Knights outlast the Longhorns in a slugfest

In probably the most exciting game of the District 9C Girls Basketball Tournament so far, the North Star Knights and Fort Benton Longhorns went back and forth at Havre High Gymnasium. With a spot in the 9C championship game on the line, neither team wanted to lose.

Trailing 47-46 late in the game, Emerson Giese took the ball to the basket and scored to give Fort Benton a 48-47 lead with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game. But Laynie Sattoriva answered with a layup of her own to give North Star a 49-48 lead with about two seconds left on the clock. Giese's last second shot at the buzzer fell short and North Star held on to win to advance to the title game.

"It feels very good to come in and compete with them pretty close and just pull it out in the end," Sattoriva said.

It was a tough game as both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Knights finished the game shooting 25.4 percent from the field. Sattoriva led North Star with 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting while Kaytlyn Domire recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. While the Knights had their offensive struggles, North Star head coach Scott Bymaster was happy to see them push through it for the win.

"We knew it would be tough. Fort Benton's got good players, they've got good coaches and they've got a good work ethic," Bymaster said. "I'm glad we matched it and we played through adversity and this feeling, I hope the girls remember it forever."

The Longhorns had their own struggles on offense where they shot 23.8 percent from the field. But they had a chance thanks to players such as Giese, who scored 23 points on 6-for-22 shooting from the field and 9-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line.

It was back and forth throughout the night, starting with the first quarter. After a 6-6 stalemate to start the game, Casha Corder knocked down a free throw and a layup to give the Longhorns a 9-6 lead. But Domire capped off the first with a bucket to cut Fort Benton's lead to 9-8.

After a bucket from Giese to start the second, Domire went on a personal 5-0 run to give North Star a 13-11 lead. Over the next few minutes, the Knights and Longhorns battled to a 15-15 tie.

Sarah Clark gave Fort Benton the lead with a 3-pointer, but Domire responded with another pair of baskets to give North Star a 19-18 lead. After Kaydyn LeFurgey scored to give Fort Benton the lead again, a pair of free throws from Domire and a bucket from Mackenzee Sargent gave North Star a 23-20 lead. In the closing moments of the half, Hailee Wang scored to make it a 23-22 game heading into halftime.

After the teams exchanged free throws to start the third, LeFurgey and Corder gave Fort Benton a 28-25 lead. But North Star came back with a bucket from Sattoriva and a three from Rainee Watson to take a 30-28 lead.

The Knights and Longhorns then battled to a 32-32 tie late in the third. Sargent and Watson scored a couple baskets to give North Star a 36-32 lead. Giese responded with a free throw to make it a 36-33 game heading to the fourth.

It remained a back and forth affair as the Knights and Longhorns fought to a 43-43 game halfway through the fourth. After Sargent scored to give North Star the lead, Giese responded with a three to give Fort Benton a 46-45 lead with less than three minutes left in the game.

About a minute later, North Star scored to take a 47-46 lead. Over the next few possessions, both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket. The stalemate finally broke with Giese's bucket to take the lead, but the Knights responded with Sattoriva's score to win the game. Despite a tough grinder of a game, Sattoriva and the Knights never relented.

"We have each others' backs. We're always trying to hype each other up and keep our minds clear," Sattoriva said about pushing through the adversity.

With their last-second loss, the Fort Benton Longhorns had to play Big Sandy in a loser-out game this afternoon. The winner of that game will go on to compete in the consolation game tonight at 7 p.m.

The North Star Knights will now face the undefeated Chinook Sugarbeeters in the District 9C Girls Basketball championship game tonight. Ending the perfect season for Chinook is a tall order, but Bymaster knows that his team will be ready to play tonight.

"We've got the mentality, bend but don't break," Bymaster said. "We got nothing to lose so we're going to give them all we can give them and if we do that, there's no such thing as a loss for us."

North Star will face Chinook in the District 9C championship game tonight at 8:30 p.m. at HHS Gymnasium.

North Star 49, Fort Benton 48, Semifinal

NS - 8 15 13 13 - 49

FB - 9 13 11 15 - 48

NS - Laynie Sattoriva 16, Kaytlyn Domire 15, Rainee Watson 9, Mackenzee Sargent 6, Kira King 3.

FB - Emerson Giese 23, Hailee Wang 7, Casha Corder 5, Kaydyn LeFurgey 4, Ang Reiner 4, Sarah Clark 3, Kylynn Nack 2.

3-pointers: Emerson Giese 2, Hailee Wang 1, Sarah Clark 1, Kira King 1, Rainee Watson 1. Fouls: NS 14, FB 14. Fouled Out: Addison Reichelt.