Hi-Line Girls: Bears top Longhorns in round one

With teams rested and ready to go, the 2019 Hi-Line girls basketball season began in Ernest last week. And now, with Christmas break over, the race to the postseason is underway.

The return to basketball started last Thursday with the Class B Harlem Wildcats thrashing Class C rival Chinook, 73-48. Harlem scored 41 points in the first 16 months and never looked back, as L'Tia Lawrence scored 23 points, Skylee Dirden added 19 and Taya Potter scored 17. The Sugarbeeters got 14 points from Kourtney Hanson.

Harlem returned to District 2B action Friday night and kept on winning. The Wildcats took care of Glasgow 74-34, behind 20 from Lawrence and 16 by Dirden. Melony Fetter also scored 12 for the Wildcats.

Friday night was also the much-anticipated first meeting of the season between Box Elder and Fort Benton. And not having played since last season's 9C championship game, the Bears stayed undefeated by handing the Longhorns their first loss of the season, 78-63. Leading by four points after the first quarter, Box Elder exploded for a 24-11 run and never let the Longhorns back in the contest. Lilly Gopher was the catalyst with 35 points, but Joelnell Momberg also scored 22 for the Bears. Aspen Giese scored 20 and Leah Gannon added 16 for Fort Benton.

Friday night also saw North Star start their 2019 off with an easy win over Big Sandy as the Knights won 62-20, while Rocky Boy couldn't bounce back from a Thursday night loss in Havre. On Friday, the Morning Stars fell to 2B rival Malta, 62-27. Jeralyn Parker and Rochelle Pease each scored eight points in the loss to the M-Ettes.

Back in the 9C Friday night, Turner stayed hot. The Tornadoes thumped Hays-Lodge Pole 67-42. Turner built a 37-14 lead in the first half on the way to an easy win. Shyan Krass led the way with 22 points for Turner, while Mulleah Stiffarm had a huge game, with 28 points for the Thunderbirds.

Turner was tough again Saturday night as the Tornadoes beat Chinook 58-42 for yet another 9C win. Turner led just 7-3 after the first quarter, but, the Tornadoes scored 41 points over the next 16 minutes to pull away.

Sarah Billmayer scored 15 points for Turner, while Krass added 14 and Raegan Conlan chipped in with 12. Ginger Hauer paced the Sugarbeeters with 12 points.

Fort Benton got a bounce back win Saturday night, as the Longhorns blew by HLP, 62-20. A 24-3 Fort Benton run to start the game did the T-Birds in. Aspen Giese led all scorers with 22, while Leah Gannon scored 17. Mulleah Stiffarm again paced HLP with seven points.

North Star won its second 9C game of the week as Saturday, as the Knights beat arch rival Chester-Joplin-Inverness 55-29. The game was close early, but North Star finished the Hawks off with a 15-2 third-quarter run.

Jade Wendland sparked the Knights with 12 points, while Paij Peterson scored nine. The Hawks got 10 points each from Tatum Hull and Abby Fraser.

Saturday night in the 9C also saw Big Sandy being no match for powerful Box Elder. The Bears took care of the Pioneers 68-29 to improve to 8-0. Box Elder scored 48 points in the first half, and the Pioneers couldn't catch up.

Lilly Gopher scored 13 points and Maddie Wolf Chief chipped in with 11 for the Bears, while Lainey Gregory paced the Pioneers with 12 points and Amanda Cline added seven.

THURSDAY

Harlem 73, Chinook 48

Chinook 11 9 11 17 - 48

Harlem 19 22 17 15 - 73

Harlem - L'Tia Lawrence 23, Skylee Dirden 19, Taya Potter 17, Melony Fetter 7, Kristyn Kittson 7, Mackenzie Doney 2.

Chinook - Kourtney Hanson 14, Lily Surber 8, Ginger Hauer 6, Ashley MacLeod 5, Rachel Gunderson 4, Megan Molyneaux 3, Lincy Johnson 2, Delaney Kellam 2.

FRIDAY

Turner 67, Hays-Lodge Pole 42

HLP 6 8 8 20 - 42

Turner 11 26 16 14 - 67

Turner - D. Krass 0, Ry. Conlan 4, M. Watkins 1, B. Reed 13, L. Maloney 2, L. Hickel 2, Ra. Conlan 10, S. Billmayer 13, S. Krass 22.

