Longhorns fall to Roy-Winifred in Northern C title game

This past Saturday at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena, the Northern C Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament wrapped up with the consolation and championship games. In the Northern C championship game, the Roy-Winifred Outlaws defeated the Fort Benton Longhorns 54-36.

It was a close game through most of the first quarter as Roy-Winifred had a 10-7 lead. But late in the first, Isabelle Heggem knocked down a 3-pointer and then a layup to give the Outlaws a 15-7 lead to end the first.

The Outlaws continued to roll as they pushed their lead to 24-7 to start the second. Casha Corder knocked down a three for the Longhorns, but the Outlaws went on an 8-0 run to push their lead to 32-10. Fortunately for the Longhorns, Kylynn Nack knocked down a three and Emerson Giese made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 32-15 at halftime.

The Longhorns started the third quarter on an 11-6 run to cut the deficit to 38-23. Corder continued to make plays for the Longhorns as she scored five points during this stretch. But the Outlaws ended the quarter with a three from Heggem to take a 41-26 lead into the fourth.

The Outlaws then started the fourth on a 10-0 run to push their lead to 48-26. The Longhorns tried to fight their way back, but they were unable to make headway on the scoreboard as the Outlaws pulled away to win the Northern C championship.

Corder led the Longhorns with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 shooting from deep. Nack scored 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting and 3-for-5 shooting from deep. As a team, the Longhorns shot 25 percent from the field because of the tenacious Roy-Winifred defense.

"Our entire offense is built around getting downhill, getting to the rim and then finding kicks," Fort Benton head coach Eddie Fultz said. "(Roy-Winifred) has a six-five person waiting in the middle every time we get to go downhill so that didn't exist very much for us against that team."

While the weekend ended with a loss, the Longhorns played well to get to that moment. In the semifinal game Friday night, the Fort Benton Longhorns defeated Highwood 39-32. Giese led the Longhorns with 11 points and the team shot 26.7 percent from the field to advance to the championship game.

"I'm super proud of my team. We had some ups and downs throughout the year but our end goal was always to play our best during tournament time," Fultz said about the Longhorns' run through the tournament.

In the Northern C Divisional consolation game Saturday, the Chinook Sugarbeeters took care of business with a 55-39 victory over Belt. The Sugarbeeters got rolling early as they jumped out to an 18-1 lead in the first quarter. Alexus Seymour led the team with points to start the game.

The Sugarbeeters continued to roll in the second quarter as they stretched their lead to 31-15. The Huskies tried to fight their way back, but Chinook took a 34-20 lead into halftime. The Huskies cut the deficit to 34-22 to start the third, but the Sugarbeeters continued to roll as they took a 50-34 lead into the fourth.

In the fourth, Chinook continued to play strong defense to win the game. On offense, the Sugarbeeters shot 44.2 percent from the field. Seymour led the way with 23 points while Hallie Neibauer added 16 points in the winning effort.

The Sugarbeeters had a long road, though, to Saturday's consolation game.

On Friday, Chinook suffered a 45-38 loss to Roy-Winifred. But Saturday morning, the Sugarbeeters bounced back with a 48-40 win over North Star in a loser-out game.

In the loser-out game against the Knights, the Sugarbeeters shot 31.5 percent from the field. Neibauer led the way with 15 points while Seymour scored ten points in the season-saving win. But Chinook head coach Mike Jones believes their defense is what kept their season alive this weekend.

"It was our defensive effort," Jones said. "Roy-Winifred is young and good but our defensive pressure got to them a little bit, and I thought that really amped us up for the rest of the game."

Because of the results of Saturday night's games, the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Fort Benton Longhorns will play in a challenge game Monday afternoon. With a spot in the Class C State Tournament on the line, Fultz expects another battle between these District 9C rivals.

"Both games during the season at Chinook and at Fort Benton were both four-point games with two minutes to go in the game," Fultz said. "They were knockdown, drag out, physical games so I expect nothing less than that."

The Chinook and Fort Benton girls basketball teams will play in the challenge game today at 4 p.m. at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena.

