Hi-Line Girls Roundup: Harlem wins big Class B rivalry games

The clock is certainly ticking on the 2016-17 girls high school basketball team. And now, the calendar is turning to February, which means, the race to district tournaments is full on.

Last week on the Hi-Line, the Fort Benton Longhorns made a push to secure second place in the District 9C standings with a dominant, 66-30 win at home against North Star Thursday night. The game was close for a half, but Fort Benton outscored the Knights 26-2 in the third quarter to blow the game open.

Maddie Thompson scored 10 points for the Longhorns, but Fort Benton was balanced, with 13 different players reaching the scoring column. Paij Peterson poured in a game-high 20 points for the Knights.

While Thursday night’s game was tough, North Star did bounce back. On Friday, the Knights held off a great effort by Hays-Lodge Pole in a 47-44 win. The Thunderbirds led 24-19 at the break, but the Knights were able to erase a five-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Kate Hansen led three Knights in double figures with 14 points. Paij Peterson had 12 and Sheridan Spicher scored 11. Rayleigh Kirkaldie scored 23 points in the loss for HLP.

Chinook is also making a push late in the season, and the Sugarbeeters played well in a 53-33 road win over Chester-Joplin-Inverness Friday night. Sierra Swank and Erin Pula combined for 28 points for the Beeters, while Korrin Harmon scored 13 for the Hawks, who also lost to Box Elder Tuesday night.

Speaking of the first-place Bears, they’re simply on a roll right now, and that roll continued Friday night. In a non-conference game in Highwood, the Bears crushed Gerladine-Highwood 82-24. Box Elder scored 47 points in the first quarter and never looked back, as Maddie Wolf Chief and Joelnell Momberg each scored 16 points in the win.

Friday also saw Big Sandy drop a non-conference game to DGS, 52-39.

In Class B action Friday night, a pair of bitter rivals got together in Harlem, and while the Rocky Boy Morning Stars looked to have the upper hand, it was the host Wildcats who came away with a 30-point, blowout victory. Harlem exploded for 24 points in the second quarter and 28 in the third in a 87-57 win over the Morning Stars.

Kailee Henry scored 26 points, but the Wildcats also got 25 from L’Tia Lawrence and 15 by Skylee Dirden in their biggest offensive game of the season. Jaylynn Mitchell scored 23 for Rocky Boy in the non-conference loss.

Turner is also trying to keep pace in the 9C standings, and Saturday night, the Tornadoes did just that with a thrilling 58-56 win over CJI in Turner. The Tornadoes took a 2-point lead into the fourth quarter, and made it stick. Ella Billmayer led three Tornadoes in double figures with 19 points, while Raegan Conlan and Shyan Krass each scored 13. Khloe Kamerzell scored 17 for the Hawks, but Peyton Hawks added 13 and Kendahl Knapton chipped in with 10.

Box Elder, which took care of CJI back on Tuesday by the score of 61-22, returned to 9C action Saturday night, and even in the Chinook Gymnasium, the Beeters were simply no match for the Bears. Box Elder raced out to a 31-12 lead in the first half and went on to win 55-20, to remain undefeated in the 9C.

Lilly Gopher notched a game-high 20 points for the Bears, while Brooke Elliot and Sierra Swank each scored six for the Beeters.

HLP also bounced back Saturday night, defeating Big Sandy 56-40.

In a non-conference game Saturday night, Fort Benton knocked off Class B Conrad, 37-28 with Leah Gannon and Coya Knack each scored 12 points.

And in Class B action Harlem won its second straight with a 59-48 win at home against Cut Bank. Skylee Dirden scored 14 points, while the Wildcats also got 13 from L’Tia Lawrence and Kailee Henry.

Rocky Boy also recovered from its loss to Harlem with a 50-41 at home against Shelby Saturday night. In the 1B clash, the Morning Stars overcame a 27-23 halftime deficit to win. Jaylynn Mitchell paced the way for Rocky Boy with 17 points, while Adrienne Gopher scored 12 and Rosie Parker added 10.

Thursday

Fort Benton 66, North Star 30

North Star 9 8 2 11 - 30

Fort Benton 13 12 26 15 - 66

North Star: Paij Peterson 20, Kily Pedersen 2, Sheridan Spicher 1, Chelsea Donaldson 2, Grace Farinas 1, Peyton King 4. Totals: 11 6-18.

Fort Benton: Kaitlyn Bird 6, Madison Thompson 10, Killy Green 2, Cassie Nack 2, Jaclyn Vielleux 6, Megan Clark 6, Coya Nack 9, Alia Evans 4, Leah Gannon 9, McKenzie Clark 3, McKenna Hanford 9. Totals: 23 11-18.

3-pointers: Petersen 2, Bird 2, Thompson, Megan Clark, Evans, McKenzie Clark.

Friday

Harlem 87, Rocky Boy 57

Rocky Boy 10 15 18 14 – 57

Harlem 19 24 28 16 – 87

Rocky Boy – Jaynah Gopher 8, Shania Patacsil 1, Sasha Coffee 5, Adrienne Gopher 5, Kristie Parker 1, Rosie Parker 10, Jaylynn Mitchelle 23, Rochelle Pease 4. Totals: 24 8-19.

Harlem – Kailee Henry 26, Val Talks Different 3, Skylee Dirden 15, L'Tia Lawrence 25, Autumn Eagleman 5, Taeshon Scheaffer 4, Aria Owens 2, Halee Mills 7. Totals 33 15-24.

