HLP soars, Fort Benton rolls

GREAT FALLS - Winning the last three District 9C championships has been great and all, but the Fort Benton Longhorns have always wanted more.

And in each of the last two seasons, they've come up short in that mission at divisionals..

But on Thursday afternoon, in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Northern C girls tournament at the Four Seasons Arena, the Longhorns wasted little time in making a bold statement.

Behind the explosive play of senior twins McKenzie and Megan Clark and a suffocating defense, the Longhorns clobbered the Simms Tigers, the No. 2 seed from the District 10C, 64-18. The win pushed Fort Benton's record to 22-0, and set up a huge meeting with the Belt Huskies in tonight's semifinals.

It was an impressive performance by the Longhorns. McKenzie Clark hit an early 3-pointers to give Fort Benton a 15-5 lead after eight minutes. But then came a deluge. Clark scored eight straight points as part of a Fort Benton 15-0 spurt in the first four minutes of the second quarter. But the Horns weren't done. They forced 22 turnovers in the first 16 minutes, and behind threes from Emerson Giese, Clark and McKenna Hanford, the Longhorns went on another 15-0 run to end the half at 45-11 and essentially put the game out of reach.

Clark was the catalyst on offense for Fort Benton, as she poured in 24 points. Megan Clark added 19 points, while the Longhorns shot 47 percent and made five triples.

But as good as the Horns were on offense, their defense may have been even better. They forced Simms into 36 turnovers, while holding the Tigers to just 28 percent shooting.

"This crew is a hard-working group," head coach Cassie Pimperton said. "They thrive on playing defense, they thrive on playing hard."

Now, the Longhorns will have to play hard, and play their best as they take on 21-1 8C champion Belt tonight at 7. The Huskies are hungry given what's happened to them at the last two divisional tournaments, and it's the game everyone has been waiting for, and it's one Pimperton said her team is excited for.

"Belt is obviously a great team," she said. "It will come down to players making plays. It will be a matter of who plays better. It's divisionals, we didn't expect it to be a cakewalk. So this is a game we're looking forward too. We're looking forward to the challenge.

T-Birds soar into the semis

The Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds hadn't been to the Northern C in 33 years, and hadn't won in that long until Wednesday night. Now though, they're in the semifinals and a game away from an incredible state tournament berth.

And getting to the semifinals turned out to be an easy flight for HLP after the T-Birds crushed 10C champion Augusta 62-51 late Thursday night in the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

Coming off their rousing win over DGS Wednesday night, HLP played even better in their second game at the Northern C since 1987.

Against the Elks, who were making their first Northern C trip in more than three decades as well, HLP came out on fire as Nashone Shambo scored early, and Ella Messerly came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers as HLP scored the first 18 points of the game, and eventually led 22-1 after the first quarter.

Messerly hit another three early in the second frame, and while Augusta finally got moving on offense with a 10-0 run, Mulleah Stiffarm drilled a triple and the T-Birds still held a commanding 38-13 lead at halftime.

The Elks did play much better in the second half, but it was a case of too little too late, as the dream postseason run for HLP continued.

"I knew they were ready, just by the way they were behaving," HLP head coach Cory Morgan said to the media after the game. "Nice and calm. Just doing what they love, enjoying themselves and playing basketball."

Stiffarm led the way for the T-Birds, with 17 points, while Messerly scored 12. The win pushed HLP to new heights, having not been this deep into the postseason in more than 30 years. But, in tonight's 8:30 semifinal, with a berth in the championship game, and perhaps the Class C state tourney on the line, HLP will play a familiar foe. The T-Birds lost to Roy-Winifred twice during the regular season, but, they area excited about the opportunity to take another shot at the Outlaws, who are the defending Northern C champs.

"The girls are real excited to be playing Roy-Winifred again," Morgan said. "We're just going to keep doing what we're doing, quarter by quarter, game by game."

Tornadoes turned away

There's a reason the Roy-Winifred Outlaws had 18 wins coming into the 2020 Northern C divisional tournament. There's a reason they're the defending divisional champs, too.

And on Thursday night inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, the Turner Tornadoes found out why.

In their third straight appearance at the Northern C, Turner dropped its opener to Roy-Winifred 50-35, moving the Tornadoes, who finished second at last week's 9C tourney, into a loser-out game this morning.

And while Turner has had its best regular season in ages, the Tornadoes were overmatched by the Outlaws by the end of the first half.

Sarah Billmayer did keep things close early on, as Turner trailed just 10-9 after one. From there however, Olivia Greer nailed a couple of 3-pointers, and Roy-Winifred's defense clamped down on the Tornadoes in a 15-5 second-quarter run. Turner would be down 25-14 at halftime, and the Outlaws only stretched that lead in the third quarter.

Billmayer and Shyan Krass drilled threes in the fourth quarter, and at one point, Turner had the lead down to 10, but the Outlaws were too much down the stretch, as the front line of 5-11 Dayauni Boyce, 6-0 sophomore Madeline Heggem and 6-2 eighth-grader Isabelle Heggem controlled the paint, and the battle of the boards for the Outlaws, who out-rebounded Turner 35-29.

The Tornadoes (14-8) did get 15 points from Billmayer, but it wasn't enough as Greer scored a game-high 16 and the Roy-Winifred defense held Turner to just 29 percent shooting.

Fort Benton 64, Simms 18

Fort Benton 15 30 10 9 - 64

Simms 5 6 2 5 - 18

Fort Benton - Cassie Nack 2, McKenzie Clark 24, Aspen Giese 5, Maci Molinario 2, Megan Clark 19, Emerson Giese 5, McKenna Hanford 7.

Simms - Karlie Sivumaki 2, Janessa Willekes 4, Draylen Sawyer 6, Taylee Sawyer 2, Baylee Herman 2, Laura Zietzke 2.

3-pointers (McKenzie Clark 2, Megan Clark 1, E, Giese 1, Hanford 1); Fouls: FB 7, Simms 9; Fouled out: None.

Roy-Winifred 50, Turner 35

Turner 9 5 7 14 - 35

Roy-Winifred 10 15 13 12 - 50

Turner - Emma Billmayer 5, Sarah Billmayer 15, Brandy Calvert 4, Laci Maloney 2, Brooke Reed 4, Shyan Krass 5.

R-W - Cassie Smith 3, Olivia Greer 16, Trinity Edwards 2, Laynee Elness 13, Madeline Heggem 3, Dyauni Boyce 9, Isabelle Heggem 4.

3-pointers: (E. Billmayer 1, S. Billmayer 2, Krass 1, Smith 1, Greer 4, Elens 2). Fouls: Turner 10, R-W 8; Fouled out: None.

Hays-Lodge Pole 62, Augusta 51

Hays-Lodge Pole 22 16 8 16 - 62

Augusta 1 12 11 27 - 51

HLP - Mulleeuh Stiffam 17; Ella Messerly 12; Judemia Gray 8; Jaedyn Chandler 7; Sierra Chandler 6; Kassi Perez 6; Tahtianna Whitecow 4; Nashone Shambo 2.

AUGUSTA - Olivia Isakson 16; Payton Levine 15; Rylee Shalz 8; Jae Allen 6; Bradi Hill 6.