Longhorns survive thriller in 9C consolation game

On Friday night at Havre High Gymnasium, the Fort Benton Longhorns and Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds battled it out in the District 9C Girls Basketball consolation game. With a spot in the Northern C Divisional on the line, the Longhorns and T-Birds went back and forth throughout the night.

The Longhorns came back from a deficit to start the fourth quarter as they came back to tie the game, 37-37, with less than a minute left in the game. After the Longhorns got the ball back, Emerson Giese knocked down a floater to give Fort Benton the lead with two seconds left. The T-Birds' heave at the buzzer failed to connect as Fort Benton held on for the 39-37 victory to finish third in districts.

"We like to make things interesting. I don't know how much more I can say than that," Fort Benton head coach Eddie Fultz said about the exciting finish.

The Longhorns lost a heartbreaker against North Star in the semifinal the previous night. With that loss, the Longhorns had to win two loser-out games Friday, including their thrilling win over the T-Birds in the consolation game. While that loss to North Star made their path to the Northern C more difficult, the Longhorns were able to rally.

"We all knew that we wanted to get to divisionals no matter how difficult it was. No matter which path we took," Giese said. "We came to understand that and just saying that (loss to North Star) happened but that doesn't prevent us from our goal in the long run."

"We had to swipe the previous night clean and forget about it and move on to our future goals because if we let it snowball, it's going to be the end completely," Fultz said. "It was close a couple times (against HLP) but we're going to make it another week."

The Longhorns had to battle to earn their spot in the Northern C. HLP jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Imagin Fox and a free throw from Nashone Shambo. Giese got Fort Benton on the board with a three, but Angela Blackcrow scored for the T-Birds.

Hailee Wang made a basket for the Longhorns but HLP responded with a bucket from Shaunte Hawley. Alliya Pretty Paint then knocked down a three to give the T-Birds an 11-5 lead to end the opening quarter.

Giese got rolling for Fort Benton with a pair of buckets to start the second quarter. After some HLP free throws, Wang scored another basket for the Longhorns. Giese then made a pair of buckets to give Fort Benton a 15-13 lead.

Shambo knocked down a three to give HLP the lead again and Blackcrow made a pair of free throws to add onto it. The Longhorns responded with a bucket from Ang Riener and a pair of free throws from Giese to take the lead again. But Hawley made a free throw to tie the game, 19-19, heading into halftime.

The T-Birds started the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 28-19 lead. Shambo capped off the run with a pair of baskets. The Longhorns responded with a three from Corder and a bucket from Giese to keep pace, but Shambo got going with a three and another bucket. Giese was able to score before the end of the third, but HLP took a 33-26 lead into the fourth.

After Shambo scored to start the fourth, the Longhorns went on a 5-0 run. After another Shambo bucket, Riener made a pair of buckets to cut HLP's lead to 37-35 just past the halfway point of the quarter. As the Longhorns worked their way back into the game, Giese believes their defensive pressure gave the Longhorns more opportunities.

"It was a lot stemming from defense. We started to pick up the pace and realize that we weren't going to get it done by staying back and not putting pressure on their ball handlers," Giese said. "I think that's what gave us some runs to get back in the game and eventually get ahead."

With about 30 seconds left in the fourth, Corder knocked down a shot to tie the game. After getting a stop, the Longhorns took the lead with Giese's basket and got the stop to finish the comeback victory.

The Longhorns finished the game shooting 29.4 percent from the field. Giese led the way with 24 points as she went 8-for-27 from the field and 7-for-13 from the free-throw line. HLP shot 27.7 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep. Shambo scored 22 points as she shot 9-for-24 from the field and 3-for-7 from deep.

With their win, the Longhorns kept their season going with a berth in the Northern C Divisional this week in Great Falls. While the Longhorns have some tough games ahead of them, they look forward to the chance to continue their season.

"I'm just excited to take advantage of it and make the most of my last couple of games or weeks of basketball," Giese said. "I am just really looking forward to making the most of it, having fun and just doing as well as we can in the postseason and maybe make a little run."

The Fort Benton girls basketball team will begin the Northern C Divisional at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena this Wednesday at 4 p.m. when it faces Belt.

Fort Benton 39, HLP 37, Consolation

FB - 5 14 7 13 - 39

HLP - 11 8 14 4 - 37

FB - Emerson Giese 24, Hailee Wang 6, Ang Riener 6, Casha Corder 3.

HLP - Nashone Shambo 22, Imagin Fox 5, Angela Blackcrow 4, Shaunte Hawley 3, Alliya Pretty Paint 3.

3-pointers: Nashone Shambo 3, Alliya Pretty Paint 1, Imagin Fox 1, Casha Corder 1, Emerson Giese 1. Fouls: FB 12, HLP 17. Fouled Out: Alliya Pretty Paint.

HLP 46, Box Elder 43, LO

HLP - 17 7 13 9 - 46

BE - 7 10 10 16 - 43

HLP - Nashone Shambo 16, Alliya Pretty Paint 16, Angela Blackcrow 6, Shaunte Hawley 4, Shaydyn Blount 2, Chaynell McConnell 2.

BE - Tayleigh Sunchild 14, Meiyah Oats 13, Wapan Blackbird 8, Martay Rosette 4, Cheyenne Windy Boy 2, Dalelyn Henderson 2.

3-pointers: Nashone Shambo 4, Alliya Pretty Paint 2. Fouls: HLP 19, BE 10. Fouled Out: Gabriel Walker.

Fort Benton 44, Big Sandy 38, LO

FB - 11 10 9 14 - 44

BS - 5 4 12 15 - 38

FB - Emerson Giese 14, Casha Corder 9, Ang Riener 7, Kylynn Nack 7, Hailee Wang 3, Sarah Clark 2, Addison Reichelt 2.

BS - Eva Yeadon 11, Jaihven Baumann 9, Angie Sant 7, Keira Galbavy 7, Mattie Gasvoda 2.

3-pointers: Casha Corder 1, Ang Riener 1, Kylynn Nack 1, Jaihven Baumann 1, Eva Yeadon 1. Fouls: FB 16, BS 23. Fouled Out: Eva Yeadon.