Sugarbeeters, Thunderbirds and Tornadoes each go 1-1 in District 9C play

During the first two weeks of the Chinook Sugarbeeters, Harlem Wildcats, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Turner Tornadoes each saw action various preseason tournaments in preparation for the start of the conference schedule.

This past weekend all four local teams were in action. The Harlem Wildcats stormed past the Malta M-ettes 64-34 at home Friday night and then outlasted the Wolf Point Wolves 48-46 Saturday afternoon the start District 2B play 2-0.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds came back from an early deficit to defeat Chinook Friday 37-32 and the Turner Tornadoes began conference play with a 37-36 win over the North Star Knights.

Saturday the Sugarbeeters bounced back to race past Big Sandy 51-30. Turner fell to the Fort Benton Longhorns 57-39 and Hays/Lodge Pole was bested by Chester-Joplin-Inverness 64-31 as all three teams begin District 9C play 1-1.

Friday in Harlem the girls treated the hometown fans to quit a show as they took the court for the first time at home.

Head Coach Laramie Schwenke was a standout for the M-ettes and then the Montana State University Skylights. The first two seasons in Harlem her teams suffered some pretty painful losses at the hands of the M-ettes.

Now Schwenke is in year three of building her program and things are starting to come together and they were all on display Friday night.

Senior Mystic Striker scored nine points in the opening stanza and junior Autumn Eagleman and sophomore L'Tia Lawrence each drained a pair of trifectas in helping the Ladycats race out to 31-9 lead.

Lawrence dropped in two more from beyond the arc and sophomore Taeshon Scheaffer buried one of her own as Harlem extended their advantage to 47-20 by intermission.

Harlem would allow the M-ettes a single free throw in the third as the coasted down the stretch to an impressive 64-34 District 2B opening win.

Striker pace the team with 19 points in the win. Lawrence finished with 18 including the four three pointers. Junior Skylee Dirden chipped in 12 on the night.

Saturday the Wolf Point Wolves were in town and again the Ladycats were up to the challenge.

Wolf Point started fast, taking a 15-6 lead into the second quarter. Harlem was methodical in their comeback winning the second quarter 14-8 on the strength of eight points from Lawrence and six from Striker.

Harlem took the lead in the third as Lawrence dropped in six more to lead 35-29 entering the fourth quarter where they would hold on to win 48-46.

Striker again led the team with 17 points and Lawrence added 15 to help Harlem get off to a 2-0 start in District 2B play.

Friday in Hays the Sugarbeeters led 11-5 after eight minutes of action only to see the Thunderbirds win the second quarter 15-9 sending the teams to the half time locker room tied at 20-20.

In the second half the Thunderbirds controlled the action and got a huge fourth quarter effort from freshman Ella Messerly who scored ten points down the stretch helping the Thunderbirds secure a 37-32 win.

Freshman Mulleeah Stiffarm tossed in 16 for Hays/Lodge Pole and Messerly added 15. Chinook was led by senior Sierra Swanks seven.

In Gildford the Tornadoes led start to finish to topple the North Star Knights 37-36. Turner opened up a 12-3 lead early and held on for the win.

Sophomore Melanie Watkins scored down low off a nice pass from junior Raegan Conlan to put Turner up 35-32.

Freshman Shyan Krass scored off an offensive rebound to give the Tornadoes a 36-34 lead with :23.8 left in the contest.

Junior Rylee Conlan extended the lead to 37-34 with a free throw with :15 left and the Tornado defense held on for the win.

Sophomore Sarah Billmayer led the Tornadoes with 16 points including three from beyond the arc.

Saturday in Chinook the Sugarbeeters were looking to even their record with a home contest against the Big Sandy Pioneers.

Senior Hailey McMaster drained a three point bomb and scored five points early to help the Sugarbeeters open up a 9-5 lead after eight minutes of action.

Senior Sierra Swank caught fire in the second quarter scoring from downtown and going 5-5 from the charity stripe in scoring 12 second quarter points to help Chinook take a 31-11 lead at the break.

The second half saw each team hold their own and Chinook even their conference mark at 1-1 with a 51-30 win over the Pioneers.

Turner welcomed the Fort Benton Longhorns to town for their home opener.

Turner got four points each from Raegan Conlan and Melanie Watkins in the opening quarter but the Longhorns still held a 14-12 advantage after eight minutes of action.

Turner trimmed a point off during the second quarter picking up six points from Krass in the paint as the teams headed to intermission with Fort Benton on top 22-21.

The third quarter belonged to the visitors with Fort Benton winning the quarter 20-7 to take a 42-28 lead into the fourth quarter.

