Hi-Line Girls Roundup: Knights earns key 9C wins; Rocky Boy rolls

It wasn’t just a big weekend of girls hoops on the Hi-Line. No, this past weekend will go down as one of the biggest of the season, especially in the District 9C.

There were major shake-ups in the 9C standings over the weekend, and it started with the Chinook Sugarbeeters 46-27 win over Fort Benton-Geraldine Thursday night in Chinook. The Longhorns came into the game as the only unbeaten team left in the 9C, but the Beeters got off to a 16-8 start, and they never looked back.

Katelyn Neibauer poured in a game-high 19 points while Brooke Nicholson added 14 for the Beeters. The Longhorns were held without a double-digit scorer as Chinook played some stingy defense for all 32 minutes.

In another 9C affair Thursday night, the Box Elder Bears took it to the Turner Tornadoes. Playing at home, the Bears rolled to a 68-32 conference victory. Alicia Wolf Chief hit three 3-pointers and scored 16 points for Box Elder. Tia Russell and Tyrah Gopher each added 11. Ella Billmayer led Turner with nine points, while Rylee Conlan added eight.

While Chinook rattled the 9C standings Thursday night, the North Star Knights did the same Friday. In Gildford, the Knights took down the Beeters 35-27. Chinook got a taste of its own medicine as the Knights’ defense was stifling all night long. Still, the Beeters led 11-2 after the first quarter, and were in front 25-18 at the end of the three. From there however, North Star’s offense came alive, as the Knights out-scored the Beeters 18-2 the rest of the way.

Senior Tylynn Rettig led the Knights with 12 points, while Mackenzie Hansen and Sheridan O’Neil each scored seven. Brooke Nicholson was the high scorer for the Beeters with nine points.

Friday night also saw Turner bounce back from its tough loss to the Bears. Back at home, Turner trounced winless Big Sandy 57-37. Ella Billmayer scored 15 points, while sisters Reagan, Kristina and Rylee Conlan scored 10 points apiece. The young Pioneers got 16 points from Abby Gregory and another 11 by Cheyenne Johnson.

In Class B action Friday night, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars cruised to a huge 1B win over Conrad. Playing at home one night before they were beaten by Havre High, the Morning Stars took down the Cowgirls 58-40. Rocky Boy built a 33-20 halftime lead and was never challenged after that. Jai-Lynne Day Child paced the Morning Stars with 18 points, and Rosie Parker added 10.

Things weren’t as good for Harlem Friday night, as the Wildcats were crushed by No. 2 Malta 57-19 in a 2B game in Harlem. Brooke LeValdo scored nine points in the loss for the Wildcats.

Chester/J-I also moved up a class Friday night, but the result was a close loss at the hands of the 1B Cut Bank Wolves. The Hawks raced out to a 14-4 lead at home, but couldn’t keep the Wolves at bay, eventually losing 44-37. Allix Goldhahn pumped in 17 points and Madeline Woods scored 15 for the Hawks.

As tough as the loss was though, the Hawks got the win they needed the most. Saturday night, C/J-I went to Fort Benton and handed the Longhorns their second straight 9C loss. The game was nip and tuck throughout, but C/J-I was able to hold on for a 40-32 win.

In the victory, Goldhahn scored 11 points for C/J-I. Cassidy McCarthy and Makae Nack each scored eight points for the Longhorns.

In what turned out to be a big weekend for North Star, the Knights earned a conference sweep by turning away Big Sandy 49-21 Saturday night in Big Sandy. Once again, North Star’s defense was stellar, and the Knights used a 21-6 run in the first quarter to put the Pioneers away early.

Mackenzie Hansen scored 19 points to pave the way for the Knights, while the Pioneers got six points each from Abby Gregory and Cheyenne Johnson, while Jenna Leader posted five.

Box Elder also got its second conference win of the weekend as well Saturday night. In Box Elder, the Bears rolled to a 67-19 victory over the struggling Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds. The game was a prelude to the huge boys showdown between the Bears and T-Birds, and the Box Elder girls didn’t disappoint. The Bears out-scored the T-Birds 23-4 in the first quarter and they never looked back.

