By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
With impending district tournaments already entering players' and coaches' minds, the basketball action across the Hi-Line has heated up much like the weather outside.
The Chinook Sugarbeeters had a solid showing winning both of their games this past weekend. The Beeters got an early start on Thursday knocking off the Cut Bank Wolves 60-52 in Chinook.
The Beeters jumped out to a 14-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back out en route to a key District 1B win.
Senior Whitney Lybeck scored a team-high 17 points, while junior Kassie Dugan came off the bench to added 14 for Chinook.
Chinook picked up its second conference win of the season with a 62-28 trouncing of the Shelby Coyotes. The Beeters outscored Shelby 18-8 in the second quarter to turn a 12-6 game into a blowout. Lybeck led a group of four Beeters in double figures with 16 points. Georgia Barber had a solid showing with 15 points, while Crystal Roseberry and Monica Thackeray added 12 and 10, respectively.
It was also a big weekend for the Big Sandy Pioneers, who picked up a pair of big District 9C wins to take sole possession of second place in the conference.
The Pioneers crushed the Box Elder Bears 60-25 on Friday night in Big Sandy. The Pioneers outscored Box Elder 19-8 in the first half and steadily pulled away in the rout.
Naomi Williams scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Pioneers. Big Sandy also got 10 points from Shalayna Pearson. Rokki Parker led Box Elder with 10 points.
Big Sandy picked up an even bigger win on Saturday night in Joplin with a 61-58 overtime win over the Blue Sky/J-I Eagles.
The Pioneers squandered a 42-33 lead in the fourth quarter as the Eagles rallied to tie the game at 52 at the end of regulation. Big Sandy outscored Blue Sky/J-I 9-6 in the five-minute overtime to get the win.
Pearson scored a game-high 25 points to lead Big Sandy. Naomi Williams added 17 and Kacy Herron chipped in with 14 in the win. Blue Sky/J-I got 20 points from Kaila Warren, 16 from Robyn Schnitzmeier and 11 from Jourdon Han in the loss.
It was tough weekend for the Eagles, who also suffered a tough 45-40 loss at the hands of the Sunburst Refiners.
Blue Sky/J-I fell behind in the first half and couldn't quite overcome the deficit in the second half, despite a furious fourth-quarter rally.
Warren led all scorers with 22 points in the losing effort. Sunburst got 13 points from Rachel Kleinert in the win.
Elsewhere in District 9C action, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars remained atop the 9C standings with a pair of wins over the weekend.
The Stars dispatched of District 8C foe Highwood 55-53 in a big nonconference clash. Rocky Boy grabbed a 20-15 first quarter lead and led for most of the game, holding off a late Mountaineer rally.
Shaneen Raining Bird led the Stars with 21 points, while Chelsey St. Pierre added eight in the win. Whitney Baum scored 20 points for Highwood.
The Stars returned to 9C action on Saturday, notching a 52-46 win over the Hays-Lodge Pole T-Birds in Hays.
The T-Birds grabbed an early 17-12 lead and hung on to a slim lead for much of the game. However, Rocky Boy exploded for 24 points in the fourth quarter to pick up the win.
Tori Belcourt pumped in a game-high 27 points to lead the Stars. Suzi Kirkaldie led Hays with 12 points, while Colette Hawley added 11 in the loss.
After losing badly to Big Sandy, Box Elder bounced back on Saturday with a 57-46 win over the KG KouGars in Box Elder.
The Bears outscored KG 23-10 in the fourth quarter to secure their third 9C win of the year. Gerri Eagleman led Box Elder with 16 points, while Rebecca Eagleman added 12 in the win. KG was led by Tasha Dyrland's 23 points. Jodi Norman added 13 in the loss.
The Chester Coyotes left the friendly confines of District 10C play on Thursday and suffered a tough 56-55 loss. Trailing 41-34 going into the fourth quarter, Chester rallied but came up just short.
Nikki Bailey scored 14 points and Jenna Witt added 13 in the win. Keyla Briese led the Coyotes with 15 points, while Mary DeVries added 13 and Shawnee Norick and Amanda Violett finished with 11 and 10, respectively.
