Hi-Line Girls Roundup: Harlem, Chinook, Rocky Boy start fast

High school girls basketball is off and running. And, with tournaments in Havre and Chester this last weekend, the season got off to a great start.

Last Thursday night, the Native American Classic tipped off in Havre with a fantastic game between arch rivals Rocky Boy and Box Elder. And while the Bears are one of the favorites in Class C this season, the Class B Morning Stars came away with a 67-64 win in the Armory Gymnasium. Rocky Boy trailed 35-28 at halftime, but stormed back in the second half.

Adrienne Gopher scored a game-high 23 points for the Morning Stars, while Maya Reed added 10. Lilly Gopher was one of the three Bears in double figures with 16 points.

Also at the NAC Thursday night, Harlem blew out rival Hays-Lodge Pole, 67-42. The Wildcats scored 28 points in the first quarter and got 28 points from L’Tia Lawrence in the win. Kiara Shambo scored 10 for the Thunderbirds.

The CJI Preseason Tournament also got going Thursday, and it was a good start for the Chinook Sugarbeeters, who bested Valier 37-19. Chinook led 11-4 early, and scored 15 points in the third quarter to pull away. The Beeters, who also beat Power Saturday, got 12 points from Taylor Neibauer in the win.

Things didn’t go quite as well for the North Star Knights Thursday, as they were knocked off by Great Falls Central 40-30 in a tough battle. The Knights fell behind by nine points after the first quarter, and while they fought hard, they couldn’t complete the comeback. Sheridan Spicher paced North Star with eight points.

North Star did bounce back however, with a thumping of Dutton-Brady Friday. The Knights used an 11-1 run in the second quarter to pull away from the Diamondbacks, 42-25. Spicher scored a game-high 14 points, while Katelyn Hansen added eight in the win.

Also in Chester Friday, Big Sandy opened its season with a heartbreaking loss to power. The Pioneers watched a 23-20 lead slip away in the final stanza, as they fell 30-27. Jaylyn Cline scored a team-high 14 points for the Pioneers.

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks opened their season at home Friday night, but things were rough on the Hawks, as they were crushed by GFCC, 58-11. The Mustangs shut out the Hawks 21-0 in the first quarter, and CJI never mounted a charge. Korrin Harmon scored five points in the loss.

Back at the NAC Friday, the Box Elder Bears took on the Arlee Warriors in a rematch of last season’s Class C state semifinal. And, the outcome was the same as the Bears beat the Warriors, this time, 76-43. The Bears raced out to a 21-11 and, added 28 points in the second stanza to help cruise to their first win of the season. Maddie Wolf Chief led a balanced Box Elder attack with 12 points.

HLP also notched its first won of the season Friday at the NAC. The Thunderbirds are much-improved this season, and it showed in a 60-48 victory over Heart Butte. Mariah Stiffarm scored a game-high 20 points for the T-Birds.

The Fort Benton Longhorns also got their season started with a home win Friday night, as they blasted Simms, 57-28. Coya Nack and Leah Gannon combined for 32 points, while Fort Benton made it a perfect 2-0 on opening weekend with a 76-19 thrashing of Sunburst on Saturday. In that win, Alia Evans led five Longhorns in double figures with 15 points.

The NAC wrapped up Saturday with two more girls games, including the Rocky Boy Morning Stars taking care of Arlee 65-43. Rocky Boy ripped off a 19-3 run in the final stanza to blow the game wide open, and Sean Henry led four Morning Stars in double digits with a game-high 23 points.

Harlem also made it a 2-0 start to the season with a 63-27 win over Kainai Saturday afternoon in Havre. A 19-5 start to the game was all the Wildcats needed to win going away. L’Tia Lawrence was again big for Harlem, scoring 26 points, while Skylee Dirden added 15.

The final night of the CJI Preseason tournament had three more area teams in action Saturday in Chester. And all three were victorious. Chinook dominated Power 52-26, while Big Sandy grabbed an early-season win with a 28-24 win over the Valier Panthers.

And in the finale, the CJI Hawks dominated Dutton-Brady 65-29. The Hawks led from start-to-finish with Peyton Hawks pouring in a game-high 19 points. Korrin Harmon added 17 and Kendahl Knapton finished with 12.

Thursday

Great Falls Central 40, North Star 30

Central 14 7 6 13 – 40

North Star 5 7 11 7 – 30

Great Falls Central – Bryn Anderson 16, Breanna Cook 4, Sydney Hill 5, Kenadee Depner 11, Melissa Nickol 1, Emily Pahut 3. Totals: 14 12-25.

North Star –Katelyn Hansen 5, Paij Peterson 4, Lily Pedersen 5, Sheridan Spicher 8, Chelsea Donaldson 3, Peytan King 5. Totals: 11 7-19,

3-pointers – Hansen.

Chinook 37, Valier 19

Chinook 11 5 15 6 – 37

Valier 4 1 10 4 – 19

Chinook – Sierra Swank 8, Carrie Hofer 8, Taylor Neibauer 12, Rochelle Chaffin 2, Hailey McMaster 2, Erin Pula 1, Brooke Elliot 4.

Valier – Teia Lackner 15, Blaqwell Pepion 2, Kwinlee Briggs 2.

3-pointer – Hofer.

