Bears back to state: Box Elder finishes second at Northern C girls tourney

GREAT FALLS - The Box Elder Bears have had a lot of state championship success in the last few years - In Northern C championship games, though, not so much.

Having not won the Northern C since 2017, the Bears had another shot to do just that Saturday night in the Four Seasons Arena. However, the unbeaten Roy-Winfired Outlaws had other ideas. In a rematch of the last state title game the Bears played in, the Outlaws upended the Bears 41-28.

"We just didn't make enough shots tonight," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "I felt like we played well enough defensively, but we never got into a rhythm offensively tonight. You gotta put the ball in the hole, and we didn't do that enough tonight."

Still, with just their second loss of the season, the Bears are off to the state tournament, as runner-ups in the Northern C, and that will be right back in Great Falls in two weeks. Once there, Box Elder will look to get another chance at the outlaws, and if they do, they'll have to handle the Outlaws' size better, as 6-3 Isabelle Heggem and 6-1 Madaline Heggem were just too much for the Bears to handle, as they combined for 21 points in the first half. Meanwhile Box Elkder was tied early on at 6-6, but a 10-0 Outlaw run, and Box Elder's inability to defend the Heggems inside, led to a 24-12 halftime lead for Roy-Winifred.

And while Box Elder never gave in, one night after the Bears beat arch rival Belt in the semifinals, it wouldn't be enough. Box Elder twice got the game back to within 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the Outlaws were able to run the clock and ice the game at the foul line for what was their second straight divisional championship.

It was a tough night for the Bears as Madeline Heggem had 16 points, 12 rebounds and two threes and Isabelle Heggem had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, while the Outlaws out-rebounded the Bears 42-21.

On the other end of the floor, the Bears shot just 29 percent from the field, with Kyla Momberg scoring a team-high 12 points. Annalise Johnson chipped in with seven points.

"They dominated us on the board ronight," Rosette said. "That size is tough to replicate in practice. They're a really good team, and they were tough tonight. But I still feel like if we made some shots, we'd be right there."

But as hard a night as it was for the Bears, they're going back to state, and Rosette is excited about that, as Box Elder will play March 10 in the first round of the state tourney in Great Falls.

"I'm very proud of the girls," he said. "They fought to the end. We've been through a lot of different things this season, so to be here, going to state, it's exciting, and I'm just really proud of this team."

Fort Benton gets fourth

As the defending Northern C champions, the Fort Benton girls fought their way to Great Falls via a third-place finish last week in Havre. Then, as huge underdogs, the Longhorns put themselves in position to defend their 2021 state championship.

However, at the heads of the Belt Huskies, Fort Benton's great run at the Northern C came to end with a 47-34 loss in the consolation game Saturday night in the Four Seasons Arena.

The Longhorns, who won earlier Saturday, got off to a great start with 3-pointers from Chlo Kalanick, as they raced out to a 12-3 lead, and eventually a 15-11 edge at the first quarter. However, savvy head coach Jeff Graham's Huskies didn't go away. Instead, they closed the first half on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 22-22, then went on a 9-0 spurt in the third quarter to take control of the game. The Huskies led 39-27 after three quarters, and though Fort Benton closed to within seven points early in the fourth, the Huskies pulled away, for what would ultimately be a third-place finish.

Kalanick led Fort Benton in the loss with 13 points, while Hailee and Ashlee Wang each scored 7.

Still, it was a great run by the Longhorns, who started the season with four new starters, and suffered several key injuries. Fort Benton reached the consolation game, first falling to the Outlaws, 59-23 in the semifinals Friday night, but then bouncing back to defeat Geraldine-Highwood 47-25 Saturday morning. Chinook also nearly met up with the Longhorns. The Sugarbeeters dominated Cascade in a loser-out matchup Friday morning, 62-30, before falling to Belt in a loser-out game Saturday morning, 46-30.

Chinook 62, Cascade 30, LO

CHI - 15 17 17 13 - 62

CAS - 10 7 3 10 - 30

CHI - Hallie Neibauer 17, Bree Swanson 11, Alexus Seymour 11, Allison Powell 6, Britton Elliot 3, Mya Berreth 3, Teagan Richman 3, Anna Terry 2, Addison Olsen 2, Jenna Liddle 2, Gracie Skogen 2.

CAS - Harlie Jackson 11, Alaina Barger 10, Sophia Mortag 7, AJ Marquis 2.

Roy-Winifred 59, Fort Benton 23, SF

RW - 14 18 8 19 - 59

FB - 8 2 9 4 - 23

RW - Isabelle Heggem 20, Laynee Elness 17, Madeline Heggem 9, Jayda Southworth 4, Dakota Crabtree 4, Hannah Ewen 3, Bella Edwards 2.

FB - Ashlee Wang 10, Cloe Kalanick 7, Samantha Vielleux 4, Hailee Wang 2.

Box Elder 44, Belt 34, SF

BE - 9 12 11 12 - 44

BEL - 10 8 9 7 - 34

BE - Breanna Bacon 13, Mariah Arkinson 8, Annalise Johnson 8, Angela Gopher 7, Kyla Momberg 6, Tayleigh Sunchild 2.

BEL - Lindsey Paulson 8, Raily Gliko 6, Hattie Bumgarner 5, Kylee Permann 5, Ella Pethel 3, Danika Lords 3, Ahmia Lords 2, Aizalyn Flaten 2.

Fort Benton 47, Geraldine-Highwood 25, LO

FB - 9 17 11 10 - 47

GH - 11 2 9 3 - 25

FB - Ashlee Wang 27, Cloe Kalanick 9, Hailee Wang 6, Samantha Vielleux 5.

GH - Trinity Tinsen 6, Sarah Davison 6, Ellie Aron 5, Azzia Rowland 4, Lauren Crowder 2, Olivia Lewis 1, Lydia Nelson 1.

Belt 46, Chinook 30, LO

BEL - 5 10 14 17 - 46

CHI - 9 9 7 5 - 30

BEL - Kylee Permann 9, Lindsey Paulson 7, Hattie Bumgarner 6, Raily Gliko 6, Ella Pethel 6, Aizalyn Flasten 5, Danika Lords 3, McKinzie Pogany 2, Addison Urick 2.

CHI - Bree Swanson 7, Alexus Seymour 7, Hallie Neibauer 5, Allison Powell 5, Britton Elliot 2, Mya Berreth 2, Anna Terry 2.

Roy-Winifred 41, Box Elder 28, 1st

Roy-Winifred 11 13 12 5;- 41

Box Elder 6 6 14 2 - 28

ROY-WINIFRED: Madeline Heggem 16; Isabelle Heggem 12; Laynee Elness 7; Megan Bergum 6.

BOX ELDER: Kyla Momberg 12; Annalise Johnson 7; Angela Gopher 3; Mariah Arkinson 2; Meiyah Sutherland 2; Breanna Bacon 2.

Belt 47, Fort Benton 34, 3rd

Belt 11 11 11 8 - 47

Fort Benton 15 7 5 7 - 34

BELT: Lindsey Paulson 15; Hattie Bumgarner 14; Ella Pethel 6; Addison Unik 4; Ahmia Lords 3; Kylee Permann 3; Raily Gliko 2.

FORT BENTON: Cloe Kalanick 13; Hailee Wang 7; Ashlee Wang 7; Casha Corder 5; Angeline Riener 2.