Hi-Line Girls: Bears win round two with Longhorns

After an exciting week of girls high school basketball on the Hi-Line, just a handful of games stand between area teams and the 2019 Class C and B postseason.

Last week got started with one of the strongest teams on the Hi-Line, the Harlem Wildcats, who went to Chinook and thumped their old Class B rival, 71-23 Thursday night. The Wildcats started the game on an 18-4 run, then held the Sugarbeeters to just five points in the second half. L'Tia Lawrence and Skylee Dirden each scored 19 points for Harlem, while Kourtney Hanson and Ashley MacLeod scored five each for Chinook.

Another strong team in the area this season, the Turner Tornadoes, started their week off with a 59-38 win at Hays-Lodge Pole Friday night. Turner used a 29-12 run in the second quarter to break the game open. Sarah Billmayer also poured in a game-high 22 points for Turner, while Mulleah Stiffarm and Tahtianna Morgan each scored eight for HLP.

Of course, the game of the week in the 9C was also Friday night, where the Box Elder Bears edged the Fort Benton Longhorns 73-70 in overtime. With the win, Box Elder swept the season series from Fort Benton, and locked up the 9C regular season title.

North Star also grabbed a key 9C win to move into fourth place, as the Knights beat Big Sandy 70-29 Friday night. Paij Peterson scored 16 points and Shayla Borlaug added 14 for the Knights. Jaylynn Cline scored 15 points for the Pioneers.

In a non-conference game Friday night, Chester-Joplin-Inverness was crushed by the Class B Cut Bank Wolves, 64-18. Peyton Hawks scored 15 of CJI's 18 points in the defeat.

Back in the Class B ranks Friday night, Harlem earned a tight win over Glasgow, 54-52, while Malta raced past Rocky Boy, 74-50. Rochelle Pease paced the Morning Stars with 18 points, while Kirsten Lamere added 13.

On a busy Saturday night in the 9C, North Star stayed strong with a 69-24 thrashing of arch rival CJI. The Knights used a 17-2 run in the second quarter to break the game wide open, and got 15 points apiece from Jade Wendland and Kenidee Wolery. Peyton Hawks again led CJI with 15 points.

Fort Benton bounced right back from its heartbreaking loss to Box Elder, with a 76-35 rout of HLP Saturday night. The game was close for a half, but the Longhorns went on a 24-2 run in the third quarter to put it away. Aspen Giese led the Longhorns with 13 points, while Latasha Kirkaldie scored eight for the Thunderbirds.

Box Elder pushed its record to 16-0 on the season with an easy 70-15 win over Big Sandy Saturday night, while Turner was home to host rival Chinook, and the Tornadoes ran past the Sugarbeeters 55-18. Turner held Chinook scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the game, while Sarah Billmayer led three Tornadoes in double figures with 16 points. Brooke Reed and Melanie Watkins also scored 10 each, while Megan Molyneaux led Chinook with seven.

THURSDAY

Harlem 71, Chinook 23

Harlem 18 17 19 17 - 71

Chinook 4 14 4 1 - 23

Harlem - K. Kittson 2, S. Dirden 19, M. Fetter 5, L. Lawrence 19, T. Trottier 17, T. Schaeffer 3, A. Owens 4, S. Talks Different 2.

Chinook - M. Molyneaux 3, K. Hanson 5, A. MacLeod 5, L. Surber 4, L. Johnson 4, R. Gunderson 2.

FRIDAY

Turner 59, Hays-Lodge Pole 38

Turner 12 29 4 14 - 59

HLP 9 7 12 10 - 38

HLP - Mulleah Stiffarm 8, Tahtianna Morgan 8, Latasha Kirkaldie 6, Kassie Perez 4, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 3, Justice Werk 3, Shaunte Hawley 1, Sierra Chandler 1.

Turner - Sarah Billmayer 22, Shyan Krass 17, Raegan Conland 7, Rylee Conlan 7, Melanie Watkins 4, Brooke Reed 2.

Malta 74, Rocky Boy 50

Rocky Boy 16 12 10 12 - 50

Malta 17 20 22 15 - 74

Malta - Erica Smith 19, Kelley Denham 19, Kyleigh Shipman 13, Kloie Marks 11, Justine Lamb 4, Raina Mortenson 3, Sidney Meeks 2, Wylee Young 2, Carly Garfield 1.

Rocky Boy - Rochelle Pease 18, Kirsten Lamere 13, Jeralyn Parker 8, Sasha Coffee 5, Jourdai Coffee 2, Neferti Standing Rock 2, Kristie Parker 2.

Cut Bank 64, CJI 18

Cut Bank 26 11 25 2 - 64

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 3 9 4 2 - 18

CJI - Peyton Hawks 15, Abby Fraser 2, Tatum Hull 1.

Cut Bank - Jaycee Frydenliund 14, Madi Seifert 10, Jada Doore 9, Aryana Black 6, Jazmine Spotted Bear 6, Falon BigSpring 5, Gabby Anato 5, Macee Berry 5.

North Star 70, Big Sandy 29

Big Sandy 6 8 5 10 - 29

North Star 10 14 22 24 - 70

North Star - P. Peterson 16, S. Borlaug 14, J. Wendland 9, R. Watson 9, K. Wohler 7, K. Domire 6, O. King 5, L. Sattoriva 2, E. Harvey 2.

Big Sandy - J. Cline 15, A. Cline 9, L. Gregory 3, L. Ophus 1, G. Finke 1.

SATURDAY

Fort Benton 76, Hays-Lodge Pole 35

Fort Benton 15 16 24 21 - 76

Hays-Lodge Pole 8 16 2 9 - 35

HLP - Latasha Kirkaldie 10, J. Chandler 8, Mulleah Stiffarm 7, J. Gray 4, K. Perez 4, Sierra Chandler 2.

Fort Benton - Aspen Giese 13, McKenzie Clark 10, Maci Molinario 9, Cassi Nack 9, Abby Clark 7, Leah Gannon 7, Ashlee Wang 7, McKenna Hanford 5, Megan Clark 4, Cloe Kalanick 3, Samantha Vielleux 3.

North Star 69, CJI 24

North Star 14 17 20 18 - 69

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 7 2 9 6 - 24

North Star - J. Wendland 15, K. Wolery 15, S. Borlaug 13, P. Peterson 9, K. Domire 9, R. Watson 4, O. King 2, J. Sattoriva 2.

CJI - Peyton Hawks 12, Abby Fraser 5, Tatum Hull 2, Emma Wickum 2, Molly Nelson 2, Haddie Woods 1.

Turner 55, Chinook 18

Chinook 0 0 12 6 - 18

Turner 19 26 4 6 - 55

Turner - Sarah Billmayer 16, Brooke Reed 10, Melanie Watkins 10, Shyan Krass 6, Rylan Conlan 5, Lacey Hickel 4, Brandi Calvert 2, Raegan Conlan 2.

Chinook - Megan Molyneaux 7, Kourtney Hanson 5, Delaney Kellam 2, Lily Surber 2.