HLP - T. Morgan 2, S. Boushie 0, K. Perez 2, J. Gray 0, S. Chandler 2, S. Chandler 0, J. Werk 0, L. Pretty Paint 2, L. Kirkaldie 2, J. Chandler 4, M. Stiffarm 28, T. Werk 0, M. Stiffary 0.

Box Elder 78, Fort Benton 63

Box Elder 19 24 18 17 - 78

Fort Benton 15 11 16 21 - 63

Fort Benton - Cassi Nack 5, McKenzie Clark 4, Aspen Giese 20, Lean Gannon 16, Maci Molinario 8, Megan Clark 2, Abby Clark 8.

Box Elder - Sarah Parisian 11, Eve The Boy 3, Joelnell Momberg 22, Lilly Gopher 35, Maddie Wolf Chief 7.

Harlem 74, Glasgow 34

Harlem 28 20 16 10 - 74

Glasgow 9 8 9 8 - 34

Glasgow - Keeley Fossum 6, Anika Peters 8, Tehya Campbell 6, Abrianiana Nielsen 1, Taylor Pederson 4, Tyann Graham 2, Josie Kolstad 3, Laura Ross 4.

Harlem - Skylee Dirden 16, Taya Trottier 12, Taeshon Scheaffer 6, Talks Different 3, Melony Fetter 11, Aria Owens 4, L'Tia Lawrence 20, Mackenzie Doney 2.

Malta 62, Rocky Boy 27

Rocky Boy 5 10 6 6 - 27

Malta 19 14 15 14 - 62

Rocky Boy - Sasha Coffee 5, Kirsten Lamere 4, N. Standing Rock 2, Jeralyn Parker 8, Rochelle Pease 8.

Malta - E. Smith 10, A. Wiese 3, K. Denham 9, K. Marks 7, R. Mortenson 11, K. Schipman 5, N. Young 4, C. Garfield 11.

SATURDAY

Box Elder 68, Big Sandy 29

Big Sandy 10 7 10 2 - 29

Box Elder 24 24 13 7 - 68

Big Sandy - Amanda Cline 7, Jaylyn Cline 4, Lainey Gregory 12, Jaynee Ophus 6.

Box Elder - Tessa Big Knife 4, Sarah Parisian 10, Eve The Boy 7, Maddie Wolf Chief 11, Lilly Gopher 13, Kyla Momberg 7, Joelnell Momberg 8, Zayna Henderson 2, Brittany Lafromboise 1.

North Star 55, CJI 29

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 11 7 2 9 - 29

North Star 17 13 15 10 - 55

North Star - J. Wendland 12, K. Wolery 6, P. Peterson 9, T. Hudson 8, R. Watson 1, S. O'Neil 1, K, Sattorina 4, K. Domire 8, S. Borlaug 6.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness - Averie Mattson 4, Tatum Hull 10, H. Nelson 2, Peyton Hawks 3, Abby Fraser 10.

Fort Benton 62, Hays-Lodge Pole 20

HLP 3 7 5 5 - 20

Fort Benton 24 16 16 6 - 62

Fort Benton - Cassi Nack 2, McKenzie Clark 5, Aspen Giese 22, Ashlee Wang 4, Maci Molinario 2, Megan Clark 1, Lean Gannon 17, Abby Clark 9.

Hays-Lodge Pole - T. Morgan 2, K. Perez 4, M. Stiffarm 7, J. Chandler 4, L. Kirkaldie 3.

Turner 58, Chinook 42

Turner 7 16 25 10 - 58

Chinook 3 11 8 18 - 42

Chinook - Megan Molyneaux 2, Ginger Hauer 12, Kourtney Hanson 5, Delaney Kellam 2, Ashley MacLeod 8, Lily Surber 4, Rachel Gunderson 4, Allison Powell 5.

Turner - Raegan Conlan 12, Sarah Billmayer 15, Rylee Conlan 2, Melanie Watkins 4, Brandy Calvert 7, Laci M 2, Brooke R 2 Shyan Krass 14.