Hi-Line Girls: Wildcats, Longhorns and Bears all on a roll

The last weekend in January on the hardwood didn't just mean exciting girls basketball games. It also means the postseason is just two weeks away. So, the race for regular season championships and district tournament seeding is coming down to the wire.

Last week's action on the Hi-Line started all the way back on Tuesday when Harlem and Rocky Boy renewed their rivalry. And it was the red-hot Wildcats who came away with the win. Harlem beat Rocky Boy 62-42 in Harlem, with L'Tia Lawrence leading four Wildcats in double digits with 20 points. Rochelle Pease paced the Morning Stars with 14 and Kirsten Lamere added 13.

The 9C got its week going last Thursday with North Star edging Hays-Lodge Pole 54-42. The Knights started the game on a 11-2 run and never trailed. Shayla Borlaug and Kenidee Wolery each scored 12 points for the Knights, while Janae Chandler scored 11 for the Thunderbirds.

Thursday night also saw Chinook bounce Chester-Joplin-Inverness 44-25 in Chester. Kourtney Hanson led a balanced Chinook attack with 12 points, while Abby Fraser scored 12 for the Hawks.

A busy weekend started Friday night with the Fort Benton Longhorns thumping North Star 71-35 in Fort Benton. The Longhorns started the game on a 21-6 run and never looked back. Aspen Giese led the way for the Horns with 18 points, while Leah Gannon and Mckenzie Clark each scored 12. Kenidee Wolery led the Knights with 10 points.

In non-conference play Friday, Turner took care of rival Dodson 80-61. The Tornadoes led 27-11 after the first quarter, and continued to pull away in spite of Dodson's Kailee Henry scoring a season-high 41 points. Turner got 25 points from Shyan Krass and 23 by Sarah Billmayer.

In other non-conference action in the 9C Friday, Box Elder stayed undefeated by crushing Geraldine-Highwood 67-15, and Big Sandy fell to DGS 65-47. Rocky Boy also lost a District 1B game to Conrad Friday night 55-51.

Things certainly didn't go as well for Conrad on Saturday night, though. The Cowgirls traveled to Fort Benton and were absolutely blown out by the Longhorns, 71-17. Fort Benton outscored its Class B rival 45-10 in the first half, and got 14 points from Leah Gannon in the easy win.

Back in the 9C Saturday night, Box Elder rolled to a 74-30 road win at Chinook. The Bears started the game on a 20-3 run. Joelnell Momberg pumped in 23 points for the Bears, while Kourtney Hanson scored 12 for the Sugarbeeters.

HLP returned to its winning ways Saturday night with a 71-31 thrashing of Big Sandy. The much-improved T-Birds led 22-5 after the first quarter and rolled from there. Mulleah Stiffarm, Sierra Chandler and Rayleigh Kirkaldie each scored 10 points for the T-Birds, while Jaylyn Cline had a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers.

Saturday night also saw Turner keep ahold of third place in the 9C with a 61-25 home win against CJI. The Tornadoes jumped out to a 26-9 lead in the first half en route to the win. Sarah Billmayer poured in a game-high 20 points for Turner, while Peyton Hawks had an outstanding game for CJI with 16.

Harlem's winning streak also continued on Saturday with a 72-54 non-conference win over Cut Bank. The Wildcats broke open a tight game in the fourth quarter with a 20-12 flourish. L'Tia Lawrence went off on the Wolves as well, scoring 33 points.

TUESDAY

Harlem 62, Rocky Boy 42

Rocky Boy 8 7 10 17 - 42

Harlem 17 12 18 15 - 62

Harlem: Skylee Dirden 17, Melony Fetter 10, Taya Trottier 12, Aria Owens 3, L'Tia Lawrence 20.

Rocky Boy: Mariah Arkinson 1, Sasha Coffee 8, Rochelle Pease 14, Kristie Parker 2, Jeralyn Parker 4, Kirsten Lamere 13.

THURSDAY

Chinook 44, CJI 25

CJI - Abby Fraser 12, Haddie Woods 8, Molly Nelson 3, Peyton Hawks 2.

Chinook - Kourtney Hanson 12, Lincy Johnson 7, Ashley MacLeod 6, Rachel Gunderson 5, Ginger Hauer 5, Allison Powell 3, Lily Surfer 3, Megan Molyneux 3.

