Bears finally take down the Huskies

GREAT FALLS - The Box Elder girls basketball team achieved one objective this past weekend at the Northern C Divisional, but also fell short of another, as the Bears got past Belt in the semifinals, but came up short of a divisional championship.

After losing to Belt in the championship and semifinals at the Northern C in 2016 and 2017, the Bears finally knocked of their nemesis Friday night at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, defeating the Huskies 57-52. Yet Box Elder couldn't complete its run to to the Northern C title, as Winnett-Grass Range took it home with a 56-47 win Saturday night.

"I am happy that we are going to state," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "But I am very disappointed with how we played. We didn't have a lot of intensity and we missed 15 free throws."

The Bears got off to a sluggish start against WGR and the Rams took advantage, building an 11-4 lead in the first quarter of the championship game. Box Elder rallied with six in a row, but still trailed 14-11 after eight minutes. In the second quarter, Box Elder fell behind by six after a Piper Johnson triple and went into intermission down 26-20.

However, midway through the third quarter, the Bears made a run. Maddie Wolf Chief buried a 3-pointer and score on a putback to tie the score at 33-33. Then, Cecilia Vielle was good on a 3-point play, which gave the Bears a 36-33 lead with 2:43 left in the third. The Rams tied it soon after with a trey, but Joelnell Momberg scored to put Box Elder up two points heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final stanza, the Bears went cold. At the same time, Winnett-Grass Range started heating up. Tia Stahl hit from deep to put the Rams up 44-41, but four straight points from Momberg put Box Elder up 45-44 with 4:07 remaining. It would be the last field goal of the game for the Bears. In the meantime, the Rams closed the game on a 12-1 run to win the Northern C championship, 56-47.

Vielle led the Bears with 14, while Momberg finished with 12. Lily Gopher also finished with nine. Sydney Browning and Brynn Jolma each tied Vielle with a game-high 14 points.

To get into the championship game, Box Elder first had to get past Belt, which it was able to do Friday night, thanks to some late-game heroics from Vielle. First, the senior scored two straight buckets to give the Bears a seven point-lead in the fourth quarter. Belt eventually tied it and took the lead, but Vielle hit two free throws with 1:40 left to put the Bears up one. Then, she made two more to put them up three. Belt had a final shot to tie it, but was unable to connect and the Bears won 57-52 after Sarah Parisian beat the buzzer for Box Elder to lock in the final margin.

"Belt is the premier program is the C girls," Rosette said. "And to beat them is something our girls have been working towards for a few years. We came out and matched their intensity. We just happened to get them this time."

While Box Elder reached the state tournament, both Fort Benton and Turner came up short in efforts to do the same. Yet both teams advanced to Saturday before their dreams were dashed. Fort Benton kept its hopes alive with a 68-46 win over Simms Friday. Abby Clark scored 21 points. McKenna Hanford also added 12.

Turner also won a game at the Northern C for the second straight day, knocking off Great Falls Central Friday 63-46. The Tornadoes exploded for 23 points against the Mustangs and never looked back. Shyan Krass led Turner with 22 points, Sarah Billmayer also contributed with 17.

Both teams were one win away from the consolation game, but each saw their quest for a trophy and possible challenge game come to an end. Turner lost to Tri-Cities 60-52, despite getting 17 from Billmayer, 13 from Krass and 10 from Rylee Conlan. Fort Benton, which got third at the Northern C in 2017, was eliminated by Belt 49-35. Aspen Giese led the Longhorns with 16 points in the loss.

Winnett Grass-Range and Box Elder will be the two Northern C representatives at the Class C state tournament. Belt finished third and the two-time defending state champions won't defend their title, despite a record of 24-1. The Bears will play Twin Bridges March 8 in the opening round at state. The Class C girls tournament will be play March 8-10 at the Butte Civic Center.

