9C Girls: Deep field comes to Havre

There are a lot of reasons why the entire Hi-Line, and beyond, is excited about the 2015 District 9C girls basketball tournament. But perhaps the biggest reason is — this tournament is going to be action-packed.

The 9C girls tourney gets underway Wednesday afternoon at the Havre High gymnasium, and under a new format, will run through Friday night. The boys tournament will run from Thursday to Saturday, and on Thursday and Friday, there will be a total of 16 boys and girls games played. Yes, this is 9C tournament like we’ve never seen before. The additions of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton-Geraldine created the new format, while it also gives the 9C three spots in next week’s Northern C Divisional instead of two.

But, the format and the new teams are just part of the story. The big story line over the next four days will be — who’s going to win? And who’s going to go to divisionals? Those questions are up in the air because this 9C girls tournament is one of the deepest in recent memory.

“The 9C tournament will be a dog fight,” said Fort Benton Geraldine head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier. “It's all about which team is going to show up and master their game plan on that given night.”

Scheffelmaier’s Longhorns are one of a slew of teams who could not only win the 9C, but advance to the Northern C. They wound up finishing third in the regular season standings in their inaugural season in the 9C, and their first co-oping with Geraldine. The Longhorns (14-4, 10-4) are led by Cassidy McCarthy, who averages 14 points per game, while sisters Makae and Coya Nack each average around 13 points per night. They will face sixth-seeded Turner (8-10, 4-10) in the first round Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The Tornadoes have won eight games this season, the most in Turner girls basketball in over a decade. But they will still be an underdog this weekend, all be it a very dangerous underdog. Led by sophomore Ella Billmayer, as well as sisters Kristina, Rylee and Raegan Conlan, and sophomore Rennay Watkins, Turner has its most talented and productive team in years.

The opening game of the 9C tourney will feature the two-time defending champion Chinook Sugarbeeters (16-2, 13-1). It’s been another dominant 9C season for the Beeters, who captured their third straight regular season title, with just one loss on their resume. Graduation, and the loss of legendary head coach Charlie Robinson hit the Beeters hard, but, under new head coach Mollie Rose, Chinook comes into the 9C tourney poised to defend its crown. Katelyn Neibauer leads the 9C in scoring, while Hannah Weber and Brooke Nicholson can also get into double digits. Chinook will take on winless Big Sandy (0-18, 0-14) Wednesday at 12 p.m. The Pioneers, led by senior Abby Gregory, have one of the youngest teams in the history of the 9C this season.

Meanwhile, Chester/J-I (11-3) is young, too, but the Hawks earned the No. 2 seed in this week’s tournament by finishing strong. C/J-I long dominated the 10C, and the Hawks are a 9C power in their first season in the district. Now, behind super sophomore Allix Goldhahn, the Hawks look to leave their mark on their first 9C tournament, and get back to Great Falls after missing the Northern C a year ago. C/J-I will take on seventh-seeded Hays-Lodge Pole (3-15, 2-12) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

"I'm optimistic going into the 9C,” C/J-I head coach Pat Goldhahn said. “The good thing about tournaments is that it comes down to who is playing our best basketball. We are starting to get some other girls to step up and score, and we are getting some of our other players some more experience."

While Wednesday may produce some mismatches, one of them won’t be the 2:30 p.m. tilt between fourth-seeded Box Elder (10-8, 8-6) and fifth-seeded North Star (10-8, 8-6). The Bears swept the Knights this season, but they both ended up with identical conference and overall records, and the loser of that game will have a hard time coming all the way back to make the divisional tournament. The Bears, under head coach Joel Rosette, have really been on the rise this season, and though they’re led in scoring by Leilani Gardipee and Alicia Wolf Chief, they have as much depth as any team in the field. The Knights, who have played in three straight 9C championship games, have had an up and down season, but led by seniors Mackenzie Hansen and Tylynn Rettig, they are still one of the team’s to beat this week.

"I respect all the teams — they are pretty even this year — but we do not fear anybody,” North Star head coach Griff Bye said. “We feel that if we play our game and play as well as we can, we are as good as anybody and can beat anybody.”

And that’s the way this new-look 9C tournament will play out. Thursday’s semifinals and Friday morning’s loser-out games will have a huge impact on what three teams will head to Great Falls for the Northern C. And with five teams boasting a winning record coming in, and Turner not far behind, the 2015 9C tournament could be one of the most exciting 9C tourneys in recent memory.

The District 9C girls tournament gets underway with four games Wednesday. The semifinals will be at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday and the consolation game will be played at 7 p.m. Friday. The 2015 9C girls championship game will get started at 8:30 p.m. Friday and all of the action takes place at the HHS gymnasium.