BEAR BLITZ

GREAT FALLS - For part of the first half, it seemed that the Ekalaka Bulldogs would be able to hang with the Box Elder Bears.

But after constant pressure from Box Elder and a 12-0 run in the second quarter, it was clear that the Bears were in a class by themselves Thursday night as they rolled Ekalaka, 71-39, on their way to the Class C semifinals thanks to the convincing win inside the Four Seasons Arena.

"I thought we did a lot better job with defense and rebounding," Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. "The girls came out and executed and we made them take a lot of tough shots and didn't give any easy drives up."

In the early going, both teams went back-and-forth and actually, the Bulldogs earned an early victory by forcing Joelnell Momberg, one of Box Elder's All-State standouts into foul trouble. With Momberg on the bench, the Bears worked the ball inside to 5-foot-10 senior Lilly Gopher and after a couple early buckets, Box Elder led 6-5.

Neither team was able to knock down much in the way of jump shots early, but Box Elder was able to create a little separation following a 3-point play by Eve The Boy, who scored after an offensive rebound and converted the free throw to give the Bears a 9-5 lead. Gopher scored another bucket and in the closing seconds, Gopher connected on a mid-range jumper to give her eight points in the opening stanza. The hoop also gave her team a 14-9 lead.

"We wanted to try and work on some of our sets plays," Rosette said. "We wanted to try and get some of our guards in good positions and she was one of the tallest players out there and she wanted to get the ball inside."

In the second quarter, Gopher continued to take advantage of her height inside and quickly gave the Bears a 16-9 lead on her 10th point of the game. The Bulldogs made a long jumper to trim the lead to 16-11, however, the Bears ramped up the pressure at that point and started forcing turnovers. Maddie Wolf Chief and Gopher both scored on steals and suddenly, after 12 straight points, the Bears led 28-11. A 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half by The Boy gave the Bears a 37-18 advantage. A bucket by Momberg made it 39-18 Box Elder at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Box Elder continued to dominate on both ends of the floor. After allowing the Bulldogs to make just 25 percent of their shots during the first half, the Bears gave up just eight points in the third stanza. On the other end, the Bears scored 17 points and got five in the last minute from Joelnell Momberg, including a 3-pointer and a floater late in the quarter that gave the Bears a 53-26 lead with eight minutes left to go.

Momberg didn't play much in the first half due to foul trouble, but in the second half, she started heating up scoring a total of 16 points. In the fourth quarter, she knocked down another triple at the 5:44 mark, which pushed the Bears lead to 30. She scored a couple more times in the closing minutes, including a nice move off the glass with under three to play as the Bulldogs finally started knocking down shots. When it was all over, the Bears cruised to the 32-point win.

While Momberg didn't play a ton in the first half, especially in the first quarter, she still finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. She also hit twice from deep. For her part, Gopher finished with 17 points, 14 of which came in the first half. She also added nine rebounds and five assists. The Boy also pitched in with 12 points and Wolf Chief added eight.

"It's my last state tournament, so I really want to make it count and leave it all on the floor," Gopher said. "But each game is going to be tough. We just have to come out and take it one game at a time."

The victory will send Box Elder back into the Class C semifinals where they will face Savage, which beat Charlo by double-digits in their quarterfinal matchup Thursday. The other winners Thursday were Roy-Winifred and Scobey.

Those two teams will meet at 6:30 tonight inside the Four Seasons, followed by Box Elder and Savage who will tip at approximately 8 p.m. The winners will meet Saturday night at 8 for the Class C state title.

Box Elder 71, Ekalaka 39

Ekalaka 9 9 8 13 - 39

Box Elder 14 25 14 18 - 71

Box Elder - Annalise Johnson 2, Sarah Parisian 4, Eve The Boy 14, Lillian Gopher 17, Maddie Wolf Chief 8, Joelnell Momberg 24, Zayna Henderson 1, Britney Lafromboise 2, Totals: 28-59 12-17 71.

Ekalaka - Tori Took 13, Whitney Kittleman 8, Kari Kittleman 6, Heart LaBree 6, Hannah LaBree 5, Ella Owen 4. Totals: 15-58 4-6 39.

3-Pointers: Tori Tooke 1, Whitney Kittleman 2, Kari Kittleman 1, Hannah LaBree 1, Joelnell Momberg 2, Eve The Boy 1. Fouls: Ekalaka 15, Box Elder 14. Fouled out -- none.