Friday's Prep Girls Basketball: Box Elder goes back-to-back at the 9C

The Box Elder girls basketball team has made the District 9C championship game a regular part of their schedule the past few seasons and Friday night inside the HHS gymnasium, the Bears added their second consecutive title.

Box Elder, the top-seeded team in the 9C tournament coming in, knocked off second-seeded Fort Benton 42-26 to win back-to-back titles in the district. The Bears will head to Great Falls for the Northern C Divisional starting Wednesday.

"It feels great," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "Anytime you can win one championship, it feels great. But I am just so happy for these kids, they worked really hard and put a lot of time in this offseason."

The two teams traded hoops back and forth in the opening stanza and after the first quarter, Box Elder led 13-11. At the end of the first half, the Bears held a 24-18 advantage. In the third quarter, the Longhorns trimmed the lead down to four on two occasions, but after scoring to make it 30-26 Box Elder late in the third, the Longhorns didn't score again.

The Bears, on the other hand, finished the game on a 12-0 run. Box Elder held Fort Benton scoreless throughout the fourth quarter, while at the same time, getting some big buckets from Joelnell Momberg, who scored a game-high 14 points. Minnie The Boy, who buried a 3-pointer in the first half, hit another timely three in the second. Up double digits, Box Elder clamped down defensively and Fort Benton simply didn't have a chance.

"We just wore down," Fort Benton head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier said. "We played good defensively. I mean 42 points is really good against that team, we just couldn't score."

Fort Benton and North Star will join the Bears in Great Falls Wednesday for the start of the Northern C. Box Elder finished second at the Northern C a year ago and is also the reigning Class C runner up.

"We just have to keep working hard," Rosette said. "These girls have been working hard and playing together and we have to keep up with that mentality."

GIRLS

Billings Senior 50, Butte 40

Corvallis 50, Hamilton 41

Frenchtown 75, Stevensville 35

Great Falls Russell 39, Billings West 31

Helena 55, Helena Capital 35

Laurel 42, Billings Central 26

District 1B at Cut Bank

Semifinal

Choteau 57, Shelby 40

District 2B at Malta

First Round

Poplar 42, Wolf Point 35

District 3B at Colstrip

Loser Out

Lame Deer 78, Forsyth 50

Lodge Grass 55, Baker 53

District 4B at Red Lodge

Semifinal

Roundup 51, Red Lodge 39

Shepherd 44, Huntley Project 38

District 5B at Belgrade

Semifinal

Big Timber 44, Townsend 40

Three Forks 61, Jefferson (Boulder) 35

District 6B at Hamilton

Semifinal

Florence 48, Deer Lodge 36

Ronan 60, Missoula Loyola 51

District 2C at Sidney

Loser Out

Bainville 40, Culbertson 36

Savage 62, Richey-Lambert 42

Semifinal

Mon-Dak 49, Froid/Medicine Lake 47

Plentywood 45, Circle 22

District 3C at Glasgow

Loser Out

Lustre Christian 68, Nashua 32

Semifinal

North Country 59, Frazer 50

Scobey 56, Lustre Christian 37

District 4C at Custer

Loser Out

Broadus 65, Terry 59

Ekalaka 52, Northern Cheyenne 43

District 6C at Huntley Project

Loser Out

Park City 46, Absarokee 30

Plenty Coups 47, Bridger 27

District 8C at Lewistown

Loser Out

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 37, Geraldine/Highwood 33

Semifinal

Belt 57, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 31

Roy-Winifred 46, Winnett-Grass Range 40

District 9C at Havre

Loser Out

Chinook 56, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 55

North Star 56, Turner 49

Third Place

North Star 47, Chinook 43

District 10C at Great Falls

Loser Out

Cascade 39, Power 28

Heart Butte 53, Augusta 23

District 11C at Manhattan Christian

Semifinal

Lone Peak 65, Shields Valley 49

District 12C at Butte

Loser Out

Harrison-Willow Creek 49, Sheridan 17

Semifinal

Ennis 45, Drummond 37

Twin Bridges 45, Phillipsburg 20

District 13C at Frenchtown

Semifinal

Clark Fork 54, Darby 33

Seeley-Swan 61, Victor 19

District 14C at Pablo

Loser Out

Hot Springs 41, Two Eagle River 17

Semifinal

Arlee 50, Charlo 24

St. Regis 58, Plains 42

Regular season...

Dillon 63, Belgrade 50

Belgrade...12 9 14 15 – 50

Dillon...16 14 18 15 – 63

Belgrade – Dawson Fowler 8, Easton Page 2, Trey Laym,an 13, Brock Salsbury 24, Hayden Van Winkle 3. Totals: 16 7-15.

Dillon –Andrew Lemieux 2, Michael Haverfield 8, Jamey Richardson 2, Kyson Wilson 2, Troy Anderson 25, Tanner Haverfield 24. Totals: 20 15-19.

3-pointers – Fowler 2, Layman, Salsbury 7, Van Winkle, M. Haverfield, Anderson, T. Haverfield 5.