Chinook defeats Fort Benton in Northern C Divisional challenge game

Even after many games at the Northern C Divisional Girls Basketball, the tournament still had a challenge game Monday to determine who would finish second and clinch a spot in the Class C State Tournament. At the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena, a pair of District 9C teams in the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Fort Benton Longhorns went at it for the final spot at state. At the end of the day, the Sugarbeeters advanced to state with a 48-37 win over the Longhorns.

The Sugarbeeters started quickly with a 3-pointer from Alexus Seymour and a bucket from Mya Berreth to take the lead. After Fort Benton got on the board with some free throws, Hannah Schoen made back-to-back buckets to give Chinook a 9-2 lead.

The Longhorns responded with a 6-1 run to cut their deficit to 10-8. Hallie Neibauer responded with a layup to give Chinook a 12-8 lead to end the first quarter. Neibauer then scored to start the second to push the lead to 14-8.

After Casha Corder knocked down a three for the Longhorns, the Sugarbeeters went on a 7-3 run to push their lead to 21-14 late in the half. The Longhorns responded with buckets from Ang Riener and Hailee Wang to cut the deficit to 21-19. But the Sugarbeeters got a three from Bree Swanson and a bucket from Seymour to take a 26-19 lead into halftime.

The Longhorns got back in the game with a 7-0 run. Wang got the run started with a pair of baskets and then Kylynn Nack knocked down a three to tie the game, 26-26, early in the third. After Berreth scored to give Chinook the lead, Emerson Giese knocked down a three to give Fort Benton a 29-28 lead.

Swanson knocked down a pair of free throws to give Chinook a 30-29 lead to end the third. The Sugarbeeters then started the fourth on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 39-29. Seymour got rolling with four points during this stretch.

The Longhorns tried to rally but they were unable to make a comeback as the Sugarbeeters held on to win. Chinook finished the game shooting 39.5 percent from the field. Seymour led the way with 15 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Swanson scored 10 points for the Sugarbeeters.

The Longhorns shot 35.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep. Wang led the team with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field. With the loss, the Longhorns' season came to an end.

With their win, the Sugarbeeters finished second in the Northern C Divisional and clinched a spot in the Class C State Tournament. The Chinook girls basketball team will begin the state tournament in Billings March 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Chinook 48, Fort Benton 37, Challenge Game

CHI - 12 14 4 18 - 48

FB - 8 11 10 8 - 37

CHI - Alexus Seymour 15, Hannah Schoen 11, Bree Swanson 10, Mya Berreth 7, Hallie Neibauer 4, Torin Cecrle 1.

FB - Hailee Wang 10, Kylynn Nack 8, Casha Corder 7, Ang Riener 6, Emerson Giese 5, Addison Reichelt 1.

3-pointers: Alexus Seymour 2, Kylynn Nack 2, Bree Swanson 1, Casha Corder 1, Hailee Wang 1, Ang Riener 1, Emerson Giese 1. Fouls: CHI 15, FB 22. Fouled Out: Kaydyn LeFurgey.