Longhorns own The Corral

When it comes to Fort Benton and Box Elder, the games are always exciting, but for the second straight season, it was the Longhorns who left the Havre High gymnasium with the District 9C championship trophy.

And unlike last year, when Aspen Giese hit a buzzer-beater in overtime to win, there wasn't nearly as much drama, as Fort Benton led wire-to-wire in what was a 56-48 victory Friday night in the 9C girls championship game.

The title was the third in five years for the Longhorns, who have met Box Elder in the title game four times in five seasons. It was also the third straight win in the postseason for the Longhorns over the Bears, the defending Class C state champions. Fort Benton also knocked Box Elder out of the Northern C in 2017, along with winning last season's district championship game.

"This is the proudest I have ever been of a team," Fort Benton head coach Cassie Pimperton said. "The second half wasn't pretty by any means, but they gutted it out and Cassie Nack, she was big all game. She guarded their best player and locked her down. She nailed some key free throws. I am just proud of them."

While the Longhorns used 10 different players in the championship game and got points from nine of them, there was maybe no player that contributed more to the win than Cassie Nack, who scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists and had two steals.

Nack was also especially clutch down the stretch, scoring eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter as Box Elder tried to rally from a deficit that was as large as 19 points. Her first field goal in the fourth quarter came when Box Elder was within six points. That was with 5:55 left. Nack knocked down another jumper that put Fort Benton up 10 with just over five minutes to play.

On top of that, Nack made four clutch free throws down the stretch, while helping to limit Joelnell Momberg and Lilly Gopher, Box Elder's two All-State standouts, to a total of just 18 points on 6-of-25 shooting. For most of the night, Nack guarded either one or the other.

"I really like stepping up to a challenge," Nack said. "I just try to come out and play and relax. It was our last game in the tournament, so you just have to put it all out there."

Despite being down 10 with just a few minutes to play, unbeaten Box Elder refused to go away and when Sarah Parisian knocked in a 3-pointer with three minutes left, it cut the lead to five. With 1:29 left to go, the Bears were within three, 49-46. Yet, the Longhorns closed out the game on an 8-2 run, which was capped by a Maci Molinario bucket as time expired on Box Elder's previously unbeaten season (20-1).

"It feels great," Leah Gannon said. "Especially to do it in my senior year."

Gannon, the Fort Benton (19-2) point guard, may have only scored two points, but her contribution to the win was significant. Not only did she dish out six assists and notch five steals, but she also helped the Longhorns manage the Box Elder press, which they did despite turning it over 23 times. For comparison though, the Bears turned it over 24 times. The Bears also made just 28.1 percent of their shots compared to 53.8 for the Longhorns.

Another driving force behind the win was McKenzie Clark. Clark went off in the semifinals for Fort Benton and in the championship game, following an early 3-pointer by Giese, Clark hit from beyond the arc to give the Longhorns a 12-3 lead with 3:12 left in the first quarter. By the end of the first, following buckets by Gannon, Nack and Megan Clark, Fort Benton was up 21-9.

In the second quarter, Kyla Momberg tried to jumpstart a Box Elder comeback with a make from downtown, but she was thwarted by the Clarks, Megan and McKenzie. Megan Clark buried a 3-pointer and her sister hit from deep soon after to give the Longhorns a 29-12 advantage that would turn into a 34-16 lead at the half.

"We needed to get fired up and come out rolling with shots," McKenzie Clark said. "And we started making some and that just got us fired up and excited for each other. We prepared for their press and we just executed."

Box Elder cut the lead in half during the third quarter, thanks in part to a steal and score by Maddie Wolf Chief, which helped shift the momentum back toward the Bears. Down 42-33 at the start of the fourth, Wolf Chief came up big again, knocking down a trey to get Box Elder within six with 7:13 remaining.

In 2018, the Bears rallied from double digits to force overtime in the 9C championship against the Longhorns and it seemed like things were slipping away again. But that's when Nack came through with two jumpers and on the other end, even though the lead got down to three, Box Elder wasn't able to knock down enough big shots when needed to complete the comeback.

"This is one of the toughest districts in the state," Pimperton said. "I think we have proved that and this was big. It is a big moment for these girls and it shows all the hard work that they have put in."

McKenzie Clark led three Fort Benton girls who finished in double figures and she ended up with 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Nack added 12 points, and Moliarnio had 10 and seven rebounds. Kyla Momberg was the top scorer for Box Elder with 11 points. Joelnell Momberg also pitched in with 10 in the loss.

Both teams will head to Great Falls this week for the Northern C Divisional and for Fort Benton, it will begin Wednesday (4 p.m.) against Tri-City or Great Falls Central. Box Elder, the second seed from the 9C, just like last season when the Bears won state, will take on Belt Wednesday morning at 11 in a matchup of the last two state champions.

Fort Benton 56, Box Elder 48 (1st)

Box Elder 9 7 17 15 - 48

Fort Benton 21 13 8 14 - 56

Box Elder - Sarah Parisian 6, Eve The Boy 4, Maddie Wolf Chief 6, Lily Gopher 8, Kyla Momberg 11, Joelnell Momberg 10, Zayna Henderson 3. Totals: 16-57 10-22. 48.

Fort Benton - Cassie Nack 12, McKenzie Clark 13, Ashlee Wang 3, Aspen Giese 5 Abby Clark 10, Maci Molinario 10, Megan Clark 5, Leah Gannon 3, McKenna Hanford 2. 21-39 10-20. 56.

3-pointers: Sarah Parisian 2, Eve The Boy 1, Maddie Wolf Chief 1, McKenzie Clark 2, Aspen Giese 1, Megan Clark 1. Fouls: Box Elder 24, Fort Benton 19. Fouled out -- Wolf Chief.