News you can use

Blue Sky survives scare from Big Sandy, Arifin scores 42 for KG

As girls high school basketball teams reach the midway point of their respective conference seasons, each conference game gets a little more important, with seeding for the district tournaments and regular season championships on the line.

The District 9C race continues to be a two-team race with only Blue Sky and KG sporting winning conference records. However, no game is a guaranteed win for either team. Both were tested this past weekend, but still managed to pick up two wins each.

In District 10C, Chester is still fighting for a possible regular season championship with rival Dutton-Brady while the J-I Rams have fallen on hard times in conference play.

The District 2B race remains close, but top-ranked Wolf Point is on the verge of pulling away from the competition. The Chinook Sugarbeeters are in fourth place, while the Harlem Lady Wildcats are still in search of that elusive first conference win.

The Blue Sky Eagles found out there are no nights off when you are the top team in the conference. The Eagles cruised to a 51-36 win over Sunburst in Rudyard on Friday night. Kile Patrick scored 12 points - all in the second half - and Lindsay Anderson added 11 points in the Eagle win.

On Saturday night, Blue Sky found itself in a dogfight with a scrappy Big Sandy Pioneer squad. The Eagles had to rally from a 25-22 halftime deficit and hold off the determined Pioneers, outscoring them 26-22 in the second half.

Anderson scored a game-high 18 points and Kaila Warren added nine in the win for Blue Sky. Ashley Goodian led a balanced Big Sandy effort with 15 points. Naomi Williams and Mikki Hammons added 14 and nine points, respectively.

The KG KouGars kept a solid hold on second place in the 9C by defeating J-I 50-33 in Joplin Thursday night and holding off a pesky Box Elder squad 68-61 in Gildford on Saturday night.

The 9C's leading scorer, Cady Arifin, continued to torch defenses with a game-high 22 points in the win over J-I. KG also got 10 points from Mandy Rambo and nine from Casie Toner in the win. J-I was led by freshman Hannah Pimley's 15 points.

Against Box Elder, Arifin exploded for 42 points as the KouGars held off the upset-minded Bears. Arifin scored 27 first-half points as KG rolled to 37-29 lead. Mandy Rambo added 10 points including six in the fourth quarter for KG. Box Elder got a solid effort from Shaneen Raining Bird and Rebecca Eagleman with 20 and 18 points respectively. Tasha Parisian added 11 points in the loss.

The top two teams in 9C will meet tonight as Blue Sky (10-2 overall and 9-1 in conference)will meet KG (8-4 overall and 6-4 in conference) will square off in Rudyard.

The Rocky Boy Morning Stars remained in third place with a split of games this weekend. Rocky Boy fell to District 8C Highwood on Friday, 50-34. Rocky Boy struggled offensively, managing just five points in the second quarter and not placing a single player in double figures. The Stars were led by Marty Rae Stiffarm's nine points.

Rocky Boy bounced back with a 61-55 home victory over Hays-Lodge Pole. The Morning Stars rolled to a 29-20 lead and held off the T-Birds in the second half. Rocky Boy capitalized on 26 T-Bird fouls and a pair of technical fouls, sinking 21 free throws in the game.

Loni Belcourt and Stiffarm scored 16 points each for the Stars, which improved to 5-6 in conference and 5-7 overall. Hays-Lodge Pole got 17 points from Colette Hawley and 12 from Sheena Shambo in the loss.

The T-Birds were also defeated by 7C Grass Range 47-40 on Friday night as Hawley and Shambo combined for 31 points in the loss.

Elsewhere in the 9C, Big Sandy remained in fourth place with a road win over Box Elder on Friday night. Ashley Goodian pumped in a game-high 33 points to pace the Pioneers. The Bears, still in search of their first conference win, tied the game on seven occasions in the second half, but couldn't pull out the win. Box Elder was led by Shaneen Raining Bird's 22 points while Rebecca Eagleman added 11 points in the loss. Big Sandy finished the weekend with a 4-7 conference record and 5-8 overall record. Box Elder fell to 0-10 in conference and 1-11 overall.

The Turner Tornadoes dropped a pair of conference games to non-conference opponents as they continued to struggle offensively. Turner managed just 35 points in a 63-35 loss to Dodson on Friday night. Britney Jones scored 12 points and Kelsey Klindworth had nine in the loss.

The offensive woes continued on Saturday as Turner fell to Whitewater 49-22. Klindworth led Turner with eight points. The losses dropped the Tornadoes to 308 in conference and 4-8 overall.

