Hi-Line Girls: Wildcats win back-to-back big games

The stretch run of the girls high school basketball season has arrived on the Hi-Line. District tournaments are less than a month away, and that means, every game is a big one from here on out.

That was the case last week, where the Hi-Line was busy with hoops action.

It started last Thursday night with Rocky Boy falling to District 1B rival Fairfield, 50-30. Rochelle Pease scored 11 points in the loss for Rocky Boy.

There were plenty of key games in the 9C last week as well. Turner had two of those big games, starting with a 68-53 win over North Star Friday night. The Tornadoes used a 25-13 third quarter to put the Knights away. Shyan Krass led three Tornadoes in double figures with 22 points, while Raegan Conlan scored 17 and Sarah Billmayer chipped in with 14. Shayla Borlaug had a big outing for the Knights with 24 points.

Friday night also saw Fort Benton take care of Big Sandy, 69-20. The Longhorns started the game on a 22-4 run and got 18 points by Aspen Giese. Amanda Cline led the Pioneers with six.

Box Elder continued to crush the 9C opposition Friday night with a 75-13 trouncing of Chester-Joplin-Inverness. The Box Elder offense was its usual self, with Lilly Gopher scoring 20 points, Maddie Wolf Chief scoring 13 and Kyla Momberg adding 10. But the bears were also stout on defense, allowing the Hawks just one point the entire second half. Abby Fraser led CJI with four points.

Chinook got an important win Friday night, as the Sugarbeeters avenged an earlier loss to Hays-Lodge Pole. On the road, Chinook beat the Thunderbirds 41-33. The Beeters led 25-15 at the half, and never let HLP come all the way back. Kourtney Hanson poured in 19 points for Chinook, while Mulleah Stiffarm scored 13 for the T-Birds.

In Class B action, it was a huge weekend for the Harlem Wildcats. On Friday night, Harlem took care of arch rival Malta 62-40, with Taya Trottier, L'Tia Lawrence and Skylee Dirden all scoring in double digits.

But, Harlem pulled off an even bigger win Saturday night when the Wildcats knocked off top-ranked Wolf Point 53-50 in a big District 2B showdown. Harlem led 25-20 at the break, and while the Wolves clawed their way back into the game in the fourth stanza, Harlem held on for the big victory. Dirden scored a game-high 28 points to lead Harlem, while Lawrence added 19.

Back in the 9C Saturday night, Box Elder got a stern test from North Star, but the Bears still prevailed 78-63. The Knights trailed just 17-16 after the first quarter, but, Box Elder scored 43 points over the next 16 minutes. Joelnell Momberg scored 28 points for the Bears, while Lilly Gopher added 19 and Eve The Boy scored 12. Shayla Borlaug continued her big weekend with 23 points for North Star, while Jade Wendland and Paij Peterson each scored 14.

In what was the biggest 9C game Saturday night, Fort Benton ended up having little trouble at Turner. The Longhorns used a 13-5 run in the second quarter to pull away from the Tornadoes, 57-39. Aspen Giese scored 17 points to lead three Longhorns in double figures. Sarah Billmayer paced the Tornadoes with 13.

Saturday night also saw Chinook win its second 9C game of the weekend. The Beeters topped Big Sandy 44-24, with a 10-2 run at the start of the game. Kourtney Hanson scored 15 points and Rachel Gunderson added 12 for the Beeters, while Amanda Cline led Big Sandy with eight.

HLP also bounced back Saturday night, with a 44-28 win over CJI. The T-Birds trailed 8-2 after the first quarter, and 17-12 at the half, but, they outscored the Hawks 32-11 the rest of the way. Latasha Kirkaldie scored 11 points for HLP in the win, while Aaliyah Stanford scored 12 for CJI.

Back in the 1B Saturday night, Rocky Boy suffered another conference loss, as the Morning Stars fell to Shelby 62-41. The Coyotes started the game on a 22-2 run and Rocky Boy never recovered. Sasha Coffee led the Morning Stars with 17 points, while Kirsten Lamere added 12.

THURSDAY

Fairfield 50, Rocky Boy 30

Rocky Boy 12 6 4 8 - 30

Fairfield 16 10 14 10 - 50

Fairfield - Kenna Pitcher 21, Taylor Simmons 7, Cheyenne Maddox 5, Kyler Burke 4, Madison Rosenbaum 4, Emily Clotfelter 3, Hanna Peterman 2, Naomi Wolf 2, Alexis McWilliams 2.

Rocky Boy - Rochelle Pease 11, Mariah Arkinson 7, Jeralyn Parker 6, Sasha Coffee 6.

FRIDAY

Turner 68, North Star 53

Turner 12 15 25 16 - 68

North Star 9 12 13 19 - 53

North Star - S. Borlaug 24, K. Wolery 10, P. Peterson 7, T. Hudson 6, J. Wendland 4, K. Domire 2.

Turner - Shyan Krass 22, Raegan Conlan 17, Sarah Billmayer 14, Melanie Watkins 9, Brooke Reed 4 ,. Rylee Conlan 2.

