BILLINGS — The Southern B girls divisional tournament tipped off Wednesday afternoon at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark with two quarterfinal matchups at the Metra. Here are the recaps and highlights in the video above:
Big Timber 72, Lodge Grass 57
In the first quarterfinal of the day, Big Timber surged in the third quarter to break away from a feisty Lodge Grass team to advance to the semifinals by a final score of 72-57.
Laney and Kameryn Ketchum led the way for the Herders with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Lodge Grass stayed competitive with a solid second quarter, but a buzzer-beating 3 just before the half from Abby Laverell gave the Herders a 36-30 lead at the break.
Big Timber took that momentum and ran away with it in the third quarter, dominating the frame and extending its lead to 57-37 heading into the fourth. Lodge Grass made up some ground but couldn't get back into the game as the Herders punched their ticket to the semifinals against Columbus on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
Lodge Grass was led by Jazmine Half with 15 points. The Indians will play in a loser out game Thursday at 4 pm.
Columbus 52, Forsyth 29
Columbus led from start to finish in the second quarterfinal of the day beating Forsyth by a final score of 52-29. The Cougars were led by Izzy Gurie, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Katelyn Hamilton also pitched in with 13 points.
Columbus wasted no time taking control and led 10-2 after the first frame. Forsyth showed some signs of life in the second, but the Cougars held onto a 25-14 lead at the break.
The second half was more of the same, as Columbus extended its lead and earned a 52-29 victory over Forsyth, setting up a semifinal game with Big Timber on Friday afternoon.
Forsyth was led by Jaleigh Hlad, who finished with 19 points. The Dogies drop into a consolation game Friday morning.
Jefferson 46, Shepherd 30
In the first game of the day Jefferson topped Shepherd 46-30 to advance in the winner's bracket. The Panthers will face Baker on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. for the right to move on to the other semifinal in the Southern B.
Shepherd dropped into a loser-out game against Lodge Grass on Thursday.
