Fort Benton stuns top-ranked Box Elder to win 9C title

The Box Elder Bears and Fort Benton Longhorns have played some memorable girls basketball games the past few years, but none was more memorable than the District 9C championship game Saturday night in Havre at the HHS gymnasium.

The two teams battled back and forth all night, even going to overtime before it was all said and done. But in the end, the difference came down to one play and for Fort Benton one player, freshman Aspen Giese.

With the Longhorns down 61-57 with 40 seconds to go, Giese scored the five biggest points of her team's season. First, she connected a on 3-pointer to get Fort Benton within one. Then, after a missed free throw by Box Elder, she grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in before the clock hit triple zero. The bucket gave the Longhorns the 62-61 win and the District 9C championship. Their second in four years.

"I tried to get position," Giese said. "I was thinking if it goes in, it goes in, but I want to be there for the rebound. I saw it go up and then I got it and completely chucked it up and it managed to go in and I just kind of blacked out after that."

Giese hit the shot that won the game, but her role was much larger than that. She scored a game-high 26 points in the win, with seven coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. She also knocked down three 3-pointers and made 9-of-14 from the field in the win.

"Giese, she is resilient," Fort Benton head coach Cassie Pimperton said. "She just doesn't stop. None of the girls stop. She's a good kid. She works a lot. Her teammates do a lot to get her the ball."

Giese knocked down the game-winning shot, but she made her presence felt much earlier in the game. After No. 1 Box Elder grabbed a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, Giese went to work. First she knocked down a couple of mid-range jump shots and before long, she had eight points. She also hit twice from beyond the arc and helped Fort Benton outscore the Bears 23-9 in the second quarter to take a 32-28 halftime lead.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Bears, who entered the game undefeated, found themselves down by nine. Yet, they weren't going away and a 3-pointer by Sarah Parisian capped an 8-0 run that trimmed the Fort Benton lead to one. Minutes later, Cecilia Vielle scored on a put back to give the Bears a 53-52 lead.

Joelnell Momberg put Box Elder up three, but McKenna Hanford of Fort Benton banked in a three to tie the game 55-55. The Bears had a couple chances to win the game on the final possession of regulation, but couldn't convert, sending the game to overtime.

"These kids are just resilient," Pimperton said. "They just work. They work, they work. Everyday in practice, we try to make it harder on them in the game and they just don't stop. They are a fun team."

Lily Gopher, who scored 21 points for Box Elder, made her own impact, getting a steal and score to give the Bears a two-point lead in overtime. She also made two free throws to push the lead to 61-57 with 40 seconds left. However, the Bears couldn't close it out. In fact, Giese made sure they couldn't.

"The last time, they won on a last second shot," Giese said. "And I was thinking last night, if that happens, I want the ball. I just can't believe that this happened, but I am so happy."

While Fort Benton was elated after its championship, the Turner Tornadoes also had something to celebrate, as the Turner girls knocked off Chester-Joplin-Inverness 37-36 to clinch their first divisional berth in 40 years, since 1978. CJI had two shots to win the game at the buzzer, but missed and the Tornadoes advanced. They will play in the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls starting Wednesday. Fort Benton and Box Elder will join them.