Tourney Time: District 9C girls squads ready for Northern C

Eight teams just got done duking it out at the District 9C girls tournament last week inside the HHS gymnasium. Now, three of them are getting right back at it.

Box Elder, Fort Benton and North Star all represent the 9C at this week’s Northern C Divisional in Great Falls, which starts Wednesday morning and runs through Friday night, with two coveted berths in the Class C state tournament on the line.

And while the 9C was tough, the Northern C is going to be even more daunting, mainly because, the most dominant program in Class C girls basketball over the last few years, the Belt Huskies will be there.

"We are excited just to be there,” Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. “There are some great teams. The 8C has some great teams and the 10C has some good teams like Great Falls Central.”

The Bears (20-1) might be excited to be in the field, but they are no strangers to success in Great Falls either. Box Elder was the Northern C runner-up a year ago, losing only to Belt. The Bears, led this year by Lilly Gopher, Joelnell Momberg, Tia Russell, Minnie The Boy and Maddie Wolf Chief, also lost to the Huskies in the Class C state title game in Great Falls last spring.

And Box Elder is probably headed for a rematch with Belt, but this team will be in the Northern C semifinals. The Bears open the tournament against Simms, the second-place team from the 10C Wednesday at 11 a.m. If Box Elder advances, it will surely face Belt, which plays Cascade in the opening round Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. The Huskies are once again loaded. They are unbeaten and have star players in Dani Urick and Kerstyn Pimperton, but head coach Jeff Graham’s squad goes much deeper than that and will be tough to beat this week.

“There is always going to be some competition, but we are excited to go down there and play Lady Bear basketball,” Rosette said.

The girls tournament begins Wednesday morning with the North Star Knights taking on Winnett-Grass Range at 8 a.m. The Knights, led by Paij Peterson, Kate Hansen, Sheridan Spicher, Peytan King and Lily Pedersen, are riding high right now after finishing third at the 9C, and head coach Rob Spicher said his team is going to Great Falls to win more basketball games.

“This was one of our big goals at the beginning of the season,” Spicher said. “But we’re also excited to go down to Great Falls and accomplish some more goals.”

If North Star gets past the Rams, who are the No. 3 from the 8C, the Knights would play 10C champion Great Falls Central in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Mustangs have had a big season, and they’re deep. They have four players averaging double figures, led by Bryn Anderson.

The other quarterfinal game Wednesday features 9C runner-up Fort Benton taking on Roy-Winifred, the third-place team from the 8C. The Longhorns (17-4), led by the quartet of Coya Nack, Leah Gannon, Allie Evans and Maddie Thompson, as well as point guard Kaitlin Bird, could be a darkhorse in the Northern C this week.

"I think, defensively our team does a solid job,” Fort Benton head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier said. “Our team needs to step up our offensive game a little bit. We need to score and the girls just need to keep working hard.”

The Longhorns played well for a half against Box Elder in the 9C championship game, but, they also have a golden opportunity to make it all the way to the Northern C title game, because they are on the opposite side of the bracket of both Box Elder and defending state champion Belt.

Still, the brackets are loaded on both sides. That’s always the case with the Northern C, which is by far the toughest divisional tourney in Class C basketball.

The winners of Wednesday’s four quarterfinal games will play in the semifinals Thursday at 7 and 8:30 p.m. The consolation game is set for Friday at 7 p.m. and the championship game will be Friday at 8:30 p.m. If a challenge game is needed, it will be played Saturday at 5 p.m. All the action takes place inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, with the top two teams moving on to the Class C state tourney next week in Belgrade.

Northern C

At Great Falls Four Seasons

(2 teams advance)

Wednesday

Game 1: Winnett-Grass Range vs. North Star, 8 a.m.

Game 2: Belt vs. Cascade, 9:30 a.m.

Game 3: Box Elder vs. Simms, 11 a.m.

Game 4: Fort Benton vs. Roy-Winifred, 12:30 p.m.

Game 5: Great Falls Central vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m.

Thursday

Game 6: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 8 a.m.

Game 7: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 12:30 p.m.

Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m.

Game 9: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.

Game 10: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8:30 p.m.

Friday

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 11 a.m.

Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 loser, 12:30 p.m.

Game 13: Game 11 winner, vs. Game 12 winner, 7 p.m., third place

Game 14: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, championship.