Longhorns trample Thunderbirds on opening day

One year ago at the District 9C basketball tournament, the Fort Benton girls basketball team was just a bucket away from the championship game and a berth in the Northern C Divisional.

Unfortunately, after losing to Chinook in last year’s semifinals, the Longhorns didn’t make it to Great Falls.

But after dismantling Hays-Lodge Pole 68-35 in the opening round the 2017 9C tournament Wednesday night inside the HHS gymnasium, the Longhorns finally have their shot at redemption.

“I think that it will give us motivation,” Fort Benton head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier said. “You always hate to go back into the locker room after the semis when you lose, so that should give us motivation. They are a pretty focused group and hopefully, we can continue to be focused and be consistent.”

While consistency will be the key throughout the week for the Longhorns, against the Thunderbirds Wednesday night, it was all about defense.

The two teams traded baskets to start the game and the score was tied 2-2. Then, the Longhorns defense went to work, forcing turnover after turnover en route to an 11-0 run. That made the score 13-2. At the end of the opening stanza, it was 15-4 in favor of the Longhorns.

“I think the key for us was our defense,” Scheffelmaier said. “The girls’ offense comes a lot from our defense and when they can get steals and force turnovers and create buckets, it helps a lot.”

The defensive intensity ramped up in the second quarter, as the Longhorns scored the first nine points and jumped out to a 23-4 lead. HLP battled back a little, scoring nine points in the second quarter, but at halftime, Fort Benton led 38-13.

If there was any hope of a close game or a comeback, Fort Benton ended it in third quarter.

The Longhorns opened the stanza on a 12-3 run, which was capped on a hoop by Coya Nack. At that point Fort Benton led 50-16, but seven straight points from the T-Birds made it 50-23 after three quarters. Yet any hope was short lived for HLP in the fourth quarter, as Maddy Thompson put the final touches on the blowout win, with back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed the Longhorns lead to 56-20.

For her part, Nack dominated on both ends of the floor, scoring a game-high 15 points to go along with 15 rebounds, six of them coming on the offensive glass. Leah Gannon also had a solid night with 13 points, four steals and three assists, while Thompson and Alia Evans each had 10. Kaitlyn Bird also pitched in with eight.

As impressive as the Longhorns (16-3) were on the offensive end, shooting 43 percent from the field, they were even better defensively. Not only did Fort Benton limit the T-Birds to 33 percent shooting, the Longhorns also forced 30 turnovers, with 20 of them coming off steals as seven different Fort Benton plays notched at least two takeaways.

One of the few bright spots on the night for HLP was the play of Mulleah Stiffarm, who was 8-of-18 from the field for 21 points. She connected on three shots from beyond the arc and grabbed seven rebounds. Rayleigh Kirkaldie also had a solid outing with eight points and six rebounds in the defeat.

Fort Benton will take on North Star tonight in the 9C semifinals. Tip-off time is set for 8:30. HLP played this morning in loser-out action.

“We split with North Star during the season,” Scheffelmaier said. “It should be a close game, I really think it’s going to come down to which team is more consistent and who plays better on the defensive end.”

Fort Benton 68, Hays-Lodge Pole 35

HLP 4 9 10 12 – 35

Fort Benton 15 23 12 18 – 68

HLP – Kiara Shambo 2, Latasha Kirkaldie 4, Rayleigh Kirkaldie 8, Mullleah Stiffarm 21. Totals: 13 6-15.

Fort Benton – Kaitlyn Bird 8, Emma Arnst 2, Maddy Thompson 10, Lilly Green 2, Coya Nack 15, Allia Evans 10, Leah Gannon 13, McKenzie Clark 5, McKenna Hanford 2. Totals: 27 10-20.

Fouls: HLP 18, Fort Benton 10. Fouled out – Shambo. 3-pointers: Fort Benton 4 (Thompson 2, Gannon, Clark), HLP 3 (Stiffarm 3).