BILLINGS — Dillon wiped out a nearly quarter-century drought with a long baseball inbounds pass from Kinzy Creighton to Kylie Konen to help seal a Class A girls basketball state tournament semifinal victory Friday afternoon at First Interstate Arena.
When Konen hauled in that pass past halfcourt, and the Beavers were able to bleed a precious few more seconds off the clock, all it took was two free throws from Kenleigh Graham with 1.8 seconds left to secure a 46-42 victory over the Havre Blue Ponies.
The Beavers will play for the state title for the first time since 2003. To Dillon coach Josh Keller, in his second season with the program, he couldn’t think of a better way for his group of four seniors to finish their careers.
“I’ve never had a group of seniors that have each other’s backs as much as they do,” Keller said. “They care so much about each other. That just doesn’t happen all the time.”
Saturday’s championship game will certainly be a stern test.
Defending champion Billings Central won the other semifinal, beating Lockwood 69-38 for the third time this season.
Just one more game stands between the Rams and pure perfection. They’ll enter Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. title game 23-0. For Billings Central, it’ll be their fifth championship appearance since 2020.
“I can’t wait,” said Billings Central junior Kam Reinker, who recorded her fifth straight postseason double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five assists. “I mean, we did it last year, but it’s the same … just all the excitement, coming together. All our work this season has been worth it.”
Saturday morning has Havre facing Frenchtown at 9 a.m. at Lockwood High School. Meanwhile, Lockwood plays Bigfork, also at 9 a.m. at Metra. The winners of those games play for the third-place trophy at 3:30 p.m.
Dillon 46, Havre 42
A 17-0 Dillon run in the third quarter turned a nine-point Beavers’ deficit into a 34-26 lead. But that wasn’t the end of things.
Havre re-took the lead twice, at 37-36 and again at 42-40. A 3-pointer by Josie Robbins put Dillon up 44-42, and the Beavers got stuck there until Graham’s free throws with mere ticks remaining.
Graham led the Beavers in both points (20) and rebounds (11). Sage Tash and Tess Tash had eight points each, and the Beavers hit seven 3-pointers.
Havre didn’t score over the game’s final 3:27, but it took a great block from Dillon’s Konen with about 16 seconds to play to keep that intact.
With Havre inbounding under its own basket, Ela Harber got loose from Konen and appeared to have an easy layup when she took the pass. But Konen recovered in time, blocked the shot, and Dillon’s Robbins picked it up with 11.1 seconds to play.
“It was scary, I’m not going to lie,” Konen said. “I lost her for a second and then I just had to go flying at her.”
That set up Creighton’s long pass to Konen, which in turn resulted in Graham’s eventual two free throws to ice the game.
“I mean, we always imagined it,” said Graham, one of the Dillon seniors. “It’s awesome that it’s become so real. Since a little girl, I’ve always imagined being here, so I’m glad it came true.”
Tierra Parker scored 13 points — 11 in the first half — to lead the Blue Ponies. Harber finished with 10 points and five assists.
Billings Central 69, Lockwood 38
Everything seems so businesslike for Billings Central. That’s not to say they don’t play with emotion. A first pump, or a point to a teammate by Annika Stergar, or a yell from Lyssa Peterson lets it be known that the Rams indeed, have heart.
But the way they calmly, systematically dismantle opponents, like the Rams did to Lockwood, makes it seem like it’s just another day on the basketball court. In two tournament games, the Rams have outscored their opponents 139-73.
“They embrace the pressure,” Rams coach Jetton Ailes said. “They rise to the challenge, There’s a tradition, a rich program, and the expectation is high and they know that. It’s my job as a coach to set the bar and then continue to challenge them and reach it.”
The Rams have gone 11 consecutive games holding teams to under 40 points, and Friday’s semifinal hinged on a dominant third quarter. Leading 28-20 at the half – Reinker’s bucket just before the halftime buzzer ended a 10-0 Lockwood run – the Rams outscored the Lions 23-5 in the third quarter.
From there it seemed just a matter of time. The Rams’ latest victory was the biggest margin of the three with the Lions.
“We just know them really well,” Billings Central’s Annika Stergar said. “So I think that just being prepared and executing on both ends of the floor really helped us tonight.”
Tailey Harris scored 14 points for Lockwood, which reached the tournament semifinals for the first time in school history. No other player reached double figures for the Lions, who shot just 28% from the field.
Three players joined Reinker in double figures for the Rams. Stergar had 14 points on four 3-pointers, Lyssa Peterson scored 11 and Coral Old Bull finished with 10.
The Rams have one more day at the office Saturday night.
“Coming back to the state championship, just to play one more game in our season knowing that we shouldn’t have any pressure and that we just need to go out there and play as one and just have fun,” Peterson said.
