BELGRADE — The Billings West girls' basketball team lived up to its top-seeded billing.
Taylee Chirrick poured in 21 points and added nine rebounds to just miss a double-double as the No. 1 Golden Bears rolled past eighth-seeded Bozeman Gallatin 76-48 in the opening round of the Eastern AA at the Belgrade Special Events Center on Thursday.
West, which will face Great Falls CMR in the semifinals, led 18-7 after one quarter and built an insurmountable 46-13 lead by halftime.
Megan Voegele added 10 points for the Bears and Elle Sock had eight.
Gallatin was led by 14 points from Emma Hardman and 12 from Makinlee Naffziger.
GREAT FALLS CMR 39, BOZEMAN 34
Lauren Lindseth notched 11 points and Rustlers overcame a halftime deficit to hold off the Hawks and setup a semifinal clash against the Golden Bears.
Bozeman was paced by a game-high 13 points from Nicole D'Agostino and six points apiece from Clara Fox and Allie Megargal.
The Hawks led 21-19 at the half but were held to just two points in the third quarter as CMR retook the lead.
BILLINGS SENIOR 34, GREAT FALLS 23
Allie Cummings scored 12 points and Brenna Linse added 10 as the Broncs overcame a sluggish third quarter to outlast the Bison and lock up a semifinal berth.
The Broncs grabbed an 11-4 lead after one quarter and led 19-11 at the break. Senior was then held to two points in the third but also limited Great Falls to just five points to maintain a 21-16 lead.
The Bison were paced by 10 points from Jamie Reed and eight from Ashlyn Jones.
BILLINGS SKYVIEW 72, BELGRADE 33
Cami Harris scored a game-high 20 points, Morning Spotted Bear had 17 and Brooke Berry notched 16 as the Falcons raced past the Panthers to setup a crosstown semifinal between Skyview and Billings Senior.
The Falcons bolted to a 21-5 lead after one quarter and led 42-14 by halftime.
Belgrade was led by 11 points from Leila Mamangun and nine from Grace Gavvert.
GIRLS EASTERN AA PAIRINGS
OPENING ROUND
GAME 1: No. 1 Billings West 76, No. 8 Gallatin 48
GAME 2: No. 4 Great Falls CMR 39, No. 5 Bozeman 34
GAME 3: No. 3 Billings Senior 34, Great Falls 23
GAME 4: No. 2 Billings Skyview 72, No. 7 Belgrade 33
SEMIFINALS
GAME 7: Billings West vs. Great Falls CMR
GAME 8: Billings Senior vs. Billings Skyview
CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
CONSOLATION BRACKET
GAME 5: Gallatin vs. Bozeman
GAME 6: Great Falls vs. Belgrade
GAME 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser
GAME 10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser
GAME 11 (CONSOLATION FINAL): Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner
