Box Elder girls hoops entering rarefied air

GREAT FALLS - Winning back-to-back state championships isn't something that happens all the time and that's something we should remember when it comes to the Box Elder girls basketball team.

With a 48-42 win over Roy-Winifred Saturday night at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, the Bears played their way into the history books as a legendary team, not only in the Class C record books as a repeat champion but as one of the great teams in the history of the state.

Over the last four years, the Bears' achievements have been incredible. When Box Elder played Roy-Winifred for the state championship Saturday night, it was the third time in four years the Bears had played in the Class C girls state championship game. That right there is quite an accomplishment, but the fact that the Bears were able to finish off the repeat puts them in rarefied air.

When it comes to the storied history of Box Elder basketball, the Bears did something that no other Box Elder team has done, even the legendary teams that won two titles earlier this decade under the leadership of Jeremy MacDonald and Brandon The Boy didn't win back-to-back state championships.

There is absolutely no shame in that. Not many teams are able to do it because it's hard, but if we learned anything about this Box Elder team over the last few weeks, it's that they are resilient.

In fact, resiliency might be the Bears' best quality because, over the last few weeks and on their way to consecutive state championships, they were tested time and time again.

First, there was the loss in the District 9C championship game to Fort Benton. It was the second year in a row that the Bears fell in the district tournament, which meant Box Elder had to play arch-rival Belt in the first round at the Northern C Divisional tournament.

Box Elder lost to Belt in the 2016 state championship game and also in the 2017 semifinals at divisionals before finally conquering the Huskies last season. However, the Bears were once again facing Belt, and after the Huskies flew out of the gates, Box Elder found itself down nearly double digits, before rallying for a double-digit win of its own.

The very next night, the Bears got all they could handle in the Northern C semifinals from the Turner Tornadoes, who had a seven-point lead on the state champs with just over two minutes to play. With their season potentially on the line, all the Bears did was pull off a dramatic comeback, one that was capped with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Sarah Parisian, which finished off an 11-1 run to end the game.

If that shot didn't go in, the Bears might not have made it to state. Just like if Parisian didn't make the front end of a 1-and-1 Saturday night, with the Bears up just two and 1:08 on the clock, they might not have won the state championship.

Sometimes, when it comes down to it, a make or a miss can be the difference between winning and losing and it seemed every time the Bears needed a make or a stop or any kind of play, they found a way to make it.

Whether it was Parisian with a clutch shot, Maddie Wolf Chief or Eve The Boy with a big stop or key bucket, or one of the two superstars, Joelnell Momberg or Lilly Gopher taking over, when it was crunch time, the Bears delivered and they did it once again Saturday night.

After jumping out to a 16-point lead with stellar shooting efforts from Gopher and Momberg, the Bears found themselves hanging on for dear life in the fourth quarter. Roy-Winifred was making one last run and the Outlaws seemed to have all the momentum.

But just when you thought Box Elder was in trouble, the Bears made a play. Gopher drew a charge, they executed the stall and then Parisian made two free throws. It was textbook and even if it wasn't exciting, it was nothing short of championship level basketball.

And it was a perfect example of why this team has been so hard to beat over the past four seasons. Gopher and Momberg, two of the best players in Box Elder history, were the other reasons and each was spectacular throughout the same tournament.

Gopher, who played in her first state championship game as a freshman back in 2016, saw her career come full circle Saturday night. She scored 10 points in the first half and netted five in the second half, as well as taking the key charge late. Momberg was also outstanding, scoring 62 points in three games and placing herself among the great individual players ever to don a Box Elder uniform.

Ultimately, there are a lot of things you can say about the Box Elder girls basketball team, but as they have proven these past four years, the best adjective and the most fitting is that they are winners - pure and simple.

And in a game that was a microcosm of their historic run, the Bears showed those winning traits once again and that, more than anything, is why they were able to complete their crowning achievement.