BILLINGS — Laurel and Hardin picked up quarterfinal wins at the Eastern A girls divisional tournament on Thursday at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark to earn berths in Friday's semifinals.
Laurel 66, Lewistown 51
Trailing by one at halftime, Laurel outscored Lewistown 19 points in the third quarter to take a 54-36 lead into the final frame. The Locomotives would win 66-51.
Laurel was led by Alyse Aby's 23 points and five rebounds, while Emma Timm added 20 points and hit five 3-pointers.
Lewistown was led by Kiya Foran and Lexy Burnham, who each scored 12 points. Lewistown falls to loser-out play, while Laurel will play Havre two-time reigning state champion Havre in Friday's semifinals at 3:30 p.m.
Hardin 56, Miles City 54
Hardin also put together a big third quarter then held on to edge Miles City 56-54 to move earn a berth in Friday's semifinals. The Bulldogs trailed 25-20 at halftime but outscored the Cowgirls 16-4 in the third to gain the edge.
Hardin advanced to face longtime rival Billings Central on Friday at 5 p.m.
Aiyanna Big Man scored 10 points to lead a balanced Hardin offense that saw eight players reach the scoring column. Katerina Morrison scored nine points while Carlei Plainfeather, Diamond Amyotte and Dierra Takes Enemy all had eight.
Miles City, which dropped into loser-out play, got 18 points from Lainey Smith, 11 from Alli Glasscock and 10 from Camdyn Waterman.
Also of note on Thursday, Livingston, with a 1-17 record and no wins against Class A teams this season, beat Sidney 56-50 in overtime in a loser-out game to keep its season alive. The Rangers' Emily Jesson scored five of her 10 points in a quick sequence late in OT.
