Hi-Line Girls BB: Turner, Harlem girls stay on the rise

The 2020 portion of the high school basketball season will reach the halfway point at the end of this week. But looking back on last weekend, it was another big one for high school girls basketball on the Hi-Line.

It's certainly been an exciting seasons so far for the Harlem Wildcats, who started the week with a 69-15 crushing of Chinook last Thursday night. Harlem jumped to a 22-4 lead and never looked back as L'Tia Lawrence scored 20 points, Taya Trottier added 18 and Kailee Henry scored 13. Chinook got six points from Lily Surber in the loss.

In another Class B game Thursday night, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars came up short at home when they fell to Fairfield 58-45. Rocky Boy couldn't stop Kenna Pitcher, who scored 33 points in the win.

In Class C action Thursday night, Fort Benton easily stayed unbeaten with a 73-19 non-conference win over Denton-Geyser-Stanford. The Longhorns scored 25 points in the first eight minutes and had 18 points from McKenzie Clark, while Cassie Nack and Aspen Giese each scored 10.

Friday night saw the Turner Tornadoes get their weekend started right, as they took down Hays-Lodge Pole 73-52. The game was close at halftime, as HLP poured in 22 points in the second quarter, but Turner outscored the Thunderbirds 35-19 the rest of the way. Sarah Billmayer scored 26 points and Shyan Krass added 23 for Turner, while Mulleah Stiffarm and Nashone Shambo combined for 27 for the T-Birds.

Also in the District 9C Friday night, North Star had little trouble with rival Chester-Joplin-Inverness, as the Knights won 62-22. The Knights led 37-10 at halftime on their way to a big victory. CJI did get 10 points from Tatum Hull in the loss. Box Elder also grabbed a 9C win Friday night, turning away Big Sandy 58-26.

Back in the Class B ranks Friday night, Harlem rolled to a 60-43 District 2B win over Glasgow, while Rocky Boy dropped a non-conference battle with Malta 63-39 in Rocky Boy.

Saturday saw Turner keep rolling as the Tornadoes thumped Chinook 63-19. Turner outscored the Sugarbeeters 25-7 in the first eight minutes, and got 18 points from Sarah Billmayer, while Shyan Krass scored 12 and Dakota Krass added 11.

Saturday night was also a big one for HLP. The T-Birds scored a 75-44 win over CJI. The T-Birds used a 24-point outburst in the second quarter to pull away from the Hawks. Mulleah Stiffarm had another big game for HLP, while Tatum Hull scored 14 for the Hawks, and Averie Mattson and Haddie Woods each scored nine.

In two more 9C games Saturday night, North Star clobbered Big Sandy, 66-29, while Fort Benton thrashed Box Elder 75-23. No stats were reported from either game.

THURSDAY

Harlem 69, Chinook 15

Chinook 4 5 6 0 - 15

Harlem 22 25 10 12 - 69

Harlem - Gabi Bell 8, Vanille Little 2, L'Tia Lawrence 20, Taya Trottier 18, Chloe Messserly 4, Aria Owens 4, Kailee Henry 13.

Chinook - Lexi Pitkanen 2, Jayden Miller 2, Lily Surber 6, Allison Powell 5.

Fairfield 58, Rocky Boy 45

Fairfield - Taylor Simmons 2, Madison Rosenbaum 4, Kenna Pitcher 33, Cheyenne Maddox 5, Olivia Copenhaver 2, Kaylee Christensen 6, Kyler Bake.

Rocky Boy - NA.

Fort Benton 73, DGS 19

FB 25 10 22 16 - 73

DGS 1 10 8 0 - 19

DGS - Adie Woodhall 3, Mariah Schott 3, Leena Cunningham 2, Sydney Von Bergen 8, Jessica Ayers 3.

Fort Benton - McKenzie Clark 18, Aspen Giese 10, Cassie Nack 10, Ashloee Wang 5, Abby Clark 7, Samantha Vielleux 1, Maci Molinario 7, Megan Clark 9, Emerson Giese 2, McKenna Hanford 2, Halle Wang 2.

FRIDAY

Turner 73, Hays-Lodge Pole 52

Turner 25 13 14 21 - 73

HLP 11 22 6 13 - 52

HLP - Nashone Shambo 12, Mulleah Stiffarm 15, Tahtanna Morgan 8, Sierra Chandler 7, Ella Messerly 5, Kassi Perez 3, Judemia Gray 2.

Turner - Shyan Krass 23, Sarah Billmayer 26, Brooke Reed 11, Laci Maloney 10, Brandy Calvert 4, Dakota Krass 2.

North Star 62, CJI 22

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 6 4 8 4 - 22

North Star 19 18 19 6 - 62

CJI - Tatum Hull 10, Haddie Woods 5, Averie Mattson 4, Molly Nelson 2, Aria Miller 1.

North Star - N/A.

Harlem 60, Glasgow 43

Harlem - NA

Glasgow - NA

Malta 63, Rocky Boy 39

Malta - N/A.

Rocky Boy - N/A.

SATURDAY

Hays-Lodge Pole 75, CJI 44

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 4 15 9 16 - 44

Hays-Lodge Pole 16 24 16 19 - 75

CJI - Tatum Hull 14, Averie Mattson 9, Hade Woods 9, Molly Nelson 7, Lily Wickum 3, Aria Miller 2.

HLP - N/A.

Turner 63, Chinook 19

Chinook 7 8 2 2 - 19

Turner 25 14 13 11 - 63

Chinook - N/A.

Turner - Dakota Krass 11, Hannah Richman 2, Brooke Reed 6, Laci Maloney 5, Shyan Krass 12, Brandy Calvert 2, Emma Billmayer 7, Sarah Billmayer 18.

Fort Benton 75, Box Elder 23

FB - N/A.

Box Elder - N/A.