Total fouls – Rocky Boy 17, Harlem 17. Fouled out – Eagleman. 3-pointers – Henry 3, Lawrence, Eagleman, Mills, Jaynah Gopher.

Chinook 53, CJI 33

Chinook 12 14 14 13 – 53

CJI 12 7 7 7 – 33

Chinook: S. Swank 16, M. Molyneaux 2, C. Hofer 3, K. Hanson 8, R. Chaffin 2, E. Pula 12, B. Elliot 8, L. Johnson 2. Totals: 24 4-8.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness: Kendahl Knapton 3, Korrin Harmon 13, Abby Fraser 2, Khloe Kammerzell 7, Jasmine Cole 4, Peyton Hawks 4. Totals: 14 1-2.

3-pointers: Harmon 3, Kammerzell, Swank.

Box Elder 82, Geraldine-Highwood 24

Box Elder 23 24 24 11 – 82

Geraldine-Highwood 7 7 4 6 – 24

Box Elder: Minnie The Boy 5, Kiya Morsette 2, Sarah Parisian 5, Nikayla Anderson 6, Eve The Boy 5, Maddie Wolf Chief 16, Lilly Gopher 8, Tia Russell 12, Joelnell Momberg 16, Tai Russell 7. Totals: 33 9-11.

Geraldine-Highwood: Emma Bye 2, Jonna McCullough 2, Bentley McCullough 3, Rylee Adamson 1, Ellie Meeks 8, Jackie Long 8. Totals: 10 4-8.

3-pointers: The Boy, Parisian, Gopher, Tia Russell 2, Momberg, Tai Rus

North Star 47, Hays-Lodge Pole 44

NS 7 12 9 19 – 47

HLP 10 14 8 12 – 44

North Star – Katelyn Hansen 14, Paij Peterson 12, Lily Peterson 2, Katelin Harvey 6, Sheridan Spicher 11, Chelsea Donaldson 2.

Hays-Lodge Pole – Kiara Shambo 5, Maxine Plain Feather 3, Latasha Kirkadie 3, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 23, Mulleeah Stiffarm 8, Tahlia Werk 2.

3-pointers – R. Kirkadie 3, Stiffarm 2.

Saturday

Turner 58, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 56

CJI 12 10 16 18 – 56

Turner 10 16 14 18 – 58

CJI – Kendahl Knapton 10, Korrin Harmon 9, Kayona Fraser 4, Khole Kammerzell 17, Jasmine Cole 3, Peyton Hawks 13. Totals 21 6-10 56.

Turner – Raegan Conlan 13, Ella Billmayer 19, Sarah Billmayer 1, Rylee Conlan 6, Melanie Watkins 3, Rennay Watkins 3, Shyan Krass 13. Totals 21 13-21 58.

3-point goals – Knapton, Harmon, Kammerzell 3, Hawks 3. Total fouls – CJI 18, Turner 12. Fouled out – Rylee Conlan.

Harlem 59, Cut Bank 48

Cut Bank 14 13 11 10 – 48

Harlem 16 9 14 20 – 59

Cut Bank – Marissa VandenBos 21, Brynne Finstad 5, Macee Barry 5, Jasmine Spotted Bear 10, Sarah Thies 1, Madi Seifert 2, Jaycee Fryndenlund 4. Totals 17 13-23 48.

Harlem – Kailee Henry 13, Skylee Dirden 14, L'Tia Lawrence 13, Autumn Eagleman 9, Taeshon Scheaffer 2, Jazz Benson 8. Totals 23 12-20.

3-pointers – Barry; Benson.

Box Elder 55, Chinook 20

Box Elder10 21 14 10 – 55

Chinook6 6 5 3 – 20

Box Elder – Minnie The Boy 2, K. Morsette 7, W. Anderson 7, Eve The Boy 1, M. Wolf Chief 2, Lillian Gopher 20, D. Johnson 2, Tia Russell 8, J. Momberg 4, B. LaFromboise 2.

Chinook – Sierra Swank 6, Carrie Hofer 3, Erin Pula 4, Brooke Elliot 6, Rachel Gunderson 1.

3-pointers – Gopher 2, Tia Russell 2.

Shelby 50, Rocky Boy 41

Shelby 12 15 14 9 – 50

Rocky Boy14 9 11 7 – 41

Shelby – Daniels 9, Abby Aklestad 21, Johnson 2, Martin 11, Brusven 2, Hellinger 2, Skiera 3. Totals: 13 17-25

Rocky Boy – Patacsil 2, A. Gopher 12, Parker 10, Mitchell 17. Totals: 15 9-14.

3-pointers – Aklestad 3, Daniels, Martin, Gopher 2.

Fort Benton 37, Conrad 28

FB 5 18 5 9 – 37

Conrad 3 8 6 9 – 28

FB – Kaitlyn Bird 2, Emma Arnst 3, Coya Nack 12, Alia Evans 2, Leah Gannon 12, McKenzie Clark 3, McKenna Hanford 3. Totals 13 6-12 37.

Conrad – B. Mycke 8, K. Murack 3, D. Van Dyke 6, J. Kinamon 3, I. Kinamon 8. Totals 10 8-17 28.

3-point goals – Arnst, Gannon 2, Clark, Hanford.