Box Elder girls get 2nd; Chinook, HLP advance to all-9C chipper

GREAT FALLS -- The Box Elder girls basketball team was hoping the third time would finally be a charm when it came to winning the Northern C championship.

However, Roy-Winifred had other plans and the Outlaws got 18 points from Dyauni Boyce and 17 from Trinity Edwards in a 51-45 win Friday night at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. Box Elder, on the other hand, was led by Sarah Parisian and Lily Gopher who each finished with 11 points. A big key for Roy-Winifred was limiting Joelnell Momberg to seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. As a team, Box Elder shot 34.8 percent and made just 3-of-18 from 3-point range.

"I don't know whether to be happy or mad," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "I am disappointed that we weren't able to get it done but the good thing is that we are advancing. We played two good days of basketball. We just haven't been able to put three good games together in a row and we are going to have to figure out how to do that."

In the third quarter though, following a 3-point play by Gopher and a layup by Maddie Wolf Chief, the Bears seemed to have things rolling as they took an eight-point lead, 36-28 with 2:22 left in the third.

However, by the time the fourth quarter started, the Outlaws were within four points and when Edwards connected for two, the lead was down to one. Roy-Winifred overtook Box Elder with two free throws but the Bears answered quickly to reclaim the lead, only to see Boyce bury a triple the next time down, taking the lead back.

The two teams exchanged free throws, keeping the Outlaws advantage at two when Cassie Smith hit her second trey of the night. From there, Roy-Winifred hit some free throws and ran out the clock, handing the Bears another heartbreaking defeat in the Northern C championship game.

In terms of heartbreaking defeats, the Turner Tornadoes suffered one of those Thursday night at the hands of Box Elder in the semifinals. However, despite having to turn around and play the next morning, the Tornadoes kept their season alive, beating Fort Benton, the 9C champs, 69-60 Friday morning in loser-out action.

Shyan Krass was a monster for Turner, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sarah Billmayer also scored 20 points thanks to a 7-of-10 showing at the free throw line. Rylee Conlan also scored 12 points in the win.

The win over Fort Benton got Turner into the consolation game against Belt. Both teams were hoping for a win and a Roy-Winifred loss, which would have forced a challenge game and for Turner, which made it to the consolation round for the first time since the 1980s, a divisional trophy would have meant a lot too. Unfortunately, for the Tornadoes, it just wasn't meant to be as the Huskies overwhelmed Turner early and didn't look back in a 50-26 win.

"There is just a lot of heart and desire with this group," Turner head coach Julie Welsh said. "These girls have been playing basketball forever and it's a camaraderie. It's a family. It really is. We say family in every huddle and I am just so proud of them. They came to town against every big dog in the state and showed everybody they belong here."

Chinook and Hays-Lodge Pole both advance

Going into the Northern C boys divisional tournament, the Chinook Sugarbeeters were always the favorite.

Therefore, it was no shock to see the Beeters roll into the Northern C championship title game following a dominant 60-24 win over Belt Friday night at the Four Seasons Arena.

Chinook playing Saturday night isn't surprising, but to some, their opponent, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds might seem like a surprise. Yet, when you consider that the 9C is 5-1 at the tournament following semifinal wins by Chinook and the Thunderbirds, who knocked off Roy-Winifred 54-45, it makes an all-9C championship tilt even more fitting.

"It's going to be great," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said of meeting a district foe in the Northern C championship game. "I am proud of Derrick Shambo and the T-Birds and what they have done. We are going to represent the 9C as best we can and hopefully, we will come away with a victory."

For Chinook, the win helped erase the memory of consecutive losses in 2017 and 2018 in the Northern C semifinals. The Beeters also enacted some revenge on Belt, the team that edged out Chinook in the Northern C consolation game last season. With that win, the Huskies challenged and went to state, denying Chinook the chance to do so.

This time around, however, Chinook dominated from the opening tip. The Beeters scored the first 11 points of the game and led 13-2 at the end of the first quarter. At the half, thanks to a dominant defensive effort in which the two-time 9C champs allowed Belt to score just six points on 3-of-11 shooting, the Beeters built a 25-6 lead.

"Defense has been a focus of ours all the way back to the summer," Seymour said. "It's something we have stressed all season. We worked hard and have very competitive practices and we have really come a long way."

In the second half, Isaac Bell added 10 points, including a 3-pointer and a slam dunk late in the fourth that was the exclamation point on the Chinook's 23rd (23-0) win the of season. Bell finished the game with 14 points, while Brendan Edwards, who scored six of the first eight points in the semifinal, matched him with 14 and also added five rebounds. Reese Elliot also had a solid night with 11, highlighted by yet another slam dunk, his third of the tournament.

"We aren't celebrating anything yet," Seymour said. "We have a Hays (Lodge-Pole) team to deal with (Saturday). They are playing really well and we have to be ready for them."

Speaking of HLP, the T-Birds, the third-place team from the 9C, raced out to a 17-8 lead over Roy-Winifred, the champion of the 8C. The Outlaws trimmed the lead to 30-25 at the half, but thanks to four scorers in double figures, HLP held on for the 54-45 win.

Kyle Young Jr. was the top scorer for the T-Birds in the win with 13 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. Jeremy Pretty Paint had his second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kenneth Black Crow Jr. managed his own double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Gilbert Snow also reached double figures with 11 points on three treys in the win for HLP.

While HLP and Chinook will play for the Northern C championship Saturday night, another 9C team is still in the state tournament hunt and that's Fort Benton, which kept its hopes of advancing past this weekend alive, by way of a 58-34 win over Sunburst. The Longhorns got 17 points from Garrett Diekhans and 11 from Hayden Diekhans.

Fort Benton will play Belt Saturday morning at 11. With a win in that game and in the consolation game, the Longhorns would be able to challenge either HLP or Chinook for the second state tourney berth. That game, if necessary, would be played Monday night. The Northern C championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m.