Bears fight Belt to the end

GREAT FALLS — In two championship games a season ago, the Belt Huskies pretty much ran over the Box Elder girls. In the Northern C semifinals Thursday night inside the Four Seasons Arena, the story was completely different, but the end result was the same.

For much of the highly anticipated meeting between perhaps the two best teams in Class C yet again, Box Elder played the Huskies straight up. In the end however, the Huskies nosed in front and stayed there, earning an exciting 63-60. The win pushed Belt into yet another Northern C title game, while the Bears must win three games over the next two days in order to reach the Class C state tournament next week in Belgrade.

“Very proud of the girls,” Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. “The effort was great tonight. I thought defensively, we were pretty darn good all night. It’s always disappointing to lose a game like this, but I couldn’t be more proud of the girls tonight, and we just have to pick ourselves up and come back tomorrow and go again.”

After how great the Bears played Thursday night, it shouldn’t be tough to bounce back. The Bears came out swinging with an early 3-pointer from Lilly Gopher, and while Belt went on a classic Belt run, a 9-0 spurt, a Kiya Morsette steal at the end of the first quarter kept the Bears close at 15-12.

Things got even better for the Bears in the second stanza. Gopher took command of the period scoring a deuce inside that gave the Bears a 17-15 lead. Later, she and Joelnell Momberg went back-to-back from three, and the Bears led 27-22. And when Tia Russell added a triple of her own, Box Elder found itself up on the defending state champion Huskies, 35-30 at intermission.

“I thought we came out playing really well,” Rosette said. “We executed really well.”

Of course, Rosette also expected the Huskies to make a run, and they did early in the third as Dani Urick buried a trey and Briana Wall knocked in one of her own. But, the Bears never let the Huskies run away, as Minnie The Boy and Gopher scored on back-to-back buckets, and the third period ended in a 43-43 tie.

Again though, the experienced Huskies pushed forward with a 9-3 run to begin the fourth stanza, a run which was capped by a Kerstyn Pimperton 3-pointer. At that point, Belt led 54-50. Box Elder fought to stay in the game, and did so with a big bucket by Gopher, who had a tremendous game. And trailing just 59-58 with :45 left, Box Elder actually had the ball, looking to go in front. But, a turnover, then an offensive rebound by Belt on a missed free throw by Pimperton would prove costly, and ultimately, the Huskies were able to fend off the Bears in an incredible game.

“I thought we did a good job of staying in it down the stretch,” Rosette said. “When they (Huskies) get the lead, it’s tough to get the ball back, so I thought our girls did a great job of extending the game. But it was little miscues that added up. That offensive rebound they got was a big play in the game. Those little things add up against really good teams, and Belt is a very good team. So those things hurt us, and in the end, they (Huskies) executed better than we did in the fourth quarter.”

Defensively, Box Elder certainly held the high-octane Huskies in check, forcing 20 turnovers and holding them to 43 percent shooting. But Pimperton had a big outing with 18 points and a bunch of key free throws in the final quarter, while Urick finished with 15 and the Huskies made 9-of-18 threes.

“We just had to withstand the run,” Belt head coach Jeff Graham said. “They are a great team. Withstand the run. Don’t panic. We only had to call one timeout. We knew Box Elder was going to come out ready to rock and roll. They did both times with us last year.”

On the other end, Gopher was incredible, with a game-high 24 points and six rebounds. Russell added eight points, Momberg scored seven and Eve The Boy scored six key points in the second half.

The loss was just Box Elder’s second all season long, and just their fourth in the last two years — three of them coming at the hands of the Huskies. Now, the Bears will have to beat Fort Benton this morning, win the consolation game tonight, and win a challenge game Saturday night in order to reach the state tourney. But with the way the Bears played Thursday night, a three-game winning streak is something they certainly can achieve.

“You have to believe that,” Rosette said. “You have to have those dreams. We have to come back and do it one game at a time. It’s all about coming back strong and believing we can do it, and I believe this team can.”

While Box Elder will have to battle back, Belt will play Roy-Winifred in tonight's championship game.