Chester bounced back with a 70-44 win over 10C foe Valier on Saturday night in Chester.
Norick scored 15 points, while DeVries added 11 in the win. Briese and Jackie Alisch chipped in with 10 points each in the win.
In District 2B action, the Harlem Wildcats picked up a big conference win, defeating Poplar 57-52. Olivia Main scored 19 points and Danielle Dirden added 15 in the win.
Thursday
Chinook 60, Cut Bank 52
Cut Bank 4 14 19 15 - 52
Chinook 14 20 16 10 - 60
Cut Bank - Gage 6, Bauer 4, Rice 2, Ollinger 14, Stanchfield 8, Sheble 18. Totals - 19 12-21.
Chinook - Dawn Kellam 6, Monica Thackeray 9, Whitney Lybeck 17, Cheyenne Hamilton 2, Crystal Roseberry 6, Kassie Dugan 14, Georgia Barber 6. Totals - 22 13-21.
Total fouls - Cut Bank 18, Chinook 18. Fouled out - Stanchfield. 3-point goals - Ollinger 2, Thackeray 3.
Fort Benton 56, Chester 55
Fort Benton 19 11 11 15 - 56
Chester 13 14 7 21 - 55
Fort Benton - Melissa Jordan 7, Jenna Witt 13, Kaela Kittredge 7, Angie Young 6, Veronica Fultz 5, Julie Jordan 4, Nikki Bailey 14. Totals - 23 7-11.
Chester - Amanda Violett 10, Shawnee Norick 11, Mary deVries 13, Brianne Wolfe 2, Keyla Briese 15, Jackie Alisch 4. Totals - 23 8-19.
Total fouls - Fort Benton 20, Chester 11. Fouled out - Young, Violett. 3-point goals - M. Jordan 1, Witt 2, K. Briese 1.
Friday
Big Sandy 60, Box Elder 25
Box Elder 8 7 2 8 - 25
Big Sandy 19 12 16 13 - 60
Box Elder - Rokki Parker 10, Tasha Parisian 5, Gerri Eagleman 1, Sharlene Yellowtail 2, Rebecca Eagleman 2, Ashley Parisian 3, Loni LaMere 2. Totals 10-0 5-14.
Big Sandy - Naomi Williams 21, Sarah Yirsa 2, Kacy Herron 6, Sandy Zieger 6, Shalayna Pearson 10, Jessica Amsbaugh 8, Mikki Hammons 4, Morgan Darlington 3. Totals 25-2 4-8.
3-point goals - Amsbaugh 2. Total fouls - Box Elder 15, Big Sandy 11. Fouled out - A Parisian.
Rocky Boy 55, Highwood 53
Rocky Boy 20 15 12 8 - 55
Highwood 15 13 13 12 - 53
Rocky Boy - Brittany St. Pierre 5, Chelsey St. Pierre 8, Shaneen Raining Bird 21, Loni Belcourt 3, Tori Belcourt 7, Erin Broncho 2, Frances Eagleman 9. Totals - 20-3 6-8
Highwood - Donetta Gondeiro 14, Katie Schipf 15, Michal Hartman 2, Jamie Hartman 2, Whitney Baum 20. Totals - 14-2 19-25
3-point goals - B St Pierre, L Belcourt, Eagleman, Schipf 2. Total fouls - Rocky Boy 19, Highwood 13. Fouled out - none
Sunburst 45, Blue Sky/J-I 40
Blue Sky/J-I 9 11 2 18 - 40
Sunburst 16 12 5 12 - 45
Blue Sky/J-I - Kaila Warren 22, Robyn Schnitzmeier 6, Kile Patrick 7, Hannah Pimley 4, Megan Warren 1. Totals 15 9-15.
Sunburst - Rachel Kleinert 13, Cassie Myers 7, Callie Johannsen 2, Kendra Hovland 12, Rachel Schultz 6, Darcey Johannsen 5. Totals 17 5-7.
