggled offensively, going 16 minutes in the middle of the game without scoring a point.

Abby Gregory led the Pioneers with five points, while Goldhahn scored 16 and Peyton Cole added 13 for C/J-I.

In another crucial 9C showdown Friday night, Fort Benton-Geraldine stayed near the top of the standings by edging the Box Elder Bears 52-49 at home. The Longhorns led the entire way, but they had to hold off the charging Bears in the final minute.

Cassidy McCarthy paced the Longhorns with 20 points, but Coya and Makae Nack scored 17 and 11 points, respectively. Leilani Gardipee poured in a game-high 21 points in the tough loss for Box Elder.

Meanwhile, Turner kept its best season in years going, as the Tornadoes buried Hays-Lodge Pole 65-37 Friday night in Turner. The Tornadoes led 36-19 at halftime and never looked back. Ella Billmayer had a huge game for Turner, scoring 27 points, while Kristina Conlan chipped in with 13. The Thunderbirds got 14 points by Tia Zander and nine from Kennessa Shambo.

Chinook stepped out of conference play Friday night, but the Sugarbeeters continued to roll. On the road in Shelby, the Beeters dominated the Class B Coyotes 52-38. Four Beeters led a balanced Chinook attack, as Brooke Nicholson and Katelyn Neibauer each scored 13 points and Brooke Elliot and Hannah Weber added 10 apiece.

In the Class B ranks Friday night, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars suffered a 62-34 setback at the hands of the powerful M-Ettes in Rocky Boy. Jai-Lynn Day Child managed nine points for Rocky Boy (6-4, 8-6), but after falling behind 25-4 in the first quarter, the Morning Stars were out of the game.

Harlem also struggled Friday night. The Wildcats dropped a 58-33 District 2B decision at Glasgow. Ticia Cliff was a bright spot for Harlem, as she scored 17 points in the loss.

Although Friday’s loss at Glasgow was difficult, Harlem (2-7, 3-12) did bounce back with a 51-41 home win against Shelby Saturday night. The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead, then played outstanding defense to hold the Coyotes off in the fourth quarter. Brooke LeValdo led the way for Harlem with 17 points, and Mari Ereaux chipped in with 11.

Box Elder also had a bounce-back win Saturday night. Playing at home, the Bears crushed Big Sandy 79-26. The Bears scored 27 points in the first quarter, and were never threatened from there.

Leilani Gardipee had another big outing for the Bears (8-8, 6-6), scoring 25 points, while Alecia Wolf Chief and Krista Chief Stick added nine each. The Pioneers (0-16, 0-12) got eight points by Maddie Reichelt in the loss.

Saturday night also saw the top two teams in the 9C earn blowout wins. While Fort Benton-Geraldine (14-2, 10-2) dominated Hays-Lodge Pole (3-13, 2-11), the Chinook Sugarbeeters turned back Turner 58-27 in Chinook. Katelyn Neibauer poured in a career-high 33 points in the win for Chinook (14-2, 11-1), while Hannah Weber and Brooke Nicholson added 10 points each. Ella Billmayer had another strong game for Turner (7-9, 3-9), leading the way with 10 points.

Thursday

Chester/J-I 48, North Star 34

North Star 5 14 8 7 - 34

C/J-I 9 9 16 14 - 48

North Star - M. Hansen 16, A. Borlaug 5, K. Harvey 3, S. O'Neil 10. Totals: 11 7-11.

C/J-I - Kendahl Knapton 8, Kylee Vinson 3, Peyton Cole 7, Kerrin Harmon 2, Madeline Woods 10, Allix Goldhahn 13, Kristina Dahinden 5. Totals: 14 12-27.

3-pointers - Hansen 4, Harvey, Vinson, Goldhahn, Dahinden. Total fouls - NS 18, CJI 11.

Friday

Turner 65, Hays-Lodge Pole 37

HLP 11 8 11 7 - 37

Turner 17 19 20 9 - 65

HLP – Kennessa Shambo 9, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 8, Latasha Kirkaldie 2, Tia Zander 14, Miquela Perez 4. Totals: 14 5-13.

Turner – Ella Billmayer 27, Tyler Anderson 2, Melanie Watkins 6, Rennay Watkins 8, Raegan Conlan 3, Kristina Conlan 13, Rylee Conlan 6. Totals: 26 9-18.

3-point goals – Shambo 2, R. Kirkaldie 2, K. Conlan 3, Rylee conlan 1. Total fouls – Hays-Lodgepole 16, Turner 18. Fouled out – Rylee Conlan.

Chester/J-I 48, Big Sandy 9

Big Sandy 6 0 0 3 - 9

C/J-I 9 18 10 11 - 48

Big Sandy – J. Leader 2, A. Gregory 5, M. Reichelt 2. Totals: 3 3-7.

C/J-I – Gabby Mangold 1, Kendahl Knapton 5, Kylee Vinson 1, Peyton Cole 13, Korrin Harmon 3, Madeline Woods 3, Allix Goldhahn 16, Kristina Dahinden 3, Katelyn Hansen 3.

3-point goals – Knapton 1, Dahinden 1. Total fouls – Big Sandy 18, CJI 17. Fouled out – None.