North Star 54, Hays-Lodge Pole 42

HLP 4 8 15 15 - 42

North Star 11 13 13 17 - 54

North Star - S. Borlaug 12, K. Wolery 12, J. Wendland 11, P. Peterson 10, K. Domire 4, R. Watson 3, L. Sattrovia 2.

HLP - J. Chandler 11, M. Stiffarm 9, J. Gray 6, T. Morgan 6, L. Kirkaldie 4, K. Perez 3, N. Shambo 2, R. Kirkaldie 1.

FRIDAY

Turner 80, Dodson 61

Dodson 11 15 19 16 - 61

Turner 27 19 19 15 - 80

Turner - Shyan Krass 25, Sarah Billmayer 23, Raegan Conlan 9, Rylee Conlan 8, Brooke Reed 6, Laci Maloney 4, Brandy Calvert 2.

Dodson - Kailee Henrey 41, Ella Messerly 11, Christina Jaynes 7, Lindsay Fetter2.

Fort Benton 71, North Star 35

North Star 6 10 8 10 - 35

Fort Benton 21 19 20 11 - 71

Fort Benton - Aspen Giese 18, Leah Gannon 12, Mckenzie Clark 12, Cassi Nack 9, Megan Clark 7, Maci Molinario 5, McKenna Hanford 3, Cloe Kalanick 3, Abby Clark 2.

North Star - K. Wolery 10, S. Borlaug 8, K. Domire 6, P. Peterson 4, E. Harvey 4, J. Wendland 2, T. Hudson 1.

SATURDAY

Turner 61, CJI 25

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 2 7 6 10 25

Turner 10 16 21 14 - 61

Turner: Raegan Conlan 4, Sarah Billmayer 20, Melanie Watkins 9, Brandy Calvert 3, Brooke Reed 7, Shyan Krass 13, Laci Maloney 5.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness: Haddie Woods 6, Molly Nelson 3, Peyton Hawks 16.

Hays-Lodge Pole 71, Big Sandy 31

Big Sandy 5 8 9 9 - 31

HLP 22 20 18 11 - 71

Hays-Lodgepole: J. Gray 5, J. Chandler 5, Mulleah Stiffarm 10, Latasha Kirkaldie 7, Sierra Chandler 10, N. Shambo 4, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 10, Lakota Pretty Paint 2, Kassie Perez 3, Tahtianna Morgan 13, K. Perez 3, Justice Werk 2.

Big Sandy: Amanda Cline 1, Madison Terry 2, Laynee Ophus 4, Jayiyn Cline 18, Caydence Plenwger 2, Lainey Gregory 4.

Harlem 72, Cut Bank 54

Harlem 18 18 16 20 - 72

Cut Bank 14 13 15 12 - 54

Cut Bank: Jada Doore 12, Brynne Finstad 2, Macee Barry 4, Jazmine Spotted Bear 8, Jaycee Frydenlund 10, Gabby Anato 2, Madi Seifert 5, Falon BigSpring 5, Aryana Black 6.

Harlem: Skylee Dirden 9, Taya Trottier 10, Taeshon Scheaffer 1, Mackenzie Doney 2, S Talks Different 2, Aria Owens 4, Kristyn Kittson 8, L'Tia Lawrence 33, Melony Fetter 3.

Box Elder 74, Chinook 30

Box Elder 20 24 11 19 - 74

Chinook 3 11 9 7 - 30

Chinook: Kourtney Hanson 12, Allison Powell 7, Lily Surber 5, Ginger Hauer 6.

Box Elder: Sarah Parisian 11, Talyssa Oats-Horn 4, Eve The Boy 5, Maddie Wolf Chief 11, Zayna Henderson 2, Angela Gopher 7, Kyla Momberg 2, Joelnell Momberg 23, Britney Lafromboise 3, Lilly Gopher 6.

Fort Benton 71, Conrad 17

Conrad 5 5 2 5 - 17

Fort Benton 25 20 13 13 - 71

Fort Benton: Cassi Nack 6, McKenzie Clark 8, Aspen Giese 13, Maci Molinario 6, McKenna Hanford 4, Lean Gannon 14, Ashlee Wang 4, Cloe Kalanick 3, Hadley Cook 2, Megan Clark 11.

Conrad: Alison Harris 5, Audrey Taylor 0, Lauren Philipps 1, Lakota Becker 3, Taya Dyer 3, Kate Murack 4, Brae Eneboe 3.