Northern C girls, a loaded field

The dust has barely settled on district tournaments across the Hi-Line. Now however, area girls teams turn their attention to a chance at a coveted Class C state tournament.

Today in Great Falls, three Hi-Line squads will open play at the 2011 Northern C Divisional Tournament inside the Four Seasons Arena. The 9C champion Chinook Sugarbeeters tip off at 2:30 p.m., the 9C runner-up Box Elder Bears play at 6 and the 10C champions Chester/J-I Hawks take the floor at 7:30 p.m.

But this isn't just any old Northern C. This year's version of the Northern C might be the most jam-packed and talented divisional tournament in recent memory, with five teams ranked in the last Class C Poll in attendance.

The tournament gets underway at 1 with 8C champion Belt (18-0) taking on 10C runner-up Valier (16-6). The Huskies, coached by former Chester star Jeff Graham, are poised for a run at a state championship this season, but they'll have to navigate the Northern C first. And Valier isn't an easy opponent in the first round.

In fact, no first-round game is easy.

Chinook (12-8), which stormed its way to a 9C championship upset of seventh-ranked Box Elder, will probably be an underdog today against 7C runner-up Winifred-Roy (17-5). The Beeters have an outstanding young lineup led by freshman Makhayla Farmer and junior Taryn Norby, but the Red Raiders have a veteran team with a lot of tournament experience, led by twins Regan and Alexandra Bold. Meanwhile, Chinook has a veteran head coach in Charlie Robinson, but absolutely no Northern C experience. Chinook is making its first divisional tournament appearance of any kind in more than a decade, and its first trip to the Northern C.

But Robinson expects his team to be ready to play.

"We won't just be happy that we made it here," Robinson said. "I expect the kids to be a little in awe of the situation at first, but when it's time to play, we want to win. We want to build on what we've started at the district tournament, and I think we'll be ready to give it our best."

Despite losing just one regular season game, the Box Elder Bears (18-2) will probably be underdogs tonight too. That's because they are taking on 7C champion and undefeated Winnett-Grass Range (20-0), a team many have pointed to as the favorite to capture a state championship this season. Sensational sophomore Martha Dembek leads the Rangers at 15 points per game, but thy too are an experienced group, having reached the state tourney a year ago.

But Box Elder comes in with divisional tournament experience and a host of talent, most of which played in last year's Northern C. And the Bears are a high-scoring team, and will have plenty to play for tonight. Aricka Wolf Chief is the catalyst for Box Elder, but Crystal Stamper has come on strong this season, as has Rebecca Rosette and Brandi Buffalo. And the Bears have a deep bench to go along with an excellent starting five, so the Rangers' current win streak will be in jeopardy tonight.

The final game of tonight's first round is intriguing as well. The Chester/J-I Hawks (16-4) came within one game of the state tourney a year ago, and they are back with a vengeance this season. The Hawks face 8C runner-up Geraldine (15-6) with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

Despite losing star scorer Jessica VanDyke to graduation, the Hawks have had a great season, especially behind the play of Jenni Ghekiere, Stine Haaland, Larisa Lybeck and Nikole Wolfe. But what makes the Hawks dangerous is their depth. C/J-I can go 10-deep and the Hawks play a suffocating style of defense which will be key this week in Great Falls, and it will be key against a mystery Geraldine team tonight.

And with the Northern C as loaded forever, every game this week will be a barn burner. With two undefeated teams and a slew of teams waiting for a chance to make the state tournament, this could be the most exciting Northern C girls tourney in a long time.

The four winners from today's games will play in the semifinals on Thursday night. The consolation and championship games are set for Friday night, with the top two teams advancing to the Class C state tournament next week in Bozeman.

The Northern C boys, including Chinook and Box Elder start Thursday.