What a great time of year for local hoop fans as District Boys and Girls basketball tournaments are in full swing across the state. The Class B and Class C schools make up the vast majority of high school games played and certainly take center stage come tournament time.

The Chinook Sugarbeeters, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Turner Tornadoes were all in Havre taking part in the District 9C Girls basketball tournament. A top three finish would extend their season another week and send them to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls this Thursday through Saturday. When the dust settled it was the Sugarbeeters that punched their ticket with a second place finish. The Thunderbirds fell late in the consolation final and finished fourth. The Tornadoes played hard, but were eliminated after two games.

The Harlem Lady Cats were in Glasgow this past week, competing in the District 2B Tournament. The District 2B advances four teams to the Northern B Divisional and a win in the tournament opener against the Poplar Indians would accomplish just that. The Lady Cats shined and ran past the Indians 62-43. With the win the Lady Cats locked up a spot at the Northern B Divisional, March 3-5 in Cut Bank. Harlem fell in subsequent games to Malta and Glasgow to finish fourth.

Sugarbeeters Are Headed Back to the Northern C

The 13-6 Chinook Sugarbeeters have made it back to the Northern C Divisional after a second place finish at the District 9C Tournament this past weekend. The last time the Sugarbeeters qualified for the Northern C was back in 2015 when they finished third. This years squad has put together a fantastic season, finishing second in the regular season standings. Thursday the girls took down the Big Sandy Pioneers 55-49. Friday night they defeated the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds in the tournament semifinal and Saturday night they fell just short in the 9C Championship, falling to the Box Elder Bears 56-51.

In the 'Beeters opening contest against No. 7 Big Sandy, the Pioneers played perhaps their best contest of the season. Chinook was solid offensively, scoring 21 points in the opening frame, but the Pioneers scored 14 to stay within reach. Chinook added just a point to their lead before the break, taking a 33-25 lead into halftime.

Chinook couldn't string together scoring possessions in the third quarter but the defense did its part in taking a 40-32 lead into the fourth quarter. The 'Beeters managed to hold off a very determined Big Sandy squad and advanced to the 9C semifinal with a 55-49 win. Sophomore Hallie Neibauer led the attack with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Bree Swanson turned is a solid performance with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Friday night the 'Beeters and the Thunderbirds met for the third time this season with each winning on their home court. Friday nights semifinal, played on a neutral court was certainly the biggest of the three. Just like the first two meetings between the teams, defense controlled the flow of the game.

Hays/Lodge Pole maintained a 9-4 advantage after eight minutes of action and led 21-14 at the halftime intermission. Head Coach Mike Jones found the right words to say during the break providing a need spark to the 'Beeters energy level to start the second half. The offense erupted for 24 points in the stanza and took a 38-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Thunderbirds did all they could to battle back but in the end they were able to trim just two points off the 'Beeter advantage giving Chinook a 51-48 win and a ticket to the 9C Championship game. Neibauer scored 19 points and corralled 11 boards for the 'Beeters, Swanson recorded 11 points and nine rebounds for the 'Beeters in the win. The Thunderbirds were paced by Judemia Gray with 18 points.

The Sugarbeeters maintained a seven point lead midway through the third quarter in their championship contest with the Box Elder Bears. A 10-0 run over the final minutes of the third and the start of the fourth quarters by the Bears erased that advantage and forced the 'Beeters to rally late. Chinook gave it a valiant effort down the stretch but the Bears were solid from the line and notched a hard fought 56-51 win over the 'Beeters. Neibauer finished with 13 points and seven rebounds while Swanson added 11points.

Lady Cats Headed to the Northern B Divisional

The Harlem Lady Cats took some bumps and bruises during their three game run at the District 2B tournament in Glasgow this past weekend. When all was said and done the Lady Cats did what was needed and they are headed back to the Northern B Divisional. The Lady Cats needed a win over the Poplar Indians in their tournament opener Thursday night to punch their ticket and they did just that in securing a 62-43 win.

Harlem got off to a good start, establishing their game early on and taking a 15-8 lead into the second quarter of action. The Lady Cats added to their advantage, outscoring the Indians 18-12 in the second to lead 33-21 at the break. The Lady Cats steadily added to their lead and earned a comfortable, well deserved 19 point win. Senior Taya Trottier pace the Harlem effort with 24 points on 9-12 shooting from the field while also pulling down eight rebounds. Senior Chloe Messerly added 14 points and eight boards as well to the Lady Cat tally.

