Top ranked Big Sandy wins three on weekend

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The game of the week in Hi-Line girls basketball was the much anticipated rematch between Big Sandy and Blue Sky and for the second time this year the Pioneers were able to grab a 9C victory over the Eagles. But there was plenty of other action on the schedule as well.

On Thursday night, the Pioneers started their three-game weekend with a win at home over the Box Elder Bears, 87-66. The Pioneers held a 49-40 lead at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter with a 20-11 run. Big Sandy was led by Sheena Darlington's game-high 34 points. mLindsay Danreuther scored 24 points and Ashley Goodian chipped in with 16. The Bears got 20 points from Tami Infante and 17 from Rebecca Eagleman in the loss.

In Fort Benton, the Chester Coyotes were pounded, 74-19, by the Class B Longhorns. In the loss, the Coyotes managed just seven points in the first period, their highest scoring output in any quarter. Ten of Chester's 19 points came from Amanda Schlepp in the losing cause.

Also on Thursday night, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars were drilled by Highwood, 62-32. Marti Stiffarm led the Stars with 11 points which dropped to 1-11 on the season.

On Friday night, the Big Sandy Pioneers remained undefeated by drilling the Sunburst Refiners, 87-50, in Sunburst. The Pioneers got 29 points from Goodian and 17 from Darlington. Linda Givens had 14 points and Carly Squires chipped in with 10 points.

In Dodson, the Turner Tornados were routed by Dodson. 50-28. Turner fell behind 26-17 after two quarters and never challenged Dodson from there. Melissa Grabofsky led Turner with nine points in the loss.

In Grass Range, the Hays-Lodgepole Thunderbirds were also shelled by the host Tigers 57-37. The T-Birds got 12 points from Collette Hawley in the losing effort.

The J-I Rams tough season continued as they were routed by District 10C foe Dutton-Brady, 69-45, in Grass Range. The Rams were led in the loss by Megan Herdina's 17 points.

On Saturday night, the Chinook Sugarbeeters dropped a 46-33 decision to the Cascade Badgers in Cascade. The Badgers jumped out to a 27-17 halftime lead. The Beeters then outscored Cascade 7-6 in the third period but it wasn't enough to overcome the Badgers lead. Chinook got seven points apiece from Kelsey Crampton and Whitney Lybeck.

Chinook, 3-8 overall on the season, will host Malta on Friday night and travel to Cut Bank on Saturday night.

The game of the week definitely took place in Rudyard on Saturday. For the second time this season, the Blue Sky Eagles came up short against the number-one ranked Big Sandy Pioneers falling 58-51. The Eagles led 12-9 after the first period and outscored the Pioneers 19-17 in the second. However, the Pioneers outscored the Eagles 32-20 in the final two quarters to grab the huge District 9C win.

Big Sandy got 18 points from Sheena Darlington while Lindsay Danreuther added 14 points. Ashley Goodian and Carly Squires chipped in with 10 points apiece. The Eagles got 18 points from Lindsay Anderson while Jessica Patrick added 14 points in the loss.

The Pioneers,13-0 on the season, have a firm grasp on first place in 9C. They will visit J-I on Friday night for their only game of the week. The Eagles, 10-2 overall, will visit KG on Friday and will also host J-I on Saturday night.

In Gildford, the Box Elder Bears knocked off the host KouGars, 48-35. The Bears got a game-high 21 points from Tami Infante while the KouGars were paced by Cady Arifin's 13 points.

The Bears (7-4) will host Rocky Boy on Friday night and travel to Dodson on Saturday. KG (4-8) will host Blue Sky on Friday and visit Sunburst on Saturday.

In Turner, the Tornadoes were downed by Whitewater, 38-30. Ashley Van Voast led the way for Turner with 10 points and Kelsey Klindworth had nine in the losing effort. Turner (4-8) will host the Halrem JV's on Thursday night and the Rocky Boy Morning Stars on Saturday.

In District 10C action, the Chester Coyotes rebounded from their loss to Fort Benton with a 52-42 win over the visiting Valier Panthers. The Coyotes raced out to a 36-11 halftime lead but a 16-6 run by the Panthers in the third quarter got them a little closer. However, Chester was able to hold Valier off in the final quarter.

Chester was paced by Amanda Schlepp's game-high 16 points in the win. The Coyotes, 6-6 on the season, will host the Belt Huskies on Thursday night and travel to Heart Butte on Saturday.

Also in District 10C action the J-I Rams fell to the Sunburst Refiners, 56-39. Laine Lybeck scored 16 points for J-I in the losing effort. The Rams (0-13) will host Big Sandy on Friday night and visit Blue Sky on Saturday.