Tia Russell led all scorers with 14 points, but the Bears got 12 by Nikayala Anderson and Tyrah Gopher as well. In all, 12 different Bears scored Saturday night, while Tia Zander led the T-Birds with six points.

And while Friday night was certainly a rough one for the Harlem Wildcats, they bounced back in a big way Saturday night. Harlem was at rival Poplar, and the Wildcats blew the Indians out, 54-19. Harlem led 38-10 at halftime. Autumn Little Plum led four Wildcats in double figures with 12 points. Brooke LeValdo and Mari Ereaux each added 10.

Monday night, the Turner Tornadoes were back in action, taking on the Havre High freshman team at the HHS gymnasium. And in a wild finish, the Tornadoes were able to beat the Blue Ponies 41-38 in overtime. In the final minute of regulation, the Tornadoes and Ponies both had looks at a game-winning shot, but none of them went down, and the two teams played extra time.

Thursday

Box Elder 68, Turner 32

Turner 6 9 8 9 -- 32

Box Elder 25 16 20 7 -- 68

Turner – Ella Billmayer 9, Melanie Watkins 4, Jaye Anderson 2, Rennay Watkins 2, Kristina Conlan 7, Rylee Conlan 8. Totals: 14 0-5.

Box Elder – Jaynee Parisian 2, Lellani Gardipee 7, Tia Russell 11, Alicia Wolf Chief 16, Dominique Nault 2, Misty Baker 6, Sayra Long Fox 2, Alyssa LaMere 4, Tai Russell 2, Tyrah Gopher 11, Sally Houle 5. Totals: 28 9-13.

3-point goals – Billmayer 1, K. Conlan 1, R. Conlan 2, Wolf Chief 3. Total fouls – Turner 9, Box Elder 8. Fouled out – None.

Chinook 46, Geraldine-Fort Benton 27

Geraldine-FB 8 3 6 10 - 27

Chinook 16 9 5 16 - 46

G-FB: T. Andreason 9, R. Briese 6, S. Christensen 1, E. Toon 6, T. Arganbright 6, R. Kurtz 1, S. Bronec 1.

Chinook: Abigail Ellison 1, Brooke Nicholson 14, Kelsey Mathon 1, Katelyn Neibauer 19, Hannah Weber 7, Brooke Elliot 4.

Friday

Turner 57, Big Sandy 37

Big Sandy 6 8 10 13 -- 37

Turner 8 14 17 18 -- 57

Big Sandy – J. Leader 4, A. Rutledge 4, C. Johnson 11, A. Gregory 16, M. Reichet 2. Totals: 18 1-10.

Turner – Ella Billmayer 15, Tyler Anderson 2, Melanie Watkins 2, Rennay Watkins 6, Charley Anderson 2, Raegan Conlan 10, Kristina Conlan 10, Rylee Conlan 10. Totals: 22 11-17.

3-point goals – K. Conlan. Total fouls – Big Sandy 16, Turner 16. Fouled out – Leader.

Rocky Boy 58, Conrad 40

Conrad 11 9 7 13 -- 40

Rocky Boy 19 14 10 15 -- 58

Conrad – K. Harris 5, A. Russell 2, G. Drishinski 4, M. Hampton 3, M. DeBoo 5, E. Harwood 12, D. VanDyke 4, J. Johns 4. Totals: 15 9-16.

Rocky Boy – M. The Boy 9, J. Daychild 18, J. The Boy 7, K. Cantrell 6, J. LaForge 4, R. Parker 10, J. Mitchell 4. Totals: 21 10-13.

3-point goals – Hampton 1, M. The Boy 1, Daychild 3, J. The Boy 1, Parker 1. Total fouls – Conrad 18, Rocky Boy 15. Fouled out – None.

Malta 57, Harlem 19

Malta 14 14 18 11 -57

Harlem 10 0 45 - 19

Malta: Marley Manoukian 8, Sophia Stiles 20, Markelle Lett 5, Hailey Nicholson 12, Jada Nicholson 4, Kelsey Kuehn 4, Adrianna Bibeau 2, Darby Schye 2.