In District 10C, Chester dropped a tough game to Class B Fort Benton 69-49 on Friday, but rebounded to defeat Valier 62-43. Fort Benton used a 23-6 first-quarter run to build an insurmountable lead against Chester. The Coyotes got 15 points, including three three-pointers from Keyla Wendland in the loss.

Against Valier, Chester steadily built on a 15-10 first-quarter lead to secure the conference win. Mary DeVries led a balanced Coyote attack with 16 points, while Shawnee Norick added 11. Courtney Fraser and Keyla Wendland added nine points each in the win. With the win, Chester improved to 5-1 in the 10C and 9-3 overall.

J-I is still in search of a 10C win following a 39-26 loss to Sunburst. Neither team burned up the scoreboard, but Sunburst used a 16-4 fourth-quarter run to put the game away. Hannah Pimley led J-I with 10 points.

In District 2B, Chinook needed overtime to outlast the Cascade Badgers 50-40 on Saturday night. Whitney Lybeck and Kelsey Crampton scored 11 points each, while Georgia Barber added nine in the win. With the win, Chinook improves to 4-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

The Harlem Wildcats fell in a foul-fest to Poplar 72-52. A total of 55 fouls were called in the game,Poplar capitalized sinking 36 of 55 free throws.

Harlem was led by Olivia Main's 14 points in the loss. With the loss to Poplar and Friday night's loss to Havre, Harlem falls to 0-7 in conference and 1-11 overall

THURSDAY

KG 50, J-I 33

J-I 6 5 11 11 - 33

KG 4 17 14 15 - 50

Joplin-Inverness - Mandi Moss 4, Megan Herdina 6, Kayla Fusk 2, Amanda Miller 1, Katie O'Neil 2, Mariah Fusk 3, Hannah Pimley 15. Totals: 13 6-14.

Kremlin-Gildford - Cady Arifin 22, Heidi Donovan 6, Mandy Rambo 10, Casie Toner 9, Whitney Hanson 2, Britta Umbach 1. Totals: 21 6-12.

Total fouls: Joplin-Inverness 15, Kremlin-Gildford 15. Fouled out: None. Three-point goals: M. Fusk 1, Toner 2.

Highwood 50, Rocky Boy 34

Highwood 12 12 12 14 - 50

Rocky Boy 13 5 9 7 - 34

Highwood - Jenna Jordan 14, Megan Grove 10, Whitney Baum 20, Donita Gondeiro 4, Nicole Gray 2. Totals: 21 10-17

Rocky Boy - Rebekah Harvey 2, Allie Sunchild 2, Leiloni Belcourt 6, Ronni Jo LaMere 2, Tori Belcourt 9, Shoshana Saddler 2, Deidra Sunchild 2, Marty Rae Stiffarm 9. Totals: 14 2-5.

Total fouls - Highwood 13, RB 12. Fouled out - D. Sunchild. Three point goals - L. Belcourt, T. Belcourt 2, Stiffarm.

FRIDAY

Grass Range 47, Hays-Lodge Pole 40

Hays-Lodge Pole 8 22 30 40 - 40

Grass Range 6 17 27 47 - 47

Hays-Lodge Pole - Clarissa Corcoran 3, Vanessa Webb 6, Sheena Shambo 16, Colette Hawley 15.

Grass Range - Jessie Martin 15, Brittany Olson 10, Rachel Nelson 7, Caramia Mury 2, Shar Feelharte 11, Jenna Schnitzmeier 2.

Fort Benton 69, Chester 49

Fort Benton 23 13 19 14 - 69

Chester 6 16 10 17 - 49

Fort Benton - Emma Albers 2, Jenna Witt 6, Abby Kelly 9, Kaela Kittridge 4, Angie Young 7, Meg Onstad 4, Kaylee Shaw 17, Carly Squires 11, Nikki Bailey 7. Totals: 29 6-12 69.

Chester - Shawnee Norick 7, Jillien Johnson 2, Alisha Fossen 4, Mary DeVries 8, Brianne Wolfe 6, Courtney Fraser 7, Keyla Wendland 15. Totals: 18 10-14 49.

Three-point goals - Wendland 3, Shaw 2, Kelly. Total Fouls - CHE 9, FB 14. Fouled out - none.

