Back in Black: Chinook wins one final 9C championship

All season, the Chinook girls basketball team had been the best team in the District 9C as it went undefeated in conference play. The Sugarbeeters continued their run to the District 9C championship game Friday night at Havre High Gymnasium where they faced the North Star Knights. While the Sugarbeeters had a slow start, they pulled away in the second half for the 47-33 victory to win the 9C title.

"This title means a lot," Chinook junior Mya Berreth said. "We've worked hard, especially over the summer, just trying to get better so we can make it this far and try to get back to divisionals."

"These girls have been playing together for a really long time, since second and third grade, so it's great to see them get what they've been working on for a really long time," Chinook head coach Mike Jones said.

This will be Chinook's last season in the District 9C as the program will move to Class B next season, so capping off its tenure in the 9C with a district title is a sweet note to go out on.

It was not easy at first as the Knights jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first quarter. Laynie Sattoriva and Kaytlyn Domire both scored four points to lead North Star to the early lead. But the Sugarbeeters went on a 7-2 run to tie the game.

After Rainee Watson scored to give North Star the lead, Alexus Seymour scored to tie the game once again. Bree Swanson then scored to give Chinook a 14-12 lead to end the opening quarter.

The Sugarbeeters got rolling to start the second quarter as they went on a 6-0 run. Hallie Neibauer made a couple baskets during this stretch. The Knights eventually scored some baskets, but Seymour responded with a pair of 3-pointers to give Chinook a 26-15 late in the half.

The Knights refused to go away as they went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 26-23. Watson and Kira King both made a three during this run for the Knights. Seymour made a free throw to give Chinook a 27-23 lead heading into halftime.

It was slow going for both teams to start the third as Chinook could only build its lead to 29-26 halfway through the quarter. Over the last few minutes of the third, the Sugarbeeters were able to go on a 5-3 run to take a 34-29 lead into the fourth.

Chinook opened the fourth with a bucket from Seymour and a free throw from Hannah Schoen. As the Sugarbeeters got some scores in the fourth, their defense held the Knights to only two field goals in the quarter to prevent any shot of a comeback. As they have done all season, the Sugarbeeters relied on their defense to get the job done.

"One of the things that we hammer home is defense, defense, defense," Seymour said. "Jones said that he doesn't care about our offensive game. He just cares that we have a defensive game."

The Knights finished the game shooting 26.3 percent from the field. Sattoriva led North Star with 11 points and Watson scored 10 points. Meanwhile, Chinook shot 30.9 percent from the field. Seymour led the way with 19 points on 6-for-18 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line.

Both teams will now advance to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls this week. As they head into the next chapter of their season, the Sugarbeeters look forward to the chance to keep their undefeated season rolling.

"We just hope to play our best games in this upcoming tournament," Seymour said.

The Chinook girls basketball team will start the Northern C Divisional at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena this Thursday at 9:30 a.m. when it faces Cascade. The North Star girls basketball team will face Highwood this Thursday at 4 p.m. to start the Northern C Divisional.

Chinook 47, North Star 33

CHI - 14 13 7 13 - 47

NS - 12 11 6 4 - 33

CHI - Alexus Seymour 19, Mya Berreth 8, Hallie Neibauer 8, Bree Swanson 7, Hannah Schoen 5.

NS - Laynie Sattoriva 11, Rainee Watson 10, Kaytlyn Domire 7, Kira King 5.

3-pointers: Alexus Seymour 2, Bree Swanson 1, Laynie Sattoriva 1, Kira King 1, Rainee Watson 1. Fouls: CHI 14, NS 17. Fouled Out: Mackenzee Sargent.