Turner fought hard down the stretch but it was the Longhorns that extended their advantage in securing a 57-39 win over the Tornadoes.

Krass led the Turner attack with 16 points in the contest as Turner evened their District 9C record at 1-1.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds ran into a hot Chester/Joplin-Inverness squad Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks held a 12-8 advantage earley and extended their lead to 24-15 by the break

Chester/J-I opened things up in the third quarter outscoring the Thunderbirds 18-2 en-rout to a 64-31 over the Thunderbirds.

Hays/Lodge Pole was led by Sierra Chandlers 10 points while Ella Messerly and Nature Andrew each scored nine in the contest.

With the loss the Thunderbirds recored is evened at 1-1 in District 9C play.

All four teams were in action this week with many games being played on Tuesday or Wednesday, full results will be included in next weeks paper.

Girls Basketball Box Scores

Harlem 64 Malta 34

Malta 9 11 1 13 - 34

Harlem 31 16 9 8 - 64

Malta: Taylor Gilkerson 4 0-0 12, Kelbee Denham 0 1-2 1, Kloie Marks 1 0-0 2, Raina Mortenson 0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Shipman 2 0-0 4, Erica Smith 0 0-0 0, Wylee Young 01 2-2 4, Taylor Eggebreht 1 3-4 5, Janessa Malmerd 2 0-3 4, Ella Schye 0 0-0 0Carly Garfield 0 2-3 2.

Harlem: Kristyn Kittson 2 0-0 4, Payton Healy 0 0-0 0, Mystic Striker 8 3-6 19, Skylee Dirden 5 2-4 12, L'Tia Lawrence 7 0-0 18, Autumn Eagleman 2 0-0 6, Taeshon Scheaffer 2 0-0 5, MacKenzie Doney 0 0-0 0, Aria Owens 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 26 5-10 64.

Three Point - Harlem 7 (L'Tia Lawrence 4, Autumn Eagleman 2, Taeshon Schaeffer 1), Malta 4 (Taylor Gilkerson 4); Team Fouls - Harlem 15, Malta 7; Fouled Out - None.

Turner 37 North Star 36

Turner 12 7 12 6 - 37

North Star. 3 9 17 7 - 36

Turner: Raegan Conlan 1 2-7 4, Sarah Billmayer 6 1-5 16, Rylee Conlan 2 1-3 6, Melanie Watkins 1 1-2 3, Brandy Calvert 1 1-1 3, Brooke Reed 0 0-0 0, Shyan Krass 2 1-2 5. Team Totals 13 7-20 37.

North Star: Katelyn Hansen 1 0-0 2, Kengee Wolery 0 0-0 0, Paige Petersen 2 2-4 7, Lily Pederson 3 2-2 8, Olivia King 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Harvey 0 0-0 0, Saige O'Neil 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Donaldson 3 1-2 7, Peyton King 5 2-7 12.. Team Totals 14 7-15 36.

Three Point - Turner 4 (Sarah Billmayer 3, Rylee Conlan 1), North Star 1 (Paige Petersen q); Total Fouls - Turner 15, North Star 22; Fouled Out - North Star - Katelyn Harvey.

Hays/Lodge Pole 37 Chinook 32

Chinook 11 9 6 6 - 32

Hays/L.P. 5 15 7 10 - 37

Chinook: Sierra Swank 3 1-3 7, Megan Molyneaux 1 1-2 3, Carrie Hofer 1 3-5 5, Kourtney Hanson 2 0-0 4, Jaye Anderson 2 0-2 4, Hailey McMaster 1 4-6 6, Ashley MacLeod 0 0-0 0, Erin Pula 1 0-0 2, Lincy Johnson 0 1-2 1. Team Totals 11 10-20 32.

Hays/L.P.: Nature Andrew 1 1-4 3, Ella Messerly 5 2-2 15, Sierra Chandler 0 0-2 0, Latasha Kirkaldie 0 1-2 1, Kassi Perez 0 1-2 1, Mulleeah Stiffarm 4 4-8 1515, Tahlia Werk 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 11 9-20 37.

Three Point - Chinook 0, Hay/L.P. 6 (Mulleeah Stiffarm 3, Ella Messerly 3); Total Fouls - Chinook 15, Hay/L.P. 18; Fouled Out - None.

