Fort Benton girls win first-ever state championship

BILLINGS - The Fort Benton girls basketball team had won pretty much everything it could as a program. But a state championship is something that had never happened in the history of Longhorn girls basketball.

Until Saturday night that is.

The Fort Benton girls basketball team made historyt at Lockwood High School in Billings as they won their first ever state title as a program when they beat Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale, 74-60 in the Class C state championship game.

"I'm so excited. I've been dreaming of this moment since I was so little," said senior Fort Benton player Aspen Giese. "You look through all the banners on our walls and you don't see a girls basketball one so just to be the person and to be the team that puts the banner on the walls is so big for us."

It was the first time the Longhorns had even made the championship game to compete for a state title since 2000, where they lost to Malta in the Class B chipper. So in their first state title game in the Class C, they did not waste the opportunity.

"These kids deserve every second of it. All year we've been saying it's our time," said Fort Benton head coach Cassie Pimperton. "They worked their butts off and they bought in."

The state title capped off an exceptional season for the Longhorns. Except for their loss to Class A Havre, Fort Benton went through the regular season undefeated. They lost in the District 9C tournament championship to North Star to end their three-year streak of winning the tournament. The Longhorns rebounded in the Northern C Divisional where they got revenge over North Star to win the tournament.

The game served as the perfect send-off for seniors Giese, Abby Clark and Maci Molinario, who had played together since middle school.

"(It means) everything. Just to go out with a bang and know that this was my last game," Molinario said.

While Clark was happy about winning a state title in her final game, she was bittersweet that she would never get to play with this group of girls again.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to really love any other team like them because they just mean the world to me and were so supportive," Clark said. "The reason that we won this year and hadn't succeeded much in the last few years is because the trust that we have for each other is insane."

It was a back-and-forth affair through the game's first three quarters. The Longhorns and Mavericks exchanged leads several times in the first quarter. It looked like Saco would take the lead into the second quarter but a deep 3-pointer from Giese gave the Longhorns an 18-17 lead before the break.

The Longhorns held the lead for most of the second quarter but the Mavericks kept battling. With just under a minute left, Saco hit a pair of free throws to take the lead. With time running out in the half, Cloe Kalanick grabbed an offensive rebound and made the second-chance layup to give the Longhorns a 34-33 lead at halftime.

The third quarter remained tight as the Mavericks tied the game at 38-38 halfway through the quarter. The story remained the same as the Longhorns retook the lead and Saco kept battling back. With time running out in the quarter and the game tied at 46, Ashlee Wang hit a corner three to give the Longhorns the lead heading to the final quarter. That basket from Wang began a run for the Longhorns that they would use to put the game away. They scored the first seven points of the quarter to extend their lead to 10. The Mavericks tried to stay in it but that run proved too much to overcome.

Fort Benton finished the night shooting 49 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from deep. In her last game as a Longhorn, Giese led the team with 19 points as she shot 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

"I've shot those shots a lot. Spent a lot of time in the gym," Giese said. "Just letting my body take over and my teammates found me. They gave me the ball and trusted me with it so I just knew I had to hit those shots."

Ashlee Wang scored all of her 17 points in the second half as she finished the game shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-4 from three. Emerson Giese scored 14 points, 10 of which came from the free-throw line. In her last game. Molinario scored 10 on 4-for-6 shooting from the field.

The Mavericks shot 42 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep. Jaycee Erickson led the team with 20 points as she shot 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from three. Kaitlyn McColly scored 15 and Kia Wasson chipped in 12 in the losing effort.

As Fort Benton moves forward as a program, they will look to sustain their success. Pimperton hopes that their state title and other recent success will inspire younger kids to try out for Longhorn basketball and carry on this team's legacy.

"It's for the little kids in the stands that are watching and can be excited about it and want to be out there celebrating," Pimperton said. "Hopefully, get them in the gym and get them excited."

Fort Benton 74, Saco-Whitewater Hinsdale 60, 1st

Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale 17 16 13 14 – 60

Fort Benton 18 16 15 25 – 74

Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale – Jaycee Erickson 20, Kaitlyn McColly 15, Kia Wasson 12, Kelsee Cummings 4, Paige Wasson 4, Teagan Erickson 3, Kora LaBrie 2.

Fort Benton – Aspen Giese 19, Ashlee Wang 17, Emerson Giese 14, Maci Molinario 10, Cloe Kalanick 7, Abby Clark 3, Hailee Wang 2, Samantha Vielleux 2.