Big Sandy 68, Box Elder 57

Big Sandy 19 13 15 24 - 68

Box Elder 12 10 19 15 - 57

Big Sandy - Ashley Goodian 33, Naomi Williams 10, Sarah Yirsa 4, Shalayna Pearson 8, Francine Egge 4, Mikki Hammons 3, Brittany Marx 6. Totals: 25 13-15 68.

Box Elder - Tasha Parisian 7, Gerri Eagleman 8, Ashley Parisian 5, Loni LaMere 4, Shaneen Raining Bird 22, Rebecca Eagleman 11. Totals: 22 12-21 57.

Three-point goals - Goodian 2, Hammons, R. Eagleman. Total fouls - BS 15, BE 14. Fouled out - G. Eagleman.

Dutton-Brady 52, J-I 32

J-I 8 4 10 10 - 32

Dutton-Brady 16 7 16 13 - 52

J-I - Mandi Moss 1, Megan Herdina 9, Katie Bangs 1, Hannah Pimley 23. Totals: 11 10-27 32.

Dutton-Brady - Missy Wells 11, Stephanie Beckham 6, Kayla Hodgson 6, Amanda Reeves 2, Ashley Johnson 11, Stephanie Baquet 6, Kayla Bokma 4, Kelley Sims 2, Mandy Dutton 2, Raelee Bishop. Totals: 22 5-6 52.

Three-point goals - Wells 2, Johnson 1. Total Fouls - J-I 12, D-B 18. Fouled out - none.

Dodson 63, Turner 35

Dodson 14 18 17 14 - 63

Turner 10 13 7 5 - 35

Dodson - Deana Bear 12, Suzi Kirkaldie 5, Belinda Horn 8, Jenelle Wing 2, Megan Martin 6, Deserae Kill Eagle 19, Amanda Messerly 11. Totals: 24 9-18 63

Turner - Britney Jones 12, Celeste Hedegaard 6, Ashley VanVoast 7, Kelsey Klindworth 9, Cassie Cornell 1. Totals: 13 8-18 35.

Three-point goals - Kirkaldie, B. Horn 2, Kill Eagle, Klindworth. Total fouls - DOD 19, TUR 14. Fouled out - VanVoast.

Blue Sky 51, Sunburst 36

Sunburst 8 14 8 12 - 36

Blue Sky 13 16 11 11 - 51

Sunburst - Rachel Kleinert 17, Colette Myers 2, Crystal McAlpine 2, Kendra Hovland 10, Rachel Schulze 4, Ronni Whitt 1. Totals: 14 6-12 36.

Blue Sky - Kaila Warren 5, Lindsay Anderson 11, Robyn Schnitzmeier 5, Maia Aageson 8, Kile Patrick 12, Megan Warren 4, Ashley Gatzemeier 6. Totals: 23 2-5 51.

Three-point goals - Kleinert 2, Aageson 2, Warren. Total Fouls - SUN 10, BS 14. Fouled out - none.

SATURDAY

Chinook 50, Cascade 46 (OT)

Chinook 10 11 9 10 10 - 50

Cascade 11 5 11 13 6 - 46

Chinook - Monica Thackeray 4, Whitney Lybeck 11, Crystal Roseberry 1, Tiffany Cuerth 8, Kelsey Crampton 11, Georgia Barber 9, Brittany Williams 6. Totals: 21 8-15 50.

Cascade - Vianne Deleo 4, Jamie Harris 1, Christa Sprout 22, Erica Filipowicz 8, Julie Jenson 2, Lindsay Miranda 9 19 6-10 46.

Three-point goals - Sprout. Total Fouls - CHI 15, CAS 17. Fouled out - none.

Blue Sky 48, Big Sandy 47

Blue Sky 14 8 14 12 - 48

Big Sandy 10 15 11 11 - 47

Blue Sky - Kaila Warren 9, Lindsay Anderson 18, Robyn Schnitzmeier 2, Maia Aageson 5, Kile Patrick 3, Megan Warren 3, Ashley Gatzemeier 6, Courtney Wendland 2. Totals: 17 11-21 48.

Big Sandy - Ashley Goodian 15, Naomi Williams 14, Sandy Zeiger 2, Jessica Amsbaugh 5, Mikki Hammons 9, Francine Egge 2. Totals: 19 2-4 47.

Three-point goals - K. Warren 1, Aageson 1, M. Warren 1, Goodian 3, Amsbaugh 1, Hammons 3. Total Fouls - BLU 12, BIG 16. Fouled out - Shalayna Pearson, Zeiger.

