Hi-Line Girls BB: Knights, Tornadoes victorious in key district games

The District 9C season is officially halfway over. And the tournament is a mere three weeks away now.

The high school girls season ended January with plenty of good games, but the week started with Fort Benton thrashing 88-6. The Longhorns scored 54 points the first half, and got 15 points by Aspen Giese, and 14 each from Hailee Wang, Emerson Giese and Ashlee Wang.

Meanwhile, Tuesday night also saw Hays-Lodge Pole's game with Roy-Winifred canceled, as was Box Elder's home game with Harlem. Thursday's Class B rivalry game between Harlem and Rocky Boy was also called off.

In a big 9C showdown Friday night, the Fort Benton Longhorns beat North Star in a defensive struggle. The Longhorns used an 18-12 run in the final stanza to pull away for a 45-36 win. Aspen Giese poured in 21 points for Fort Benton, while Jade Wendland had 14 points for the Knights.

In another key game Friday night, Turner returned to the floor and outlasted Box Elder 55-47. The Bears led 28-27 at halftime, but the Tornadoes tuned things around in the third quarter with a 15-9 run. Turner's Krass sisters were huge in the game. Shyan Krass scored 26 points and grabbed 17 refounds, while Dakota Krass added 23 points.

Rocky Boy was also back in action Friday night, but the struggling Morning Stars were no match for District 2B power Malta, as the M-Ettes won 79-29. Kirsten LaMere led Rocky Boy with seven points. No score was reported from Rocky Boy's game against Cut Bank from Saturday night.

Games between Hays-Lodge Pole and Chinook, and Harlem and Cut Bank were canceled Friday night.

Every week, 9C games keep getting bigger and there was a big one Saturday night between Box Elder and North Star. And in a thriller, the Knights came away with a 71-67 win. North Star jumped out to an 18-8 lead and led 40-27 at half. The Bears rallied in the second half but came up short in a great game.

Jade Wendland had a huge game for the Knights with 28 points, while Shayla Borlaug scored 16. Kyla Momberg led the Bears in double figures with 27 points.

Saturday night also saw Chinook take care of Big Sandy on the road, 66-33. The Sugarbeeters scored 28 points in the first half, and the Pioneers couldn't recover. Hallie Neubauer scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Beeters, while Lainey Terry scored nine for Big Sandy.

There were more cancellations Saturday, including Fort Benton and HLP and Turner and CJI.