George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
The first full weekend of girls high school basketball was a busy one across the Hi-Line. Local teams gathered in Big Sandy, Chester and Great Falls for some entertaining nonconference action.
On Friday in Big Sandy, the North Star Knights got their season off to a good start by narrowly defeating District 7C rival Winifred, 43-40.
The Knights had to rally late in the fourth quarter after trailing 32-30 going in. North Star outscored the Red Raiders 13-8 down the stretch to earn the three-point victory.
The Knights were led by Tasha Dyrland's game-high 16 points. Jodi Norman chipped in with 10 points.
Friday night also saw tournament host Big Sandy destroy visiting Dutton-Brady, 70-44, behind a scintillating night from senior guard Kacy Herron. She led the Pioneers with a game-high 24 points, while fellow senior Naomi Williams added 17.
The Pioneers outscored Dutton-Brady 58-17 in the first half and then put things on cruise control the rest of the way.
The rest of Friday night's action included Chester/J-I thumping Belt, 70-33, at the Chester/J-I tournament. Sunburst also downed Chinook, 53-52, in overtime in the Sugarbeeters' first Class C game.
In Great Falls, both Rocky Boy and Box Elder were victorious on the opening night of the 2005 Northern Native American Classic. The Morning Stars routed Two Eagle River, 105-22, and the Bears drubbed Heart Butte, 61-37.
Saturday night's biggest game took place in the finale of the Chester/J-I tournament, as the Chester/J-I Hawks dismantled Chinook, 74-48.
The Hawks used a 21-13 second-quarter run to build a 31-24 halftime lead, and then broke the game wide open in the fourth period with a 27-10 run that sealed Chinook's fate. The Beeters were also hampered by foul trouble throughout the game.
Keyla Breise paced four Hawks in double figures with 20 points. Hannah Pimley added 12 points, while Mary Devries and Jackie Alisch scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Beeters were led by Kassie Dugan's 14 points and Dawn Kellam's 13.
While Chester/J-I was handling Chinook, the host Pioneers suffered an early season upset at the hands of Highwood in Big Sandy. The Mountaineers erased a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to spring the 63-61 upset victory.
Kacy Herron and Sarah Yirsa each scored 14 points to lead the Pioneers. Jessica Amsbaugh chipped in with 13 points in the losing effort.
The North Star Knights were also victorious on the final day of the Big Sandy tournament, defeating Denton, 36-24.
In Saturday night action at the Native American Classic in Great Falls, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars had little trouble with overmatched Dodson. The Morning Stars rolled to an easy 77-23 win.
Frances Eagleman scored a game-high 22 points to lead Rocky Boy. Tori Belcourt and Erin Broncho chipped in with nine points apiece.
Meanwhile, Box Elder dropped its first game of the season, a 63-59 loss to Kainai, Alberta. Sharlene Yellow Tail and Rokki Parker led Box Elder with 21 and 15 points, respectively.
The Hays-Lodge Pole girls also found themselves on the short end of a 47-40 decision at the hands of the Plenty Coups Warriors Saturday night at the Southern Native American Classic in Billings. It was the T-Birds' first loss of the season.
Friday
Big Sandy Tournament
North Star, 43 Winifred 40
Winifred 7 12 13 8 - 40
North Star 5 11 14 13 - 43
Winifred - E. Econom 12, Sayre 2, Schmidt 16, NA 5, Wilson 3, K. Econom 2
North Star - T. Warren 1, Dyrland 16, M. Warren 3, Grant 4, Norman 10, Han 5, Wendland 4
Total fouls - Winifred 23, North Star 21. Fouled out - Schmidt. Technical fouls - none. 3-pointers - Warren, Grant
Big Sandy 70, Dutton-Brady 44
Dutton-Brady 10 7 15 12 - 44
Big Sandy 25 23 13 9 - 70
Dutton-Brady - Bokma 17, Gondeiro 14, Dutton 6, Thom 7. Totals: 19 3-8.
Big Sandy - Williams 17, Pearson 9, Herron 24, Cline 3, Darlington 6, S. Cline 5, Jessica Amsbaugh. 6. Totals: 25 18-31.
Total fouls - DB 18, BS 18. Fouled out - Williams. 3-point goals - -Gondeiro 2, Thom 1, Herron 2.
Saturday
Native American Classic/Great Falls
Kainai, Alta., 63 Box Elder 59
Kainai 20 9 18 16 - 63
Box Elder 17 21 9 12 - 59
Kainai - Chelsea Tailfeathers 4, Starr Eagle Child 19, Celina Rabbit 4, Sonja Chief Calf 3, Tiffany Weasel Head 30, Heidi Wells 3. Totals: 23 11-14.
Box Edler - Rokki Parker 15, Latasha WolfChild 10, Sharlene Yellow Tail 21, Arielle Wolf Chief 4, Tasha Parisian 9. Totals: 22 10-24.
Total fouls - Kainai 18, BE 13. Fouled out - Weasel Head. 3-pointers - Eagle Chief, Weasel Head 4, Wolf Child, Yellow Tail 4.
Rocky Boy, 77 Dodson 23
Rocky Boy 16 17 26 18 - 77
Dodson 6 9 8 0 - 23
Rocky Boy - Shaneen Raining Bird 8, Loni Belcourt 6, Tori Belcourt 9, France Eagleman 22, Erin Broncho 9, Deena Sunchild 2, Randee Demontiney 5, Courtney St. Pierre 2, Apryl Webster 5, DaiShawn Whitford 4, Tylyn Whitford 5. Totals: 33 10-11
Dodson - Lara Ereaux 2, Jasmine Lester 2, Shelby Werk 17, Jessica Horn 2. Totals: 10 0-1.
Total fouls - RB 6, Dodson 14. Fouled out - none. 3-pointers - T. Belcourt, Eagleman, Webster, T. Whtiford, Werk 3.
Big Sandy Tournament
Highwood 63, Big Sandy 61
Highwood 16 11 18 18 - 63
Big Sandy 16 17 16 12 - 61
Highwood - Donetta Gondeiro 10, Katie Schipf 12, Julia Granger 6, Richelle O'Leary 2, Rachel Semansky 13, Whitney Baum 20. Totals: 24 10-12.
Big Sandy - Naomi Williams 5, Shalayana Pearson 4, Kacy Herron 14, Sarah Yirsa 14, S. Cline 9, M. Darlington 2, Jessica Amsbaugh 13. Totals: 23 8-13.
Total fouls - Highwood 15, BS 17. Fouled out - Semansky. 3-pointers - Schipf 3, Baum 2, Herron 2, Cline 3, Amsbaugh 2.
Chester/J-I Tournament
Chester 74, Chinook 48
Chester 10 21 16 27 - 74
Chinook 11 13 14 10 - 48
Chester/J-I - A. Violett 9, B. Kolstad 7, H. Pimley 12, M. Devries 11, B. Wolfe 5, K. Breise 20, J. Alisch 10. Totals - 25 22-31.
Chinook - D. Kellam 13, C. Hamilton 8, C. Roseberry 4, J. McMaster 4, A. Johnson 2, M. Obie 4, K. Dugan 14, G. Barber 1. Totals - 20 8-15.