Sunburst 39, J-I 26

J-I 5 8 9 4 - 26

Sunburst 2 11 10 16 - 39

J-I - Mandi Moss 2, Megan Herdina 6, Amanda Miller 2, Katie O'Neil 4, Mariah Fusk 2, Hannah Pimley 10. Totals: 10 5-14 26.

Sunburst - Rachel Kleinert 9, Kallie Johannsen 7, Crystal McAlpine 6, Kendra Hovland 10, Rachel Schulze 5, Ronni Whitt 2. Totals: 14 10-18 39.

Three-point goals - Hovland 1, Herdina 1. Total fouls - J-I 19, SUN 13. Fouled out - O'Neil.

Whitewater 49, Turner 22

Turner 3 6 2 11 - 22

Whitewater 14 19 10 6 - 49

Turner - Britney Jones 4, Mindy Liese 2, Ashley Van Voast 6, Kelsey Klindworth 8, Cassie Cornell 2. Totals: 7 8-12 22.

Whitewater - Tasha Math 4, Jessica Miller 2, Maribeth Anderson 2, Jenna Anderson 22, Jaci DePuydt 5, Tessa Olsen 14. Totals: 18 9-16 49.

Three-point goals - J. Anderson 3, DePuydt 1. Total fouls - WHI 12, TUR 17. Fouled out - none.

Chester 62, Valier 43

Chester 15 12 16 19 - 62

Valier 10 9 12 12 - 43

Chester - Amanda Violett 4, Shawnee Norick 14, Alisha Fossen 4, Mary DeVries 16, Brianne Wolfe 6, Courtney Fraser 9, Keyla Wendland 9. Totals: 25 9-16 62.

Valier - Cayla DeBoo 8, Aisha Snyder 8, Heidi Crawford 8, Emily Johnson 10, Mykyla Tatsey 2, Ashley Breding 7. Totals: 16 8-18 43.

Three-point goals - Wendland 3, Johnson 3. Total fouls - CHE 17, VAL 14. Fouled out - Fossen, DeVries.

Poplar 72, Harlem 52

Harlem 14 15 14 9 - 52

Poplar 16 19 17 20 - 72

Harlem - Olivia Main 14, Alicia Shields 2, Carly Haluszka 5, Danielle Dirden 2, Kylee Stiffarm 5, Amy Stiffarm 6, Star Carrywater 6, Leandra Thomas 3, Colleen Filesteel 2, June Daniels 7.

Poplar - Jess Rattling Thunder 14, A.D. Buckles 2, Amber Crowley 12, Sam Nygard 7, Felicia Falls Down 2, Shannon Dionne 13, Jess Riedeger 4, Rena Belton 6, Ashley Azure 8, Tommy Escarcga 4.

KG 68, Box Elder 61

Box Elder 10 19 19 13 - 61

Kremlin-Gildford 20 17 16 15 - 68

Box Elder - Tasha Parisian 11, Gerri Eagleman 1, Sharlene Yellowtail 4, Ashley Parisian 4, Loni LaMere 3, Shannon Real Bird 20, Rebecca Eagleman 18.

Kremlin-Gildford - Cady Arifin 42, Heidi Donoven 2, Mandy Rambo 10, Casie Toner 6, Whitney Hanson 4, Britta Umbach 4.

Three-point goals - Arifin 2. Total fouls - BOX 22, KG 20. Fouled out - Toner.

Rocky Boy 61, Hays-Lodge Pole 55

Rocky Boy 6 14 24 17 - 61

Hays-Lodge Pole 12 17 15 11 - 61

Rocky Boy - Allie Sunchild 4, Leiloni Belcourt 16, Roni Jo LaMere 9, Tori Belcourt 9, Shoshana Saddler 5, Deidra Sunchild 2, Marty Rae Stiffarm 16. Totals: 17 22-41 61.

Hays-Lodge Pole - Clarissa Cochran 8, Karissa Kirkaldie 4, Heather Doney 3, Jennifer Messerly 3, Vanessa Webb 8, Sheena Shambo 12, Colette Hawley 17. Totals: 22 7-14.

Three-point goals - Cochran 1, Messerly 1, Webb 1, Shambo 2, L. Belcourt 3, R. LaMere 1, Stiffarm 1. Total Fouls - RB 12, H-L 26. Fouled out - Hawley, Shambo, Webb. Technical fouls - H-L head coach, H-L asst. coach.

 

Reader Comments(0)