Big day for Knights

There was only one team in the Northern C girls tournament that had to win two games on the same day to keep its season alive. And the North Star Knights did exactly that.

Just 10 hours after the Knights knocked off Cascade in an 8 a.m. loser-out game, North Star came back to the Four Seasons Arena and made its Thursday sweep with a 54-53 win over Simms, the No. 2 seed from District 10C.

“It’s a testament to our kids,” North Star head coach Rob Spicher said. “To play at 8 a.m. and then come back tonight and play a second game against a very physical, tough team, it shows just how much heart and desire these kids have. I’m really proud of them.”

Spicher has every right to be beeming with pride. The Knights came into the Northern C as the third-place team from the 9C, and now, they’re one win away from playing in tonight’s consolation game.

And North Star got there with one of its best games of the season, starting with an explosive first half in which Paij Peterson hit a big 3-pointer to put them ahead 17-12 after the first period. Peterson would go on to bury another three in the second stanza as North Star increased its lead to 25-16 at break, allowing just four second-quarter points against an explosive and talented Tiger squad.

“That first half was huge,” Spicher said. “I thought we played great defensively. We shared the ball really well, and we executed.”

North Star would continue to play well in the second half, but, the Knights had to do it without Peterson, who left the game with an injury. Still, thanks to key buckets from Peytan King, Lily Pedersen and Kate Hansen, the Knights withstood an 8-2 run by the Tigers, and still led by nine after three quarters.

North Star continued to lead for much of the fourth, as Hansen and Chelsea Donaldson put in key baskets. However, Simms didn’t go away, and the Tigers connected on three long-range bombs in the final 1:30, the thirds of which cut the Knights’ lead all the way to 52-50 with :09 left. And yet, North Star didn’t flinch. Hansen was fouled following a triple, and she calmly knocked down two foul shots to seal the win for the resurgent Knights.

“We didn’t start this tournament with a lot of confidence in that first game,” Spicher said. “But we played really well today, and now, I think these kids believe they can do whatever it takes to go out there and keep winning. They really have a lot of confidence right now.”

Hansen finished the game with a team-high 14 points, while King added 10, as did Peterson. Sheridan Spicher scored eight points and knocked down some clutch free throws along the way.

The Knights found a way to stay alive at the Northern C girls tournament thanks to a 41-29 win over Cascade in loser-out action Thursday morning.

The Knights jumped out to a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and scored 16 more in the second half to take a 28-12 lead into intermission. Cascade made a little headway in the third, making up two points, to trim the lead to 14 at 35-21, but in the fourth quarter, the Badgers were unable to mount a serious challenge and the Knights won by 12.

Peterson led the way for the Knights with 10 points. She also tore down nine rebounds, had four assists and three steals. King matched Peterson with 10 points, while Hansen added six. Kaicey Oliver was the game-high scorer with 17 points in a losing effort.

With the two wins, the Knights improved to 16-8 on the season and will now face a rematch with Winnett-Grass Range this morning. A win would push the Knights into tonight’s game and a likely meeting with 9C champion Box Elder, which also played a loser-out game against fellow 9C rival Fort Benton this morning.

Horns stay in it

Coya Nack has made a lot of turnaround layups in her days as a Fort Benton Longhorn. Her latest one though, extended the Longhorn’s season.

With :14 left in Thursday’s Northern C loser-out game inside the Four Seasons Arena, Nack made a nifty spin move, then laid a bucket off the glass, lifting the 9C Longhorns to a 40-39 come-from-behind win over the Great Falls Central Mustangs. The win pushed the Horns into Friday morning’s loser-out game against fellow 9C rival Box Elder.

“We had came down I think four trips in a row and shot 3-pointers,” Fort Benton coach Cassie Scheffelmaier said. “That’s not what we needed right there, so we finally got it into Coya. Alia Evans made a sweet pass to her and Coya did the rest.”

Nack was clutch all second half, and she, the rest of Fort Benton’s upper-classmen were a big reason why the Longhorns were able to erase an 11-point deficit. Fort Benton, led 10-8 after the first quarter, on the strength of a Leah Gannon 3-poiinter. But in the second stanza, the Mustangs ripped off a 10-3 run and led 19-15 at intermission.

