Rocky Boy finally wins District 9C girls basketball championship after a 58-39 thumping of perennial power Big Sandy; Pioneers square off against North Star in challenge game tonight
Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
After fighting for four years to win a District 9C girls championship, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars finally saw their dream realized with a 58- 39 win over Big Sandy Saturday night at the Havre High School Gymnasium. Rocky Boy had lost in the finals the previous two seasons, including last year’s overtime loss to Big Sandy in the title game. However, after a dominating all-around performance, the Morning Stars can finally put past failures behind them for good. “I guess the third time is the charm for us,” Rocky Boy forward Erin Broncho said. “It took us three times to beat North Star and it took us three times to win the 9C championship. But it feels awesome.” Rocky Boy dominated the game from start to finish, never trailing the Pioneers on its way to victory. Broncho was spectacular in the game for the Morning Stars, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven boards, and her play spearheaded Rocky Boy to victory. Loni Belcourt also had a stellar game, scoring 21 points and notching seven rebounds. Sister Tori Belcourt also pitched in with 11 points, and an astounding 15 rebounds. Tori Belcourt also dished out seven assists for Rocky Boy. “This feels great after losing in the finals each of the last two years,” Loni Belcourt said. “We all played together tonight and we all worked really hard. We can go a long way if we want to. It just depends on the way that we play.” Rocky Boy flew out of the gates, scoring the first 13 points of the game, and by the end of the first quarter, the Morning Stars held a commanding 16-2 advantage. Big Sandy pulled to within 10 points after back-to-back baskets by Shalayna Pearson, which made the score 17-7 with 6:17 left in the second quarter. But Rocky Boy responded like champions, getting three consecutive baskets from Loni Belcourt, which sparked a 9-0 run that pushed the lead back to 19 points with 2:59 left in the half. Big Sandy never recovered from the spurt. The Pioneers never got back within 10 points and entered the halftime break trailing 32-16. “We just wanted to go out there and be aggressive,” Rocky Boy head coach Mike Sangrey said. “We are a team that likes to full-court press and that’s what we did tonight. These girls are in great shape and they did a great job tonight. “Like I have said before, this is a veteran team and they really showed it tonight,” he added. “They did a great job of coming out and getting ahead early on in the game, and then we just finished it off.” Big Sandy got within 11 points after a layup by Kourtney Danreuther with 4:52 left in the third quarter. Yet, the Morning Stars refused to let the Pioneers back in the game, finishing the quarter on an 11-4 run to give themselves a 46-26 lead. Danreuther was the only Pioneer player to reach double figures in scoring as she notched 10 points in the loss. Pearson added seven points and Josi Herron pitched in six points for Big Sandy. “We really wanted to try and put some pressure on them,” Sangrey said. “We were able to force them into some turnovers and we forced them to play from behind.’ As a result of their loss to Rocky Boy in the 9C title game, the Pioneers will be forced to play North Star tonight at 6 in a challenge game for the right to go the Northern C Divisional tournament in Great Falls. The winner will join Rocky Boy, who earned a ticket to the tournament by way of its 9C tournament championship. “This isn’t my first dance,” Sangrey said. “I won a 9C championship back in 1992. But I am really proud of this team. They really stuck together and we were finally able to finish something that we started. “It is a really great feeling,” he added. “And these girls really deserve it. I just can’t tell you how proud I am of them.”