Friday

North Star 59, Simms 38, LO

SIM - 14 5 6 13 - 38

NS - 20 11 10 18 - 59

SIM - Abigail DeVos 11, Reese McGurran 7, Macy Herman 6, Kodiann Lynn 6, Laura Zietzke 5, Cassidy Rasmussen 2, Baylee Herman 1.

NS - Laynie Sattoriva 23, Kaytlyn Domire 20, Rainee Watson 14, Madison Bjornstad 2.

3-pointers: Rainee Watson 3, Laynie Sattoriva 2, Reese McGurran 1, Laura Zietzke 1, Abigail DeVos 1. Fouls: SIM 4, NS 10. Fouled Out: None.

Roy-Winifred 45, Chinook 38, Semifinal

CHI - 12 7 7 12 - 38

RW - 10 11 10 14 - 45

CHI - Hallie Neibauer 22, Bree Swanson 7, Alexus Seymour 3, Torin Cecrle 2, Jenna Liddle 2, Hannah Schoen 2.

RW - Isabelle Heggem 19, Hannah Ewen 9, Laynee Elness 8, Jayda Southworth 7, Lyla Ewen 2.

3-pointers: Hallie Neibauer 3, Bree Swanson 1, Alexus Seymour 1, Hannah Ewen 1. Fouls: CHI 20, RW 13. Fouled Out: None.

Fort Benton 39, Highwood 32, Semifinal

HIG - 4 6 9 13 - 32

FB - 8 6 17 8 - 39

HIG - Trinity Tinsen 16, Olivia Laws 6, Lauren Crowder 6, Ellie Aron 2, Lydia Nelson 2.

FB - Emerson Giese 11, Casha Corder 10, Hailee Wang 8, Ang Riener 6, Kaydyn LeFurgey 4.

3-pointers: Ang Riener 2, Emerson Giese 2, Casha Corder 1, Hailee Wang 1. Fouls: HIG 17, FB 16. Fouled Out: None.

Saturday

Chinook 48, North Star 40

CHI - 9 15 8 16 - 48

NS - 8 17 8 7 - 40

CHI - Hallie Neibauer 15, Alexus Seymour 10, Bree Swanson 9, Mya Berreth 5, Hannah Schoen 5, Anna Terry 2, Jenna Liddle 2.

NS - Rainee Watson 12, Kira King 11, Kaytlyn Domire 8, Laynie Sattoriva 7, Mackenzee Sargent 2.

3-pointers: Hallie Neibauer 3, Kira King 3, Bree Swanson 1, Laynie Sattoriva 1, Rainee Watson 1. Fouls: CHI 12, NS 16. Fouled Out: None.

Chinook 55, Belt 39, Consolation

CHI - 20 14 16 5 - 55

BLT - 4 16 14 5 - 39

CHI - Alexus Seymour 23, Hallie Neibauer 16, Bree Swanson 10, Hannah Schoen 4, Anna Terry 2.

BLT - Hattie Bumgarner 15, Addison Urick 12, Madisen Feldman 4, McKenzie Pogany 4, Dezirae Goodman 2, Kylee Permann 2.

3-pointers: Alexus Seymour 5, Addison Urick 3, Hattie Bumgarner 1, McKenzie Pogany 1. Fouls: CHI 15, BLT 11. Fouled Out: None.

RW 54, Fort Benton 36, Championship

FB - 7 8 11 10 - 36

RW - 15 17 9 13 - 54

FB - Casha Corder 14, Kylynn Nack 11, Emerson Giese 7, Hailee Wang 2, Addison Reichelt 2.

RW - Isabelle Heggem 24, Laynee Elness 16, Lyla Ewen 5, Hannah Ewen 4, Jayda Southworth 3, Isabella Edwards 2.

3-pointers: Casha Corder 4, Kylynn Nack 3, Laynee Elness 2, Lyla Ewen 1, Jayda Southworth 1, Isabelle Heggem 1. Fouls. FB 7, RW 10, Fouled Out: None.