By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
It was simply the biggest free throw of Brianne Wolfe's short high school career. Wolfe, a junior, sank a free throw with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Chester Coyotes a 34-33 double overtime victory over the Big Sandy Pioneers in opening round action of the Northern C Girls Divisional basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.
With the score knotted at 33, Chester held the ball for the final two minutes of the second overtime in attempt to take one final shot. Chester head coach Dustin Gordon took a timeout with 7.3 seconds remaining to set up a final shot. Senior Shawnee Norick found a cutting Wolfe in the key and she was promptly fouled.
Wolfe missed the first free throw, but calmly stepped up and hit the second one.
With each team winning a game in the regular season, the game turned into a chess match between Gordon and Big Sandy head coach Roy Lackner.
Both teams changed up their style of play on offense, playing extremely deliberate and patience.
Big Sandy led early in the game and for much of the first half even after Chester's Amanda Violett canned a long 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to 19-13.
Chester tied the game early in the third quarter and the two teams traded leads often in the second half. A Wolfe score with just over three minutes left gave the Coyotes their first lead of the game.
Chester led 29-27 late in the game, but Big Sandy junior Kacy Herron tied the game with a pair of free throws. Chester failed to get a final shot attempt in regulation.
In overtime, neither team was able to get much going offensively, each scoring a bucket. Lackner stalled for the final minute and half to get a final shot, but Sandy Zeiger's attempt was well short.
Wolfe led Chester with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Violett added nine points.
Big Sandy was led by Herron's 12 points, while Shalayna Pearson added eight and seven rebounds. The Pioneers' leading scorer Naomi Williams battled foul trouble and was held to just two points on 1-6 shooting.
Chester advances to Friday's semifinal at 3:15 to face the Geraldine Tigers, who defeated Denton 32-30 in their first round game.
Big Sandy is playing at 8 a.m. this morning against Denton.
In the other first round game, Loni Belcourt's runner in the lane with 28 seconds remaining to give the Rocky Boy Morning Stars a 44-41 win over Sunburst.
Belcourt, who had eight stitches put in her middle finger on Tuesday after a weight lifting accident, didn't' start the game and was held to three points until the fourth quarter.
But Rocky Boy's leading scorer came through down the stretch, scoring nine points in the game's final minutes. She tied the game at 37 with a driving basket and then gave Rocky Boy a 40-39 lead with a 3-pointer from the wing. She also drained a pair of insurance free throws with five seconds remaining to help secure the win.
Besides Belcourt, junior Shaneen Rainingbird scored 11 points and had eight rebounds, while freshman Erin Broncho added nine points and nine rebounds.
Rachel Kleinert led Sunburst with 14 points on 6-18 shooting.
Rocky Boy will face the Grass Range Rangers on Friday at 5 p.m. in semifinal action.
Chester 34, Big Sandy 33 (2 OT)
Big Sandy 10 9 7 3 2 2 - 33
Chester 6 7 10 6 2 3 - 34
Big Sandy - Sandy Zeiger 1 0-0 2, Kacy Herron 5 2-4 12, Naomi Williams 1 0-0 2, Sarah Yirsa 1 0-0 2, Shalayna Pearson 5 0-1 10, Jessica Amsbaugh 1 0-0 3, Morgan Darlington 1 0-0 2. Totals - 15 2-5.
Chester - Shawnee Norick 1 0-0 2, Amanda Violett 4 0-1 9, Mary DeVries 3 0-1 6, Brianne Wolfe 5 1-2 11, Keyla Briese 1 4-4 6, Brittney Kolstad 0 0-0 0, Jackie Alisch 0 0-0 0. Totals - 14 5-8.
Total fouls - Big Sandy 12, Chester 9. Fouled out - None. 3-pointers - Amsbaugh 1, Violett 1. Rebounds - Big Sandy 31 (Pearson 7), Chester 29 (Wolfe 8).
Rocky Boy 44, Sunburst 41
Rocky Boy 9 7 5 23 - 44
Sunburst 11 3 11 16 - 41
Rocky Boy - Shaneen Rainingbird 4 3-4 11, Loni Belcourt 4 3-5 12, Tori Belcourt 3 0-0 8, Erin Broncho 4 1-3 9, Frances Eagleman 2 0-0 4. Totals - 17 7-12.
Sunburst - Rachel Kleinert 6 1-2 14, Kendra Hovland 2 0-0 6, Kallie Johannsen 1 0-0 2, Rachel Schulze 2 5-8 8, Darcy Johannsen 5 0-4 10. Totals - 16 6-16.
Total fouls - Rocky Boy 13, Sunburst 15. Fouled out - Broncho. 3-point goals - L. Belcourt 1, T. Belcourt 2, Kleinert 1, Hovland 2. Rebounds - Rocky Boy 41 (Broncho 9, Raining Bird 8), Sunburst 48 (Schulze 10, Johannsen 10).
Geraldine 32, Denton 30
Denton 7 5 9 9 - 30
Geraldine 15 6 8 3 - 32
Denton - Whitney Derks 0 0-0 0, Denice Musik 4 2-5 10, Michelle Melton 0 0-0 0, Megan Bronec 0 0-0 0, Emily Linker 0 0-0 0, Barbara Todd 0 1-2 1, Jenessa Todd 2 8-10 12, Amanda Johnson 1 2-2 4, Brenna Todd 1 1-2 3. Totals - 8 14-22.
Geraldine - Marissa Clark 2 5-6 9, Rachel Clark 5 2-2 12, Alicia Burtchett 3 0-2 6, Toni Qunell 1 0-0 2, Courtney Burtchett 1 0-1 3, Leslie Engellant 0 0-0 0, Becky Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals - 12 7-11.
Total fouls - Denton 15, Geraldine 15. Fouled out - None. 3-pointers - C. Burtchett 1. Rebounds - Denton 30 (B. Todd 4, J. Todd 4, Musik 4), Geraldine 34 (M. Clark 6).
Grass Range 59, Centerville 46
Grass Range 12 17 7 23 - 59
Centerville 12 9 15 10 - 46
Grass Range - Karin Romanchuk 6 2-4 14, Brittany Olson 2 4-4 8, Laramey Pancheri 5 4-6 14, Jene Schnitzmeier 1 0-0 2, Marisa Griffith 4 5-6 13, Carime Mury 3 2-5 8. Totals - 21 17-25.
Centerville - Danielle LaRocque 4 1-3 10, Keighty Peters 3 0-0 6, Nikki Voegel 5 2-2 13, Jessica Dunn 4 0-0 8, Rachael Dammen 3 0-0 9. Totals - 19 3-5.
Total fouls - Grass Range 9, Centerville 21. Fouled out - Kerri Robinson. 3-point goals - LaRocque 1, Voegel 1, Dammen 3. Rebounds - Grass Range 38 (Romanchuk 6, Griffith 6), Centerville 35 (LaRocque 7).