In their semifinal game Friday night against the Malta M-ettes the Lady Cats played hard, but were unable to keep up with the districts top seed. Malta built a 17-7 lead early on and just added to it the remainder of the contest, defeating Harlem 63-43. Trottier led the Lady Cats with 16 points and six rebounds.

Harlem was without Trottier in the consolation final Saturday against Glasgow and missed her presence greatly in a 67-25 setback against the Glasgow Scotties. The Lady Cats will have some time to heal as they prepare for the Northern B in Cut Bank, March 3-5. Trottier and sophomore Emma Billmayer are expected to return to action.

Hays/Lodge Pole Falls Just Short in Consolation Final

The Hays Lodge Pole looked to bounce back Saturday morning after a tough semifinal set back. Freshman Angela Blackcrow scored a couple of early buckets to help the Thunderbirds take a 9-8 lead. Senior Jaedyn Chandler connected from distance and scored 10 second quarter points to build a 28-20 halftime advantage against the Knights.

Following the intermission both teams were a bit sluggish on both ends of the court and maintained the status quo with Hays/Lodge Pole taking a 37-29 lead into the fourth. Freshman Shailee Shambo helped the Thunderbirds extend their season with a pair of triples down the stretch to power the Thunderbirds to a 53-40 win and a chance to play for a third place finish Saturday night. Chandler led the way against the Knights with 19 points and nine rebounds.

In the consolation final the Thunderbirds had a shot at the Northern C with only the Fort Benton Longhorns standing in their way. Things went right for the Thunderbirds for the first three quarters of the contest. Hays/Lodge Pole took a 11-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to six, 25-19 by halftime. Sophomore Alliya Pretty Paint helped the Thunderbirds maintain their advantage after the break, scoring seven third quarter points for a 37-27 Thunderbird lead heading into the final quarter.

The Longhorns completely took over the final eight minutes. Hays/Lodge Pole struggled mightily on both ends of the court and were outscored 18-3 the final eight minutes, seeing their season end with a heartbreaking 45-40 loss to the Longhorns. Pretty Paint finished with a team high 18 points in the loss.

Hays/Lodge Pole began the tournament with a comfortable 50-34 win over the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks. Hays/Lodge Pole led just 8-6 at the end of the first and 14-12 by intermission. The slow start wasn't normal for the Thunderbirds but after the break they quickly started to find their mark and settled into their first round tournament contest. A big third quarter pushed their lead to 35-22 paving the way for the 16 point win, 50-34. Pretty Paint scored 14 for the Thunderbirds while senior Judemia Gray added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Turner Tornadoes Season Ends at District 9C

The Turner Tornadoes entered the District 9C Tournament as the No. 8 Seed. Turner failed to win a game in conference play during the regular season but competed hard start to finish and made teams earn the win. For the Tornadoes at the District 9C the tournament mirrored the regular season.

Turner began the tournament with a contest against the top seeded Box Elder Bear. Trailing 45-10 at the break the Tornadoes fell in the end 66-22. Junior Dakota Krass led the Tornado effort with 12 points eight rebounds and three triples. Friday morning in a lose out contest against the No. 5 North Star Knights the Tornadoes played with a ton of effort and showed a lot of heart in a season ending 53-25 loss to the Knights. Freshman Cassidy Grabofsky scored 11 for the Tornadoes and secured eight rebounds.

Divisional Tournament Opponents Set

'Beeter sophomore Hallie Neibauer scores two of her 19 points Friday night in Chinooks 51-48 semifinal win over the Thunderbirds.

The No. 2 9C Sugarbeeters (13-6) will begin play this Thursday at the Northern C Divisional against the No. 1 8C Roy/Winifred Outlaws at 12:30 p.m. The Northern C Divisional is being played at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. The top two finishers at the Northern C will move on to the Montana Class C Girls State Basketball Tournament, March 10-12. The State C Girls Basketball Tournament will also be played in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena.

The Harlem Lady Cats will have an extra week to heal up and prepare for the Northern B in Cut Bank, March 3-5. The top two teams at the Northern B will advance to the Montana Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament in Bozeman, march 10-12 at the Brick Breedan Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University.