Total fouls - Blue Sky/J-I 11, Sunburst 17. Fouled out - Hovland. 3-point goals - K. Warren, Kleinert 3, Hovland 2, D. Johannsen.
SATURDAY
Chinook 62, Shelby
Shelby 6 8 7 7 - 28
Chinook 12 18 18 14 - 62
Shelby - L. Flesch 12, A. Robison 6, L. Alvestad 2, M. Cross 4, A. Stewart 2, C. Thacker 2. Totals 12 4-10.
Chinook - Dawn Kellam 3, Monica Thackeray 10, Whitney Lybeck 16, Crystal Roseberry 12, Abby Johnson 2, Kayla Dugan 2, Georgia Barber 15. Totals 25 9-18.
3-point goals - Thackeray 2, Roseberry. Fouls - Shelby 17, Chinook 15. Fouled out - Cross, Dugan.
Box Elder 57, KG 46
KG 6 12 18 10 - 46
Box Elder 13 18 3 23 - 57
KG - Jodi Norman 13, Janine Jorgenson 2, Kate Vosen 1, Tasha Dyrland 23, Kendra Donoven 7. Totals 16 11-24.
Box Elder - Rocky Parker 8, Tasha Parisian 7, Gerri Eagleman 16, Sharlene Yellowtail 9, Rebecca Eagleman 12, Ashley Parisian 3. Lonnie Lamere 2. Totals 14 21-30.
3-point goals - Dyrland, T. Parisian, G. Eagleman, Yellowtail 3, R. Eagleman 3. Fouls - KG 18, Box Elder 18. Fouled out - none.
Rocky Boy 52 Hays-Lodge pole 46
Rocky Boy 12 7 9 24 - 52
Hays-Lodge Pole 17 5 15 9 - 46
Rocky Boy - Brittany St. Pierre 1, Chelsey St. Pierre2, Shaneen Raining Bird 3, Loni Belcourt 7, Tori Belcourt 27, Frances Eagleman 2, Erin Broncho 8. Totals - 13 17-43.
Hays-Lodge pole - Jean White Cow 7, Suzi Kirkaldie 12, Sheena Shambo 9, Twai Werk 5, DeAnne Brockie 1, Colette hawley 11. Totals - 15 12-25.
Total fouls - RB 19, HL 31. Fouled out - Raining Bird, White Cow, Kirkaldie, Jennifer Messerly (HL). Technical foul - Werk. Three point goals - L. Belcourt, T. Belcourt 2, White Cow, Shambo 2.
Blue Sky/J-I 61 Big Sandy 58 (ot)
Big Sandy 10 18 14 10 6 - 58
Blue Sky/J-I 12 12 9 19 9 - 61
Big Sandy - Naomi Williams 17, Kacy Herron 14, Sandy Zieger 2, Shalayna Pearson 25. Totals - 27 1-5.
Blue Sky/J-I - Kaila Warren 20, Robyn Schnitzmeier 16, Kile Patrick 6, Hannah Pimley 8, Jourdon Han 11. Totals - 23 9-16.
Total fouls - BS 21, BS/J-I 17. Fouled out - Herron, Zieger. 3-point goals - Pearson 3, Warren 4, Schnitzmeier, Han.
Chester 70, Valier 44
Valier 10 10 16 8 - 44
Chester 19 25 13 13 - 70
Valier - Caylo DeBoo 6, Brandy Ahern 8, Brooke Holden 1, Micah Hall 3, Aisha Snyder 14, Mykala Tatsey 8, Ashley Breding 2, Crystal DeBoo 2. Totals - 18 7-16.
Chester - Amanda Violett 9, Brittney Kolstad 3, Shawnee Norick 15, Jillien Johnson 3, Mary DeVries 11, Brianne Wolfe 9, Keyla Briese 10, Jackie Alisch 10. Totals - 29 9-15.
Total fouls - Valier 9, Chester 14. Fouled out - none.3-point goals - Ca. DeBoo, Johnson, Briese 2.