Harlem: Mari Ereaux 5, Autumn Little Plume 2, Ticia Clift 3, Brooke LaValdo 9.

Cut Bank 44, Chester/J-I 37

Cut Bank 4 16 13 11 - 44

C/J-I 14 5 8 10 - 37

Cut Bank: Dakota Dosch 14, Alex Kraft 10, Duana Gobbert 8, Marissa VandenBos 7, Rayenn Thompson 3, Logan Swenson 2.

C-J-I: Allix Goldhahn 17, Madeline Woods 15, Kristina Dahinder 3, PeMayton Cole 2.

North Star 36, Chinook 27

Chinook 11 8 6 2 - 27

North Star 2 6 10 18 -36

Chinook: Brooke Nicholson 9, Hannah Weber 6, Kelsey Mathon 4, Katelyn Neibauer 6, Brooke Elliot 2.

North Star: Mackenzie Hansen 7, Tylynn Rettig 12, Alissa Borlaug 6, Sheridan O'Neil 7, Sheridan Spicher 4.

Saturday

North Star 49, Big Sandy 21

North Star 21 5 7 16 -- 49

Big Sandy 6 2 8 5 -- 21

North Star – M. Hansen 19, H. Kapperud 3, T. Rettig 6, L. Pederson 4, A. Borlaug 6, S. Pester 1, K. Harvey 2, S. O'Neil 6, S. Spicher 2. Totals: 18 9-13.

Big Sandy – A. Gregory 6, C. Johnson 6, M Reichelt 4, J. Leader 5. Totals: 10 1-7

3-point goals – Hanson 4. Total fouls – North Star 9, Big Sandy 10. Fouled out – A. Rutledge.

Chester/J-I 40, Fort Benton-Geraldine 32

C/J-I 7 11 13 9 - 40

FB-G 6 10 8 8 - 32

C/J-I - Kylee Vinson 2, Peyton Cole 6, Korrin Harmon 1, Madeline Woods 6, Allix Goldhahn 11, Kristine Dahindren 7, Katelin Hansen 7. Totals: 6 28-40.

Fort Benton-Geraldine - Kaitlyn Bird 7, Katie Witt 3, Coya Nack 4, Makae Nack 8, Cassidy McCarthy 8, Bailey Willson 2. Totals: 10 8-24.

3-pointers - Bird, Witt. Total fouls - CJI 18, FBG 20. Fouled out - Cole, Bird, Witt, C. Nack, M. Nack. Technical foul - FB-G bench.

Harlem 54, Poplar 19

Harlem 24 14 13 3 -- 54

Poplar 5 5 4 5 -- 19

Harlem – Mari Ereaux 10, Autumn Little Plume 12, Teche' Ercaan 7, Ticia Cliff 4, Sami Werk 2, Anita Bentley 3, Brooke Le Valdo 10, Liz Horn 2, Erin LaMere 4. Totals: 17 15-26.

Poplar – Dae'shanna Fourbear 2, Janaeya Sutherland 1, Samantha Youngman 6, Jessa Shields 3, Kylee Stump 6, Angel Bighorn 1. Totals: 5 7-11.

3-point goals – Ercaan 1, La Valdo 2, Youngman 2. Total fouls – Harlem 13, Poplar 22. Fouled out – Fourbear, Sutherland. Technical fouls – Cliff, Sutherland.

Box Elder 67, Hays-Lodge Pole 19

HLP 4 7 3 5 – 19

BE 23 19 17 8 – 67

Hays-Lodge Pole – K. Shambo 5, R. Kirkaldie 5, L. Kirkaldie 3, T. Zander 6. Totals: 8 0-0.

Box Elder – Nikayla Anderson 12, Chamique Houle 2, Leilani Gardipee 6, Tia Russell 14, Alicia Wolf Chief 6, Misty Baker 6, Sayra Long Fox 1, Alyssa LaMere 4, Tai Russell 4, Tyrah Gopher 12. Totals: 27 11-17.

3-pointers – Shambo, R. Kirkaldie, L. Kirkaldie, Anderson 2. Total fouls – HLP 14, BE 7.