We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
We tuned in and cheered on during the Basketball Championships Thursday through Saturday in Missoula. It was the Lady Beeter's second showing in the B tournament after moving up from Class C.
Chinook girls (20-5) closed out Thursday night of the tournament in the closest game of the girls bracket with a 57-51 win over the Florence-Carlton Falcons (20-4), the Western 2-seed.
"We had a goal to win that first game," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "Now it's time to set a new goal. They continued to battle and fight. They never quit. They've been that way all year." Seymour added.
The Falcons flew to an early lead and were able to maintain it through the first half. Florence-Carlton turnovers amped up by fast breaks led to some buckets but the Lady Beeters only trailed 26-25 at halftime.
Junior Brooke Fetter broke the game open for Chinook in the third quarter. A triple from the sharpshooter gave Chinook a 30-28 lead out of the halftime break and two more three pointers clipped the Falcons wings giving the Beeters an eight-point advantage.
Florence-Carlton played catch-up after the rally and the Falcons were never able to gain altitude. Fetter scored 20 points, landing four of her five 3 pointers.
"Brooke is lights out," Seymour said. "She does a great job always looking to shoot. She's got the green-light from anywhere."
The Sugarbeeters returned to the court Friday evening for a date with the Huntley Project Red Devils. The Devil's won, 62-44 for the semifinal.
On Saturday morning in a rematch of Malta's final game before heading to Missoula for the state tournament, the M-ettes (21-5) led the Chinook by double digits. The Lady Beeters clawed back within 10 points in the third quarter, but a 17-12 final period sealed a 62-44 victory. Alexus Seymour put up 17 during the fight.
Thursday saw the Wildcats lead the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks by as much as 22 points during the matchup. The Harlem boys blocked shots and ultimately took the win 62-44.
"Coming in we were 12-12, so we've been through a lot of battles this season," Coach Ben Carrywater said. "We were aggressive on defense, that's what I liked about our team tonight. We got up early, let off the gas pedal but got back on it and stayed on it after that. I was proud that they just played their butts off."
Senior Lance Morgan brought home 13 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. Cody McCabe led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points and Lathan Blackwolf added 12 baskets.
McCabe sunk 20 baskets during Friday's semifinal against Lodge Grass and Tayden Colliflower added 10 more. Lance Morgan's fast break and dunk pulled the Wildcats to a 57-54 lead. He contributed 20 points but Lodge Grass had some big plays and ended the battle with a 72-61 win. Saturday Harlem lost to Three Forks 68-55.
Stay tuned for next week's edition of the Blaine County Journal, where we'll continue to celebrate the achievements of our local student-athletes and bring you the latest news from the heart of the Hi-Line.