Fort Benton 68, Simms 46, lo

Simms 8 7 16 15 – 46

Fort Benton 12 20 20 16 – 68

Simms: Taylor Jones 8, Janessa Willekes 15, Madi Cicon 13, Elyssa Willekes 10. Totals: 14-20.

Fort Benton: Cassie Knack 6, McKenzie Clark 4, Aspen Giese 9, Abby Clark 21, Maci Molinario 7, Megan Clark 2, Leah Gannon 7, McKenna Hanford 12. Totals: 25 14-20.

3-pointers: Cicon, Willekes, Giese, Molinario, Hanford 2. Fouls: Simms 15, Fort Benton 19. Fouled out: Jones, Clark.

Turner 63, Great Falls Central 46, lo

Great Falls Central 11 12 14 9 - 46

Turner 23 11 11 18 - 63

Great Falls Central: Emily Pahut 5, Sydney Hill 13, Bre Cook 6, Hattie Fauque 2, Bryn Anderson 18, Grace Madill 2. Totals: 17 3-9.

Turner: Raegan Conlan 8, Sarah Billmayer 17, Rylee Conlan 7, Melanie Watkins 9, Shyan Krass 22. Totals: 20 19-28.

3-pointers: Hill 3, Cook 2, Anderson 4, Conlan 2, Billmayer, Watkins. Fouls: Central 18, Turner 8. Fouled out: none.

Box Elder 57, Belt 52, SF

Belt 13 12 13 14 - 52

Box Elder 18 12 11 16 - 57

Belt: Morgan Cooper 8, Shelby Paulson 12, Dani Urick 21, Kolby Pimperton 6, Ryan Schraner 3, Adelle Meissner 2. Totals: 17 11-15.

Box Elder: Sarah Parisian 10, Eve The Boy 7, Lilly Gopher 16, Joelnell Momberg 10, Cecilia Vielle 14. Totals: 21 9-12.

3-pointers: Cooper 2, Paulson 2, Urick 2, Pimperton, Parisian 2, The Boy, Momberg 3. Fouls: Belt 15, Box Elder 1

Tri-Cities 60, Turner 52 (lo)

Tri-Cities 14 15 17 14 – 60

Turner 6 19 15 12 – 52

Tri-Cities – Chloe Derks 17, Savannah Hildreth 10, Sami Connerton 7, Kristen Vincent 6, Mamie Hertel 9, Claire Stevenson 2, Brianna Bergum 9. Totals 19 16-26.

Turner – Raegan Conlan 7, Sarah Billmayer 17, Rylee Conlan 10, Melanie Watkins 5, Shyan Krass 13. Totals 20 7-10.

3-pointers – Derks, Hildreth 3, Hertel 2; Raegan Conlan 2, Billmayer, Rylee Conlan 2. Fouls – Tri-Cities 13, Turner 15.

Belt 49, Fort Benton 35 (lo)

Belt 16 13 8 12 – 49

Fort Benton 7 8 13 7 – 35

Belt – Morgan Cooper 10, Kyelie Marquis 1, Shelby Paulson 8, Dani Urick 19, Kolby Pimperton 5, Adrian Malek 6. Totals 12 18-27.

Fort Benton – Cassie Knack 4, Aspen Giese 16, Abby Clark 5, Megan Clark 2, Leah Gannon 4, McKenna Hanford 4. Totals 12 9-10.

Winnett-Grass Range 56, Box Elder 47, 1st

WGR 14 12 10 20 – 56

Box Elder 12 8 18 9 – 47

WGR – Tia Stahl 5, Sydney Browning 14, Brynn Jolma 14, Piper Johnson 6, Taylor Stahl 10, Kendra Murnion 7. Totals 17 15-18.

Box Elder – Maddie Wolf Chief 8, Lilly Gopher 9, Joelnell Momberg 12, Brittany Lafromboise 4, Cecilia Vielle 14. Totals 17 11-26.

3-pointers – Tia Stahl, Browning 4, Johnson 2; Wolf Chief, Momberg. Fouls – WGR 17, Box Elder 17.