Fort Benton girls prevail in the "The Rematch"

GREAT FALLS - Fort Benton's hopes of winning its fourth straight District 9C Tournament title were dashed when they were upset by North Star in the championship game Saturday.

The Longhorns rebounded to make a run to the Northern C Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament championship game and waiting for them was none other than North Star. It looked like North Star would get the better of them again as the Knights had control throughout most of the game as they led by nine points with about five minutes remaining in the game.

Hoping to avoid their second straight loss to North Star in a championship game, the Longhorns picked up the intensity on both ends of the floor as they went on an 8-1 run over the next three and a half minutes to cut the lead to one.

"I don't think we ever lost hope throughout the game," said Fort Benton senior Maci Molinario. "We just kept in mind that defense is key. Defense wins games and if we limit their scoring and we work harder on our offense, then we'll get there."

Down one with just over a minute remaining, Cloe Kalanick kicked out to Fort Benton senior Aspen Giese who knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Longhorns the lead. Fort Benton then held on for the 35-31 victory over North Star to get revenge and win the Northern C.

"Coach wanted us to get to the rim, trying to suck in defenders so that we can have open shots on the three," Giese said. "I went over to the corner and (Cloe) kicked me the ball and I hit the shot."

As Northern C champions, Fort Benton will now head to the State Class C Girls' Basketball Tournament, for the first time since the school moved down from Class B.

"I'm happy for the kids," said Fort Benton head coach Cassie Pimperton. "They've worked hard all year. They bought into our plan and what we've done."

Winning the Northern C was special for Giese, especially as a senior who had experienced heartbreak in the tournament multiple times throughout the years.

"I'm so excited. I have wanted this moment for as long as I can remember," Giese said. "We've been denied the last few years repeatedly and so just to finally get here and win, it means so much to us."

Both teams struggled to hit their shots throughout the game. The Longhorns shot 23.4 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Knights shot 25.6 percent from the floor and 35.3 from the free-throw line. Giese led all players with 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field.

North Star will now play Roy-Winifred in a challenge game on Monday at 3:30 p.m. at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena. The winner of that game will clinch the Northern C's second spot in the upcoming Class C state tournament.

"We need to come out with intensity and we can't focus on today's game," said North Star head coach Jennifer Wendland. "It was a hard-fought game and we need to use our energy from this game and bounce forward into Monday's game."

Heading into the state tournament, Pimperton wants her team to focus on the aspects of their game that they struggled with against North Star.

"Got to get better," Pimperton said. "Our offense wasn't too smooth, we didn't execute great. Things we got to get better at."

Fort Benton will play March 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Lockwood High School in Billings to begin their quest for a state title.

Box Elder loses rematch in consolation game

In the Northern C Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament consolation game, Box Elder faced off with defending Northern C champion Roy-Winifred. Box Elder looked to get revenge on the Outlaws after losing to them, 44-19, earlier in the tournament. Unfortunately, history repeated itself as the Bears lost, 54-41, Saturday at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena. Despite the loss, Box Elder head coach Jerome Gopher is positive about how his team performed.

"Their zone was pretty tough. The height, you can't matchup to that," Gopher said. "I'm feeling good, though, because out of the whole tournament, we're probably the youngest team here. No seniors."

Like in their first meeting of the tournament, the Bears came out slow on offense. However, the Outlaws also came out slow, as they only led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams picked it up in the second quarter as the Bears went into halftime trailing 24-16. The Outlaws then outscored the Bears 18-12 in the third quarter to give themselves a sizable lead the Bears could not overcome.

Box Elder did improve its shooting from the teams' first meeting of the tournament as they shot 38.5 percent from the field Saturday. In their previous meeting, Wednesday, the Bears shot under 20 percent from the floor. Kyla Momberg led the team with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field. Breanna Bacon also chipped in 12 points after shooting 5-for-8 from the field.

Thanks to their size, the Outlaws hit 58.3 percent of their shots. Isabelle Heggem led the Outlaws with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and Madeline Heggem scored 13 points after shooting 4-for-7 from both the field and the free-throw line.

Roy-Winifred came into the Northern C as the tournament's defending champions and they won the District 8C Tournament. They will next play against North Star in a challenge game Monday at 3:30 p.m. for a bid to the state tournament.

Box Elder made the consolation game after winning, 46-44, in a loser-out game Friday against 8C runner-up Belt. The win was a historic one for the Bears as it not only kept their season alive, but they knocked out the Huskies early from the tournament.

Mariah Arkinson led the Bears with 15 points and Momberg chipped in 11 of her own.

With the loss, Box Elder's season is now done. Gopher is proud of how his young team grew throughout the season, especially after they lost games in summer league and preseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have a very young team," Gopher said. "We can come back next year for sure. Northern C is always tough, though, and we knew that coming in. I don't think anybody expected us to be here in the consolation game."

Box Elder 46, Belt 44, lo

Belt 6 12 11 15 – 44

Box Elder 10 11 13 12 – 46

Belt - Sabrina Wang 17, Lindsey Paulson 11, Raily Gliko 11, Livvy Shelton 3, Hattie Bumgarner 2.

Box Elder - Mariah Arkinson 15, Kyla Momberg 11, Angela Gopher 10, Mieyah Sutherland 5, Breanna Bacon 3, Annalise Johnson 2.

Roy-Winifred 54, Box Elder 41, 3rd

Box Elder 3 13 10 15 – 41

Roy-Winifred 7 17 18 12 – 54

Box Elder – Kyla Momberg 13, Breanna Bacon 12, Angela Gopher 7, Mariah Arkinson 5, Annalise Johnson 3, Mieyah Sutherland 1.

Roy-Winifred – Isabelle Heggem 15, Madeline Heggem 13, Trinity Edwards 12, Megan Bergum 7, Cadence Tillman 7.

Fort Benton 35, North Star 31, 1st

North Star 10 7 6 8 – 31

Fort Benton 6 5 9 15 – 35

North Star – Shayla Borlaug 10, Jade Wendland 8, Laynie Sattoriva 4, Rainee Watson 4, Kenidee Wolery 3, Kaytlyn Domire 2.

Fort Benton – Aspen Giese 17, Cloe Kalanick 5, Ashlee Wang 4, Maci Molinario 4, Emerson Giese 3, Hailee Wang 2.