Harlem 62, Malta 40

Harlem 20 13 19 10 - 62

Malta 10 4 17 9 - 40

Malta - Raina Mortenson 13, Kelbee Denham 10, Kyleigh Shipman 5, Khloe Markls 4, Carly Garfield 4, Justine Lamb 3.

Harlem - Taya Trottier 17, Skylee Dirden 14, L'Tia Lawrence 14, Aria Owens 7, Taeschon Schaeffer 5, Melony Fetter 4.

Fort Benton 69, Big Sandy 20

Big Sandy 4 2 5 9 - 20

Fort Benton 22 18 19 10 - 69

Fort Benton - Aspen Giese 18, Maci Molinario 10, Megan Clark 9, Leah Gannon 9, McKenzie Clark 8, Abby Clark 6, McKenna Hnaford 5, Ashlee Wong 2, Hadley Cook 2.

Big Sandy - Amanda Cline 6, Laynee Ophus 4, Madison Terry 3, Lainey Gregory 3, Gracie Funke 2, Jaylyn Cline 2.

Chinook 41, Hays-Lodge Pole 33

Chinook 10 15 4 12 - 41

HLP 4 11 10 8 - 33

HLP - Mulleah Stiffarm 13, Latasha Kirkaldie 7, Sierra Chandler 4, T. Morgan 3, J. Gray 1, K. Perez 1.

Chinook - K. Hanson 19, R. Gunderson 6, G. Hauer 4, A. MacLeod 3, M. Molyneaux 2, L. Surber 2.

Box Elder 75, CJI 13

CJI 9 3 1 0 - 13

Box Elder 28 21 17 9 - 75

Box Elder - Lilly Gopher 20, Maddie Wolf Chief 13, Kyla Momberg 10, Joelnell Momberg 8, Sarah Parisian 6, Angela Gopher 6, Zayna Henderson 4, Talyssa Oats-Horn 2, Brandy Lafromboise 2.

CJI - Abby Fraser 4, Haddie Woods 3, Aaliyah Standiford 2, Molly Nelson 2, Peyton Hawks 2.

SATURDAY

Hays-Lodge Pole 44, CJI 28

HLP 2 10 12 20 - 44

CJI 8 9 4 7 - 28

CJI - Aaliyah Standiford 12, Peyton Hawks 7, Haddie Woods 6, Averie Mattson 2, Molly Nelson 1.

HLP - T. Morgan 13, L. Kirkaldie 11, S. Chandler 5, J. Chandler 4, J. Gray 4, N. Shambo 3, L. Pretty Paint 2, J. Werk 2.

Chinook 44, Big Sandy 24

Big Sandy 2 10 4 8 - 24

Chinook 10 7 10 17 - 44

Chinook - Kourtney Hanson 15, Rachel Gunderson 12, Ashley MacLeod 5, Link Johnson 4, Megan Molyneaux 4, Allison Powell 2, Lil Surber 2.

Big Sandy - A. Cline 8, L. Gregory 7, L. Ophus 5, J. Cline 3, K. Sternberg 1.

Shelby 62, Rocky Boy 41

Shelby 22 18 14 8 - 62

Rocky Boy 2 11 11 17 - 41

Rocky Boy - Sasha Coffee 17, Kirsten Lamere 13, Rochelle Pease 6, Mariah Arkinson 3, Kodee Henderson 2.

Shelby - Brogan McCallister 18, Maddison Underal 15, Skyler Martin 14, Bailey Johnson 7, Avery Hooper 5, Kendall Anderson 3.

Harlem 53, Wolf Point 50

Harlem 14 11 18 10 - 53

Wolf Point 10 11 17 12 - 50

Wolf Point - Imani Bighorn 24, Mary Bighorn 8, Mya Fourstar 7, Aluyssa Archdale 7, Senorah Wells 4.

Harlem - Skylee Dirden 28, L'Tia Lawrence 19, Taya Trottier 3, Kirstyn Kittson 2, Melony Fetter 1.

Box Elder 78, North Star 63

Box Elder 17 23 20 18 - 78

North Star 16 15 15 17 - 63

North Star - S. Borlaug 23, J. Wendland 14, P. Peterson 14, K. Wohler 6, T. Hudson 5, O. King 1.

Box Elder - Joelnell Momberg 28, Lilly Gopher 19, Eve The Boy 12, Maddie Wolf Chief 7, Kyla Momberg 6, Zayna Henderson 2, Sarah Parisian 2, Talyssa Oats-Horn 2.

Fort Benton 57, Turner 39

Fort Benton 16 13 11 17 - 57

Turner 10 5 13 11 - 39

Turner - Sarah Billmayer 13, Shyan Krass 7, Brooke Reed 6, Rylee Conlan 6, Melanie Watkins 4, Raegan Conlan 3.

Fort Benton - Aspen Giese 17, Maci Molinario 12, McKenize Clark 11, Megan Clark 7, Abby Clark 4, Cassi Nack 4, Leah Gannon 2.