Chinook 52, Shelby 38

Chinook 11 9 18 14 - 52

Shelby 14 8 10 6 - 38

Chinook – Brooke Nicholson 13, Hannah Weber 10, Taylor Neibauer 6, Katelyn Neibauer 13, Brooke Elliot 10. Totals: 20 7-15.

Shelby – Katie Kelleher 20, Kylee Bailey 4, Sarah Sanchez 3, Brie White 3, Brooke Aklestad 6, Abbey Aklestad 2. Totals: 13 8-17.

3-point goals – Nicholson 2, Weber 2, K. Neibauer 1, Kelleher 3, Sanchez 1. Total fouls – Chinook 17, Shelby 15. Fouled out – Sanchez.

Fort Benton-Geraldine 52, Box Elder 49

Box Elder 10 11 16 12 - 49

Fort Benton-Geraldine 16 11 14 11 - 52

Box Elder – Leilani Gardipee 21, Tia Rissell 13, Alyssa LaMere 4, Tyrah Gopher 4, Misty Baker 2, Sayra Long Fox 3, Jaynee Parisian 2. Totals: 16 14-23.

Fort Benton-Geraldine – Katie Witt 2, Hannah Pimperton 2, Coya Nack 17, Makae Nack 11, Cassidy McCarthy 20. Totals: 17 18-26.

3-point goals – Gardipee 2, Long Fox 1. Total fouls – Box Elder 20, Fort Benton-Geraldine 19. Fouled out – None.

Malta 62, Rocky Boy 34

Malta 25 11 13 13 -- 62

Rocky Boy 4 9 5 16 -- 34

Malta – M. Manoukian 13, S. Stiles 15, M. Lett 2, H. Nicholson 10, J. Nicholson 5, K. Smith 4, K. Kuehn 2, R. Smith 4, A. Bibeau 2, D. Schye 6. Totals: 27 4-11.

Rocky Boy – M. The Boy 2, J. Day Child 9, J. The Boy 6, A. Gopher 4, J. LaForge 3, R. Parker 6, J. Mitchell 4. Totals: 10 10-22.

3-point goals – Manoukian 1, Stiles 2, R. Smith 1, Day Child 1, J. The Boy 1, Gopher 1, Parker 1. Total fouls – Malta 17, Rocky Boy 14. Fouled out – None.

Glasgow 58, Harlem 33

Harlem 5 8 7 13 - 33

Glasgow 12 12 17 17 - 58

Harlem: Mari Ereaux 2, Teche Ereaux 2, Ticia Cliff 17, Anita Bentley 5, Brooke Lavaldo 7. Totals: 14 3-12.

Glasgow: Amanda Wolff 1, Abbi Kolstad 19, Lexie Nixdorf 6, Jordan Kulczyk 8, Lonie Hughes 15, Tyra Johnson 2, Khloe Johnson 5, Delaney Holzworth 2. Totals: 22 13-24.

Fouls: Harlem 22, Glasgow 16. Fouled out: none

Saturday

Harlem 51, Shelby 41

Shelby 5 13 7 16 -- 41

Harlem 13 14 9 15 --51

Shelby – Katie Kelleher 21, Kylee Bailey 4, Sarah Sanchez 5, Brie White 4, Brooke Aklestad 2, Abbey Aklestad 5. Totals: Unavailable.

Harlem – Mari Ereaux 11, Autumn Little Plume 4, Teche' Ereaux 9, Ticia Cliff 4, Brooke LaValdo 17, Liz Horn 2, Jazzamyn Benson 2, Erin LaMere 2. Totals: Unavailable.

3-point goals – Kelleher 1, Little Plume 1, LaValdo 3. Total fouls – Shelby 16, Harlem 21. Fouled out – Bailey.

Box Elder 79, Big Sandy 26

Big Sandy 4 6 3 13 -- 26

Box Elder 27 16 22 14 -- 79

Big Sandy – J. Leader 6, A. Rutledge 2, A. Gregory 6, M. Reichelt 8, D. Terry 4. Totals: 12 0-0.

Box Elder – Tia Rissell 8, Alecia Wolfchief 9, Misty Baker 2, Tyrah Gopher 6, Leilani Gardipee 25, Dominique Nault 2, Alyssa LaMere 4, Sayra Longfox 2, Nikayla Anderson 4, Jaynee Parisian 6, Sally Houle 2, Krista Chiefstick 9. Totals: 28 11-15.

3-point goals – Reichelt 2, Wolfchief 1, Gardipee 5, Parisian 1. Total fouls – Big Sandy 12, Box Elder 9. Fouled out – None.

Chinook 58, Turner 27

Turner 8 9 6 4 – 27

Chinook 17 16 15 10 – 58

Turner: Billmayer 10, Anderson 3, Watkins 3, Raegen 4, K. Conlan 4, R. Conlan 3. Totals: 11 3-6.

Chinook: Nicholson 10, Weber 10, McMaster 1, Neibauer 2, Katelyn Neibauer 33, Elliot 2. Totals: 21 14-23.

3-pointers: K. Neibauer 2, Billmayer 1, R. Conlan 1.