Fort Benton girls earn their way to Great Falls

This season, the defending state champion Fort Benton Longhorns have not had things easy with injuries to some key players. They then lost in the District 9C girls basketball tournament Friday and had to win two games in a row to keep their season alive.

After a win Saturday morning, the Longhorns had to defeat the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds Saturday to clinch a spot in the Northern C Divisionals. Things did not look good for Fort Benton as they trailed by 10 points heading to the fourth quarter. But they were able to rebound in the final eight minutes to win the consolation game 45-40.

"I hate to say it but we've been doing this for two weeks," Fort Benton head coach Eddie Fultz said about the comeback. "It's been our MO to struggle in the first and third quarter and that's no different than in the tournament."

With the win, the Longhorns kept their season going.

"We just gave it all we got," Fort Benton's Ashlee Wang said. "I was replaying in my head through the whole game, 'I don't want this to be my last, I don't want this to be my last,' and that's what just got me through it."

The Longhorns fell behind early as a 3-pointer from Jaedyn Chandler and a bucket from Nashone Shambo gave the Thunderbird a 5-0 lead. Ashlee Wang and Casha Corder got Fort Benton on the scoreboard with some free throws. The Longhorns and Thunderbirds then exchanged buckets until the game was tied, 7-7.

The Thunderbirds grabbed momentum as they took a 12-7 lead to end the quarter. After Ky Nack scored to open the second quarter for the Longhorns, a layup from Shambo and a three and one free throw from Chandler stretched the HLP lead to 18-9. Through the rest of the half, the Longhorns and Thunderbirds exchanged buckets until HLP had a 25-19 lead heading to halftime. HLP head coach Corey Morgan believes the Thunderbirds had the advantage heading into halftime because of their first-half defense.

"We were rotating on our press really well," Morgan said. "We were playing good defense but then we got into foul trouble."

The Longhorns crawled their way back into the contest to start the second half. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Thunderbirds held a 29-27 lead. But the Thunderbirds ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to stretch their lead to 10 heading to the fourth. Pretty Paint got the run started with a layup and one free throw and then kept things rolling with a steal that she converted into a score on the other end.

With the season on the line, the Longhorns started the fourth on a 12-0 run to retake the lead. Cloe Kalanick made her presence felt with a stretch where she scored six straight points for the Longhorns. Kalanick believes the Longhorns got on a run because of their experience in other games.

"For the last couple of weeks. We've played from behind," Kalanick said. "I think it gives us that bolt of energy that we need to step it up and start playing good basketball, play with each other, find the open man and work it out."

Shambo knocked down a shot to tie the game, 39-39, with just under three minutes left in the game. But the Longhorns went on a 4-0 run thanks to free throws from Kalanick and a bucket from Hailee Wang. The Longhorns then played strong defense down the stretch to close out the victory.

Pretty Paint led HLP with 17 points as she shot 7-for-13 from the field. As their season now comes to an end, Morgan was just grateful for the experience. Last year, the Thunderbirds were not even able to compete in the District 9C and had faced adversity through the early portion of the season. But as they came down the stretch, he saw the team improve and come together.

"After the break we became more of a team and started playing some better ball. Everybody improved," Morgan said. "You can't ask for a better bunch of girls."

Ashlee Wang led the Longhorns with 20 points on 8-for-21 shooting from the field. Kalanick made an impact with 16 points as she shot 5-for-10 from the field. As they head into divisionals as the defending champions, the Longhorns believe they have a chance to make some noise.

"I'd say (our chances are) pretty good," Kalanick said. "We know how to battle, we know how to fight and we love playing with each other and playing for each other."

Before Saturday night's consolation game, several loser-out games took place over Friday and Saturday to determine the participants. The first loser-out game of the girls tournament took place Friday morning between North Star and Turner. With the season on the line, the North Star Knights won, 53-25, against the Turner Tornadoes.

The Knights played well in the first half to take a 28-10 lead into halftime. The Knights continued to play well in the third quarter as they stretched the lead to 35-15. Even with the sizable lead, the Knights continued to make plays in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

Kaytlyn Domire and Laynie Sattoriva each recorded a double-double to lead the Knights to victory. Domire led the team with 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Sattoriva contributed 14 points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. In her last game of the year, Cassidy Grabofsky led Turner with 11 points.

Later Friday morning, the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks defeated Big Sandy, 66-48, in a loser-out game. The CJI Hawks raced out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter. Even though the Pioneers played better in the second quarter, CJI had a 34-24 lead at halftime. A strong third quarter then allowed CJI to pull away for the win.

Haddie Woods led CJI with 18 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field, 3-for-4 shooting from the 3-point line and 5-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line. Tatum Hull contributed 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting. Eva Yeadon led Big Sandy with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field.

The loser-out games continued Saturday morning. After losing to Box Elder in the semifinals, the Fort Benton Longhorns won, 44-35, against CJI. The Longhorns started strong as they took a 10-3 lead in the first quarter. The Longhorns kept up their play as they took a 22-13 lead into halftime.