Harlem 48 Wolf Point 46

Wolf Point 15 8 6 17 - 46

Harlem 6 14 15 13 - 48

Wolf Point: Brienna Kurokawa 0 0-0 0, Semorah Wells 4 0-0 10, Hailey Nelson 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Archdale 0 0-0 0, Aubri Zilkowski 7 2-10 20,Tori Nuggard 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Nefzger 0 0-0 0, Mary Bighorn 2 0-0 4, Abby Juve5 2-2 12. Team Totals 12 6-12 46.

Harlem: Kailee Henry 1 0-0 3, Kristyn Kittson 0 0-0 0, Payton Healy 2 0-0 5, Mystic Striker 8 1-2 17, Skylee Dirden 1 1-4 3, L'Tia Lawrence 5 3-5 15, Autumn Eagleman 1 1-3 3, Taeshon Scheaffer 1 0-0 2, Aria Owens 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 19 6-14 48.

Three Point - Harlem 4 (L'Tia Lawrence 2, Payton Healy 1, Kailee Henry 1), Wolf Point 6 (Aubri Zilkowski 4, Semorah Wells 2); Team Fouls - Harlem 9, Wolf Point 14; Fouled Out - None.

Chinook 51 Big Sandy 30

Big Sandy 5 6 12 7 - 30

Chinook 9 22 6 14 - 51

Chinook: Sierra Swank 3 5-8 12, Megan Molyneaux 1 0-0 3, Carrie Hofer 1 1-2 3, Kourtney Hanson 2 0-0 4, Hailey McMaster 3 1-1 8, Jaye Anderson 2 0-0 4, Ashley MacLeod 1 2-3 4, Lincy Johnson 2 1-2 5, Rachel Gunderson 4 0-2 8. Team Totals 19 10-18 51.

Big Sandy: Andrea Rutledge 1 4-8 6, Cassidy Belcourt 0 0-0 0, Bailey Gasvoda 0 0-0 0, Cali Demontiney 1 3-5 6, Lainey Gregory 1 1-2 3, Jaylyn Cline 2 1-4 5, Sarah Reichelt 1 2-4 4. Team Totals 9 11-23 30.

Three Point - Chinook 3 (Megan Molyneaux 1, Sierra Swank 1, Hailey McMaster 1), Big Sandy 1 (Cali Demontiney 1); Total Fouls - Chinook 19, Big Sandy 18; Fouled Out - Big Sandy (Jaylyn Cline).

Fort Benton 57 Turner 39

Fort Benton 14 8 20 15 - 57

Turner 12 9 7 11 - 39

Fort Benton: NCassie Nack 2 0-1 4, MacKenzie Clark 2 0-0 4, Madison Thompson 5 0-4 10, Aspen Giese 6 1-2 13, Abby Clark 6 1-2 13, Maci Molinario 0 0-0 0, Jaelyn Vielleux 0 0-0 0, Megan Clark 3 0-1 7, Leah Gannon 7 1-6 18. Team Totals 25 3-16 57.

Turner: Raegan Conlan 1 4-4 6, Sarah Billmayer 2 1-5 5, Rylee Conlan 1 0-0 3, Melanie Watkins 3 1-2 7, Brandy Calvert 0 0-0 0, Brooke Reed 1 0-0 2, Shyan Krass 6 4-4 16. Team Totals 14 10-15 39.

Three Point - HLP 4 (Muleeah Stiffarm 3, Ella Messerly 1), Fort Benton 4 (Leah Gannon 3, Megan Clark 1); Total Fouls - Turner 16, Fort Benton 15; Fouled Out - Turner (Raegan Conlan).

Chester/Joplin-Inverness 64 Hays/Lodge Pole 31

Hays/L.P. 8 7 2 13 - 31

Chester/J-I. 12 12 18 21 - 64

Hays/LP: Nature Andrew 2 5-7 9, Darellyn Blackwolf 0 0-0 0, Ella Messerly 3 1-1 9, Sierra Chandler 0 1-2 10, Mulleah Stiffarm 1 0-1 2, Tahlia Werk 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 7 7-12 31.

Chester/J-I: Kendahl Knapton 7 3-1 17, Korrin Harmon 4 1-2 10, Kayona Fraser 1 5-6 7, Katey Kammerzell 2 0-1 5, Khloe Kammerzell 3 0-0 6, Jasmine Cole 2 3-6 7, Peyton Hawks 3 3-4 11. Team Totals 22 15-25 64.

Three Point - HLP 3 (Ella Messerly 2, Latasha Kirkaldie 1), Chester/J-I 4 (Peyton Hawks 2, Khloe Kammerzell 1, Korrin Harmon 1); Total Fouls - HLP 23, Lame Deer13; Fouled Out - Hays/L.P. (Muleeha Stiffarm).