The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Many of the states top high school basketball players were in Havre this past weekend to play in the Hi-line Invitational Tournament or HIT as it is commonly called.

This years tournament included six of the eight state tournament Most Valuable Players and a plethora of All-State athletes from all four classes, AA, A, B and C. Included in the mix was a quartet of Blaine County athletes.

Representing Harlem High School was senior Skylee Dirden and junior L'Tia Lawrence. The Chinook Sugarbeeters were represented by senior Cord Schneider and senior Isaac Bell. Dirden played for the Class B girls team. Schneider and Bell were on the Class C boys team and Dirden was a late addition to the Class AA roster.

When all was said and done it was a huge weekend for Lawrence. Friday afternoon she won the girls three point competition. Bell won the boys three-point competition but in the final between the two it was Lawrence who scored 15 points in the final round to win the overall championship.

Saturday Lawrence helped the Class B girls captured the team championship with 96-75 thumping of the Class C girls in the chipper. Following the conclusion of the tournament Lawrence was named to the HIT All Star Girls team and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Lawrence also made clear her intentions upon completing her high school playing days. She made a verbal commitment to play basketball for the MSU-Northern Skylights in the fall of 2020. She officially signed her Letter of Intent during a ceremony held at Harlem High School Tuesday afternoon. The Journal will have a story and photo of her signing in next weeks edition.

Lawrence and her Class B teammates began the tournament Friday morning against the Class C girls. After taking a 40-37 lead into halftime they were on the wrong side of a 76-75 thriller. Lawrence finished with seven points and seven assists in the contest.

Friday afternoon they took on the Class A girls and rolled to a 93-64 victory. Dirden finished with 21 points in the win. Saturday morning the B girls took on the Class AA team. They held a 44-38 halftime lead and held on down the stretch for a 91-85 win to earn a spot in the championship game. Lawrence had another superb game, scoring 14 points and dishing out eight assists in the win.

In the final the Class B girls were looking to avenge their only loss of the tournament, a one point setback in their opener. They battled their way to a slim 43-39 halftime lead and then put their foot on the gas to runaway in the second and claim a 96-75 win. Lawrence scored 12 points in the finale.

Dirden played well for the Class AA girls over the weekend, scoring five points in a 84-75 setback to the Class C girls. Dirden chipped in 11 points in their loss to the Class B girls.

Chinook's All-State duo of senior Cord Schneider and Isaac Bell were solid contributors to the Class C boys effort as the defeated the Class B boys twice over the weekend.

Lawrence surveys the Class C girls defense in the Championship game Saturday afternoon.

Thursday evening the Class C boys were defeated by the Class A boys 102-83. Schneider tallied five points and three rebounds while Bell added four points and four boards.

Friday the team took down the Class C Boys 113-100. Bell had four points and two rebounds while Schneider had six rebounds and two points.

Saturday they fell in a close contest against the Class AA, 106-100. They led 30-23 after one quarter of action but fell behind 54-46 by intermission. Bell turned in his best game of the tournament scoring 12 points and securing eight rebounds. Schneider added nine points and three rebounds.

Saturday afternoon in the consolation contest the Class C boys defeated the Class B boys again, this time by a score of 108-98. Schneider finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Overall it was a very exciting weekend with fast paced basketball action that entertained all who took it in.