The Hawks played better in the third quarter as they cut the deficit to 29-23. But the Longhorns recaptured momentum in the fourth to win the game. Hailee Wang led Fort Benton with 12 points as she shot 3–for-11 from the field. Hull led CJI with nine points.

After losing a semifinal game to Chinook, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds won, 53-40, against North Star Saturday. It was competitive early on as HLP took a slim 9-8 lead. But the Thunderbirds exploded in the second quarter to take a 28-20 lead into halftime.

The Thunderbirds' lead held steady in the third quarter and they were able to pull away in the fourth quarter to win. Jaedyn Chandler led HLP with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field. Domire led North Star with 13 points in the loss.

Fort Benton will begin the Northern C Divisionals in Great Falls this Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.

North Star 53, Turner 25, LO

TUR - 6 4 5 10 - 25

NS - 14 14 7 18 - 53

TUR - Cassidy Grabofsky 11, Bridget Reed 6, Meridian King-Snider 5, Dakota Krass 3.

NS - Kaytlyn Domire 18, Laynie Sattoriva 14, Rainee Watson 8, Mackenzee Sargent 6, Laramie Peterson 3, Kira King 2, Skyla Gilead 2.

3-pointers: TUR 2-13 (Dakota Krass 1, Cassidy Grabofsky 1), NS 1-9 (Rainee Watson 1). Fouls: TUR 8, NS 10. Fouled Out: None.

CJI 66, Big Sandy 48, LO

CJI - 16 18 19 13 - 66

BS - 7 17 11 13 - 48

CJI - Haddie Woods 18, Tatum Hull 15, Jayla Ramberg 13, Avery Mattson 8, Aria Miller 8, MaRae Smail 4.

BS - Eva Yeadon 16, Jaihven Baumann 12, Eva Wagoner 11, Laineyb Terry 8, Kierra Galbavy 1.

3-pointersL CJI 5-17 (Haddie Woods 3, Tatum Hull 2), BS 5-15 (Jaihven Baumann 2, Lainey Terry 1, Eva Yeadon 1, Eva Wagoner 1). Fouls: CJI 14, BS 24. Fouled Out: Kierra Galbavy.

Fort Benton 44, CJI 35, LO

CJI - 3 10 13 9 - 35

FB - 10 12 7 15 - 44

CJI - Tatum Hull 9, Jayla Ramberg 8, Haddie Woods 6, Aria Miller 6, MaRae Smail 4, Avery Mattson 2.

FB - Hailee Wang 12, Casha Corder 10, Ashlee Wang 9, Cloe Kalanick 7, Samantha Vielleux 4, Kaydyn LeFurgey 2.

3-pointers: CJI 2-11 (Tatum Hull 1, Jayla Ramberg 1), FB 6-18 (Hailee Wang 2, Ashlee Wang 2, Casha Corder 1, Cloe Kalanick 1). Fouls: CJI 19, FB 12. Fouled Out: Avery Mattson, Haddie Woods.

HLP 53, North Star 40, LO

HLP - 9 19 9 16 - 53

NS - 8 12 9 11 - 40

HLP - Jaedyn Chandler 19, Alliya Pretty Paint 11, Judemia Gray 7, Shailee Shambo 6, Angela Blackcrow 6, Nashone Shambo 3, Tahtianna Gray 1.

NS - Kaytlyn Domire 13, Laynie Sattoriva 11, Kira King 9, Mackenzee Sargent 6, Skyla Gilead 1.

3-pointers: HLP 4-17 (Shailee Shambo 2, Jaedyn Chandler 2), NS 2-10 (Kira King 2). Fouls: HLP 13, NS 13. Fouled Out: None.

Fort Benton 45, HLP 40, 3rd

HLP - 11 14 12 3 - 40

FB - 7 12 8 18 - 45

HLP - Alliya Pretty Paint 17, Jaedyn Chandler 9, Nashone Shambo 6, Judemia Gray 2, Nina Fox 2, Tahtianna Gray 2.

FB - Ashlee Wang 20, Cloe Kalanick 16, Samantha Vielleux 4, Ky Nack 2, Casha Corder 1.

3-pointers: HLP 2-10 (Jaedyn Chandler 2), FB 2-10 (Ashlee Wang 1, Cloe Kalanick 1). Fouls: HLP 19, FB 10. Fouled Out: Jaedyn Chandler.

2022 Havre Daily District 9C Girls

All-Tournament Team

Kyla Momberg, Box Elder, Breanna Bacon, Box Elder, Angela Gopher, Box Elder, , Hallie Neibauer, Chinook, Bree Swanson, Chinook, Ashlee Wang, Fort Benton, Cloe Kalanick, Fort Benton, Alliya Pretty Paint, HLP, Kaytlyn Domire, North Star, Jayla Ramberg, CJI.

2022 Havre Daily District 9C Boys

All-Tournament Team

Blake Harmon, CJI, Braden Mattson, CJI, Kyle Harmon, CJI Bradyon Cline, Big Sandy, Lane Demontiney, Big Sandy, Toby Niederegger, Chinook Oskar Pula, Chinook, Gabe Saddler, Box Elder, Tyrus LaMere, Box Elder, Landis Arganbright, Fort Benton.