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Lilly Gopher repping Hi-Line hoops on Montana's biggest All-Star stage

Soon, Box Elder girls basketball star Lilly Gopher will be navigating her first season of college basketball. That will come this fall when she suits up for defending NAIA national champion Montana Western.

First, though, Gopher will get one last weekend of high school basketball.

Gopher is part of the Montana Girls Team in the annual Montana-Wyoming All-Star Series, which will be played Friday and Saturday night on each side of the border.

And, it will be her last high school hurrah.

Gopher signed with Western earlier this spring, after a brilliant four-year career for the Bears.

Right away, Gopher was a standout as a freshman for head coach Joel Rosette, helping the Bears reach the 2016 Class C state championship game. Box Elder fell to Belt that night, but by her sophomore year, Gopher took her game to new heights. In her first of three straight Class C All-State seasons, Gopher helped the Bears to a 9C championship, and while they fell short of returning the state tournament, Gopher averaged nearly 17 points per game that season.

Gopher's junior season was even better. She averaged 19 points per night, and the Bears wound up winning their first state championship in two decades. A year later, Gopher returned for her senior season, where, despite injuries, she averaged 14 points per night, and helped Box Elder repeat as state champions in March.

It's been a remarkable career for the super-talented Gopher, who has also been a standout on the volleyball court and in track and field in her time at Box Elder. Gopher has also been an outstanding student and has been active in plenty of community service endeavors during her incredible four-year career.

Now, Gopher will represent the Bears one more time. In the Montana-Wyoming series, Gopher is one of just three Class C players who were selected to play for Rocky Mountain College head coach Wes Keller.

"It's a huge honor," Gopher said about being selected earlier this spring. "I'm really excited to play. It will be awesome to play with so many great players from around the state."

Indeed. Gopher's Montana squad is littered with talent, especially from the Class AA ranks. But, having played AAU ball with plenty of talented Treasure State stars over the years, and having just finished one of the best prep girls careers in years on the Hi-Line, Gopher will no doubt be a big part of the Montana team's success this weekend.

The 2019 Montana-Wyoming All-Star Series starts Friday night in Billings with the girls game at 5:30 and the boys game at 7:30 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym on the campus of MSU-Billings. The series shifts to Sheridan College in Sheridan, Wyoming Saturday.

Montana Boys All-Stars - Ryan Simpson, Bozeman; Jesse Owens, Billings West; Blake Thelen, Great Falls; Chrishon Dixon, Billings Central; Michael Haverfield, Dillon; Sam Gray, Billings Central; Jaden Graham, Lewistown; Sayer Patton, Choteau; Caleb Bellach, Manhattan Christian; Brody Grebe, Melstone. Head coach: Steve Keller, University of Providence.

Montana Girls All-Stars - TyLee Manuel, Billings West; TyRaa Manuel, Billings West; Shayla Montague, Billings West; Kali Gulick, Kalispell Glacier; Sydney Sheridan, Helena Capital; Kyle Olsen, Three Forks; Danielle Zahn, Florence; Mackenzie Dethman, Froid-Medicine Lake; Lillian Gopher, Box Elder; Alyssia Vanderberg, Arlee. Head coach: Wes Keller, Rocky Mountain College.

Wyoming Boys All-Stars - Tristan Bower, Sheridan; Trase Olson, Campbell County; Davion McAdam, Casper Kelly Walsh; Elijah Leyva, Cody; Erik Oliver, Cheyenne East; Treyton Paxton, Riverton; Danny Gosar, Pinedale; Lain Mitchelson, Farson-Eden; Colton Larson, Thunder Basin; Jaren Fritz, Glenrock. Head coach: Cody Ball, Sheridan College.

Wyoming Girls All-Stars - Aubrie Stenerson, Powell; Abby Greer, Gillette Thunder Basin; Kendall Wright, Greybull; Maddie Miller, Gillette Thunder Basin; Noelle Peterson, Encampment; Emma Jarvis, Campbell County; Hailey Anderson, Southeast; Alexandria Trosper, Wyoming Indian; Kammie Ragsdale, Pine Bluffs; Jennifer Aadland, Laramie. Head coach: Ryan Davis, Sheridan College.

 

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