Chinook girls basketball captures District 9C championship with win over North Star

After three long days, the District 9C Girls Basketball Tournament at Havre High Gymnasium wrapped up with the championship and consolation games on Friday night. In the 9C championship, Chinook took care of business with a 47-33 win over North Star. Earlier in the night in the consolation game, Fort Benton punched its ticket to the Northern C Divisional with a thrilling, 39-37, win over Hays-Lodgepole.

The Longhorns faced some early adversity in the consolation game as the Thunderbirds jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first quarter. The Longhorns were able to recover and tie the game, 19-19, heading into halftime.

The Longhorns faced even more adversity in the third quarter as the T-Birds retook momentum to build themselves a 33-26 lead heading into the fourth. The Longhorns came back in the fourth and tied the game, 37-37, in the closing moments of the game. With about two seconds left on the clock, Emerson Giese got a floater to go in to give Fort Benton the lead and the win.

Giese led Fort Benton with 24 points as she went 8-for-27 from the field and 7-for-13 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Longhorns shot 29.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from the charity stripe. With the win, Fort Benton finished third in the tournament and clinched a berth in next week's Northern C Divisional in Great Falls.

In the loss, the T-Birds shot 27.7 percent from the field but 41.7 percent from the 3-point line. Nashone Shambo had a strong performance with 22 points on 9-for-24 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 shooting from deep.

The night wrapped up with the Chinook Sugarbeeters defeating the North Star Knights to win the District 9C. The Knights gave them a battle at first as the Sugarbeeters only had a 14-12 lead to end the first quarter.

The Sugarbeeters continued to play well in the second quarter, but they could not put the Knights away. At halftime, Chinook had a 27-23 lead. At the end of the third quarter, North Star remained in the game as Chinook had a 34-29 lead.

But the Sugarbeeters dominated the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. The Chinook Sugarbeeters will next head into the Northern C Divisional undefeated and as the District 9C champions.

Chinook shot 30.9 percent from the field in the game. Alexus Seymour led Chinook with 19 points on 6-for-18 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line. Mya Berreth and Hallie Neiabuer contributed with eight points each in the win.

North Star shot 26.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep on seven attempts. Laynie Sattoriva led North Star with 11 points as she went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Rainee Watson scored ten points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field. While North Star finished second in the District 9C tournament, it will get the opportunity to play in the Northern C Divisional next week.

Chinook 47, North Star 33, Championship

CHI - 14 13 7 13 - 47

NS - 12 11 6 4 - 33

CHI - Alexus Seymour 19, Mya Berreth 8, Hallie Neibauer 8, Bree Swanson 7, Hannah Schoen 5.

NS - Laynie Sattoriva 11, Rainee Watson 10, Kaytlyn Domire 7, Kira King 5.

3-pointers: Alexus Seymour 2, Bree Swanson 1, Laynie Sattoriva 1, Kira King 1, Rainee Watson 1. Fouls: CHI 14, NS 17. Fouled Out: Mackenzee Sargent.

Fort Benton 39, HLP 37, Consolation

FB - 5 14 7 13 - 39

HLP - 11 8 14 4 - 37

FB - Emerson Giese 24, Hailee Wang 6, Ang Riener 6, Casha Corder 3.

HLP - Nashone Shambo 22, Imagin Fox 5, Angela Blackcrow 4, Shaunte Hawley 3, Alliya Pretty Paint 3.

3-pointers: Nashone Shambo 3, Alliya Pretty Paint 1, Imagin Fox 1, Casha Corder 1, Emerson Giese 1. Fouls: FB 12, HLP 17. Fouled Out: Alliya Pretty Paint.