Lady Bears finish 2nd at Class C State Tournament

GREAT FALLS -- The Box Elder girls basketball team has had a dream season, beating every team it faced but one -- the Belt Huskies.

After falling to Belt two weeks ago in the Northern C Divisional championship, the Lady Bears must have felt some deja vu Saturday night at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, in the Class C state title game, as the Huskies rolled to a 63-40 victory over Box Elder.

The win gave Belt its fourth Class C girls championship in the past five years. And while Box Elder's season may have ended in disappointment -- in truth, it was anything but, as the Lady Bears secured their first trophy at the state tournament in 18 years.

"We wanted to win a state championship," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "But, after not getting a trophy at state in 18 years, getting second place, we will take that this year.

" It really is a testament to our seniors," He added. "They have been the foundation of this program and hopefully this means it's going in the right direction."

Early on, Box Elder was determined to go toe-to-toe with mighty Belt and after a fast-paced start to the game, the Bears were right with the Huskies as a scoop shot by Alyssa Lamere tied the game at 9-9 midway through the first quarter.

Yet, the Huskies closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to take an 18-9 lead. Then, in the second quarter, Belt poured it on. And thanks to their suffocating defense and the outstanding play of Danny Urik, the Huskies ripped off 22-1 run that put them in front 33-12 early in the second quarter.

At that point, the Lady Bears steadied themselves, but with numerous players in foul trouble, they were unable to gain much traction before the end of the half and trailed Belt 40-22 at the intermission.

After scoring 12 first-half points, Urick continued to wear down Box Elder in the third quarter, scoring nine points and registering a 3-point play late in the stanza, which gave the Huskies a 53-27 lead.

After three quarters of play, Box Elder found itself down by 28 points and in the fourth quarter, Belt made sure to maintain its lead en route to a 23-point victory.

Yet, even with the loss, the Lady Bears can be proud of a 25-2 season that they hope is the start of an extended run at the state tournament, with a number of key players returning for next season.

"Lady Bear basketball looks good," Rosette said. "All the way down the ranks, we have some good kids. I am really proud of these kids and hopefully this is the start of something. We want to be like Belt. They have a great program and we want to be like them and get back here every year. So now, we have to get to the off-season and get to work so we can get back next season."