GREAT FALLS — The first day of the Northern C boys and girls basketball divisional tournaments tipped off Tuesday at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. The Box Elder and North Star girls and Dutton-Brady and Fort Benton boys notched opening-day wins.
Girls: Box Elder 74, Cascade 43
Angela Gopher scored 19 points to help Box Elder to a 74-43 win over Cascade in the opening round of the Northern C divisional basketball tournament.
Box Elder led 37-26 at halftime, before blowing things open in the second half. Cascade managed just seven points in the fourth quarter and committed 31 turnovers in the game. After Gopher, Kyla Momberg scored 15 and Breanna Bacon added 13 for the Bears, who will advance to the quarterfinals to play District 8C champion Roy-Winifred.
Mattison McKamey scored 11 points for the Badgers, while Caybree Ludvigson scored 10. Cascade will play Wednesday against Geraldine-Highwood in loser-out.
Girls: North Star 61, Geraldine-Highwood 32
After a surprise district championship victory, the North Star girls continued their solid play with a 61-32 win over Geraldine-Highwood on Tuesday.
Shayla Borlaug scored 21 points for the Knights, and Jade Wendland added 16. North Star led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, but the Knights outscored the Rivals by 21 in the second quarter to put things out of reach.
North Star advances to the semifinal round, where it will face the winner of Wednesday's game between Augusta and Belt.
Geraldine-Highwood will play Cascade in a loser-out game on Wedesday.
Boys: Dutton-Brady 42, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 36
Three Diamondbacks found their way into double figures as Dutton-Brady outlasted Chester-Joplin-Inverness 42-36 in the opening round of boys games.
Kellan Doheny, Tyler Ellsworth and Tyce Erickson each scored 10 points for the Diamondbacks, who opened the game on an 8-0 run. Chester-Joplin-Inverness closed the gap to as little as two multiple times, but Dutton-Brady responded with big shots each time. Kyle Harmon scored 13 for the Hawks, while Blake Harmon scored 12.
Dutton-Brady advances to the quarterfinals against Belt. CJI will play Winnett Grass-Range in a loser-out game.
Boys: Fort Benton 72, Winnett-Grass Range 21
Hayden Diekhans missed just once as Fort Benton cruised to an opening-day 72-21 victory over Winnett-Grass Range.
Diekhans finished with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting, while Jace Thompson and Billy Ullery each scored 10. Fort Benton broke out to a 25-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 43-11 by halftime. Walker Doman paced the Rams with nine points.
Fort Benton advances to the semifinals to play Simms or Roy-Winifred, who play on Wednesday. Winnett-Grass Range will play Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a loser-out game Wednesday.
