9C teams hope to make a run at state

After excelling at last week's District 9C basketball tournaments, several teams from the Hi-Line will next head to Great Falls this week for the Northern C Divisional Tournaments. With a chance to qualify for the Class C State Tournaments, these 9C teams will look to play well this week in order to keep their seasons going.

The Northern C Divisional Boys Basketball Tournament will begin Wednesday at 4 p.m. when Fort Benton Longhorns face Heart Butte. The Longhorns qualified for divisionals after finishing third at last week's 9C tournament. They have an overall record of 9-13 this year, so they will need players such as Truman Giese and Eli Arganbright to lead them on a Cinderella run.

Heart Butte finished third in the 10C Tournament. The Warriors head into the tournament with an overall record of 11-8.

If the Longhorns are going to get past Heart Butte, they will need to slow down top players such as Peyton Racine and Shayde St. Goddard.

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the Box Elder boys basketball team will play against Roy-Winifred. The Bears are having an excellent season as they are 20-0 and just repeated as District 9C champions. If they are going to continue their run this week, the Bears will need Tracen Jilot and Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette to stay at the top of their games.

The Roy-Winifred Outlaws have an overall record of 16-6 and they just finished third in the 8C. If they are going to hand the Bears their first loss of the season, the Outlaws will need Kellen Heggem to get rolling.

On Thursday at 5 p.m., the Chester-Joplin-Inverness boys basketball team will face off against Dutton-Brady. The Hawks qualified for the tournament after taking second in the 9C tournament. The Hawks are 17-3 this season thanks to the stellar play of Karson Pulst and Ryland St. John.

The Dutton-Brady Diamond Backs qualified for divisionals after finishing second in the 10C. They have an overall record of 13-7 and will be looking to rely on the likes of Guy Wakkinen and Tyson Henry to lead the way against the Hawks.

The Northern C Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament will begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Big Sandy Pioneers play Simms. The Pioneers have an overall record of 18-4 and they qualified for the tournament after taking third in the 9C tournament. If the Pioneers are going to go on a run, they will need players such as Eva Yeadon and Jenny Sant to be on their game.

The Simms Tigers head into the game with a 12-7 record and are coming off a third-place finish in the 10C. As they look to compete with Big Sandy, the Tigers will look to Cassidy Rassmussen and Jorja Morris to lead the way.

Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., the Chester-Joplin-Inverness girls basketball team will play Belt. The Hawks are coming off a District 9C championship, and they have a record of 17-2 heading into the tournament. As they look to go on a run, the Hawks will rely on Brynn Kammerzell and Jayla Ramberg to lead the way offensively.

The Belt Huskies enter the week with a record of 14-6 and they are coming off a third-place finish in the 8C. If the Hawks are going to beat Belt, they will need to limit the Huskies' best players such as Trinity Tinsen and McKenzie Pogany.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Fort Benton girls basketball team will face off with Cascade. The Longhorns are coming off a second-place finish in the 9C and will look to improve on their 13-8 record. If they are going to do that, they will need Ang Reiner and Lilly Ferris to play well.

The Cascade Badgers have a 13-6 record and are coming off a second-place finish in the 10C. If they are going to keep pace with the Longhorns, the Badgers will need the likes of Kenzie Hauk and Sophia Mortag to play well.

Only the top two teams in each tournament will qualify for the Class C State Tournaments. So with the seasons on the line, these Hi-Line teams will need to play their best basketball of the season this week.

The Northern C Divisional Basketball Tournaments will take place at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena and will run from this Wednesday to Saturday.

In the boys tournament Wednesday, Fort Benton will play at 4 p.m. and Box Elder will play at 5:30 p.m. Then on Thursday, the CJI boys team will play at 4 p.m.

In the girls tournament on Wednesday, Big Sandy will play at 7 p.m. and CJI will play at 8:30 p.m. Then on Thursday, the Fort Benton girls team will play at 7 p.m.