Harlem 67, Hays Lodge Pole 42

Harlem 28 11 18 10 – 67

HLP 13 6 13 10 – 42

Harlem – K. Henry 6, K. Horn 3, V. Talks Different 4, S. Dirden 7, L. Lawrence 28, A. Eagleman 5, T. Schaeffer 4, J. Benson 3, T. Cole 4, A. Owens 3. Totals: 28 3-5.

HLP – K. Shambo 10, D. Blackwolf 3, R. Kirkaldie 9, K. Shambo 2, M. Stiffarm 7, T. Werk 2, L. Kirkaldie 9. Totals: 16 4-14.

Total fouls – Harlem 13, HLP 13. Fouled out – none. 3-pointers – K. Hornn, V. Talks Different, Lawrence 3, Eagleman 1, J. Benson 1, T. Cole 1, A. Owens 1.

Rocky Boy 67, Box Elder 64

Rocky Boy 14 13 22 18 - 67

Box Elder 13 23 12 16 - 64

Rocky Boy: J. Gopher 2, S. Pataesil 2, S. Henry 6, S. Coffee 8, M. Reed 10, A. Gopher 23, J. Mitchell 9, R. Pease 7.

Box Elder: M. The Boy 3, K. Morsette 3, M. Anderson 10, E. The Boy 3, M. Wolf Chief 5, L. Gopher 16, T. Russell 5, J. Mamberg 19.

Friday

Fort Benton 57, Simms 28

Simms 7 5 6 10 – 28

FB 20 6 17 14 – 57

Simms – Taylor Jones 5, Janessa Willekes 9, Draylen Sawyer 2, Maddie Bloom 6, Madi Cicon 2, Aryana Black 3, Avery Harris 1. Totals: 10 5-10.

FB – Katlyn Bird 7, Emma Arnst 2, Madison Thompson 7, Coya Nack 21, Alia Evans 6, Sahara Scott 3, Leah Gannon 11. Totals: 23 2-3.

Total fouls – Simms 5, Fort Benton 13. Fouled out – none. 3-pointers – Jones 1, Willekes 1, Black 1, Bird 2, Thompson 1, Scott 1, Gannon 3.

Power 30, Big Sandy 27

BS 7 6 9 4 – 27

Power 8 9 3 10 – 30

BS – Caitlin Bailey 2, Jenna Leader 4, Jessica Roth 1, Cally Demontiney 6, Jaylyn Cline 14. Totals 10 5-13 27.

Power – Brianna Murray 6, Maggie Jensen 1, Jessie Maruska 21, Hope Smelser 2. Totals 9 6-14 30.

3-point goals – Demontiney 2; Murray, Maruska 5. Total fouls – BS 14, Power 14. Fouled out – Cline.

North Star 42, Dutton-Brady 25

NS 13 11 13 5 – 42

DB 8 1 4 12 – 25

NS – Katelyn Hansen 8, Hali Kapperud 2, Paij Peterson 5, Lily Pedersen 5, Olivia King 3, Katelin Harvey 5, Sheridan Spicher 14. Totals 17 6-18 42.

DB – Tasha Reeve 3, Grace Weber 22. Totals 8 8-17 25.

3-point goals – Peterson, King; Reeve. Total fouls – NS 17, DB 14.

Great Falls Central 58, CJI 11

Central 21 21 8 8 – 58

CJI 0 3 5 3 – 11

Central – Sydney Hill 11, Breanna Cook 4, Makayla Cook 3, Melissa Nickol 4, Kenadee Depner 17, Tennyson Lewis 5, Hattie Fauque 4, Bryn Anderson 10. Totals 27 3-8 58.

CJI – Jeraca Tempel 3, Korrin Harmon 5, Kayana Fraser 3. Totals 3 3-9 11.

3-point goals – Hill, Makayla Cook, Depner; Fraser. Total fouls – Central 13, CJI 5. Fouled out – none.

Saturday

Fort Benton 76, Sunburst 19

Sunburst 4 3 8 4 – 19

Fort Benton 24 15 19 18 – 76

Sunburst – Johna McEwen 10, Katara Ryan 9. Totals: 6 4-4.

Fort Benton – Kaitlyn Bird 11, Emma Arnst 4, Madison Thompson 4, Lilly Green 2, Jaelyn Vielleux 4, Coya Nack 13, Alia Evans 15, Sahara Scott 8, Leah Gannon 13, Megan Clark 2. Totals: 35 1-2.

3-pointers – McEwen 2, Ryan, Bird, Evans 3, Gannon.

Harlem 63, Kainai 27

Kainai 5 10 7 5 - 27

Harlem 19 19 10 15 - 63

Kainai: Not available.

Harlem: Kailee Henry 8, Kristine Kittson 2, Val Talks Different 1, Skylee Dirden 15, L'Tia Lawrence 26, Autumn Eagleman 5, Taeshon Schaffer 2, Janica Cole 2, Aria Owens 2.

Rocky Boy 65, Arlee 43

Arlee 10 13 9 11 - 43

Rocky Boy 18 12 16 19 - 65

Arlee: Noelle West 2, Carly Hergett 17, Abby Yocum 8, Nellie Desjarlais 2, Bryndle Goyins 14.

Rocky Boy: S. Patacsil 4, S. Henry 23, S. Coffee 1, M. Reed 10, A. Gopher 4, J. Mitchell 11, R. Pease 12.