The Longhorns fell even further behind in the third period. GFCC opened the stanza with a triple and a deuce Kenadee Depner, and the run ballooned to 15-3 before Kaitlin Bird answered with a three. Nack also scored twice in the post, and by the end of the third, the Longhorns had cut the GFCC lead to 35-30.

“I don’t think Coya and Kaitlin Bird were ready to be done,” Scheffelmaier said. “I challenged the seniors and the upper classmen at halftime to step it up, if they wanted to extend their season, and they did that in the second half.”

They did indeed. Nack opened the fourth quarter with a bucket, then, Evans drilled a three to tie the game at 35-35, capping a 12-0 Fort Benton run. From there, things were tight, but, GFCC found itself leading 39-36 with 2:24 to go. However, Nack was indeed not ready to be done. She scored with 1:11 to play, pulling the Longhorns to within one. Then, Fort Benton forced a turnover with :30 left, which eventually led to Nack’s game-winning shot.

The senior standout finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds, while Gannon added nine, as the Longhorns outscored the Mustangs 10-4 in the final eight minutes.

“Very proud of our kids,” Scheffelmaier said. “They kept fighting, and when you do that, good things happen. They extended their season for at least another game, and we’re excited that we’re still playing.

“It extends it for another day,” Nack said. “That’s all we can ask for.”

Fort Benton 40, Great Falls Central 39, lo

Fort Benton 10 5 15 10 – 40

Central 8 14 13 4 – 39

Fort Benton – Kaitlyn Bird 3, Emma Arnst 2, Madison Thompson 1, Coya Nack 13, Alia Evans 3, Leah Gannon 9, McKenzie Clark 6, McKenna Hanford 3. Totals: 14 7-13.

Central – Sydney Hill 13, Melissa Nickol 6, Kenadee Depner 13, Hattie Fauque 1, Bryn Anderson 6. Totals: 15 6-13.

3-pointers – Bird, Evans, Clark 2, Hanford, Hill 3.

North Star 41, Cascade 29, lo

Cascade 6 6 9 8 – 29

North Star 12 16 7 6 – 41

Cascade – Raija Buley 6, Savannah Spurzem 2, Kennadi Shumaker 3, MacKenzie Wombold 1, Kaicey Oliver 17. Totals: 4 12-17.

North Star – Katelyn Hansen 6, Paij Peterson 10, Katelin Harvey 5, Saige Scheresky-O'Neil 2, Sheridan Spicher 5, Chelsea Donaldson 3, Peytan King 10. Totals: 17 4-16.

3-pointers – Shumaker, Peterson 2, Harvey.

North Star 54, Simms 53, lo

Simms 12 4 13 24 – 53

NS 17 8 13 16 – 54

Simms – Taylor Jones 4, Janessa Willekes 17, Draylen Sawyer f3, Maddie Bloom 3, Madi Cicon 5, Elyssa Willekes 13, Aryana Black 4, Avery Harris 8. Totals 19 9-20 53.

NS – Katelyn Hansen 14, Paij Peterson 10, Lily Pedersen 5, Katelin Harvey 3, Sheridan Spicher 8, Chelsea Donaldson 4, Peytan King 10. Totals 19 14-19 54.

3-point – Peterson; J. Willekes 2, Cicon, E. Willekes 3.

Belt 63, Box Elder 60, sf

Belt 12 18 13 20 – 63

Box Elder 15 20 8 17 – 60

Belt – Sara Anderson 12, Briana Wall 3, Dani Urick 15, Kerstyn Pimperton 18, Ryan Schraner 2, Kassie Hoyer 10, Adrian Malek 3. Totals 17 21-32 63.

Box Elder – Minnie The Boy 6, Kiya Morsette 2, Nikayala Anderson 2, Eve The Boy 6, Maddie Wolf Chief 5, Lillian Gopher 24, Tia Russell 8, Joelnell Momberg 7. Totals 23 8-15 60.

3-point – Anderson 2, Wall, Pimperton 2, Hoyer, Malek; Gopher 3, Russell 2, Momberg