HAMILTON — Three No. 1 seeds easily won first-round games at the Western C girls basketball divisional tournament. The fourth suffered its first loss of the season. Alberton-Superior entered the tournament with an unblemished record, but the District 13C champion was upset by Arlee, 57-49, in Thursday’s first round. Game recaps below:
Ennis 39, Manhattan Christian 25
Josie Hokanson (15 points) and Whitney McKitrick (13) combined to score 28 points as Ennis pulled away from Manhattan Christian 39-25 in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament. The Mustangs led 13-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Eagles kept the game close until the fourth when Ennis had a 12-4 advantage. Ennis moves on to Friday’s semifinal round, where it will meet Charlo. Alex Veltkamp scored 13 points to pace Manhattan Christian, which will now face Seeley-Swan in a loser-out game Friday.
Charlo 40, Seeley-Swan 26
Charlo, which won the District 14C championship as a No. 3 seed, continued its hot streak on Thursday, running past Seeley-Swan 40-26 in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament. The Vikings got 11 points from Destiny Manuel and 10 from Sakoya Gaustad in the win. Gaustad made all six of her fourth-quarter free throw attempts as Charlo iced the game and advanced to Friday’s semifinal round to face Ennis. Chloe Robbins had eight points to lead Seeley-Swan, which will play Manhattan Christian in a Friday loser-out game.
Arlee 57, Alberton-Superior 49
Alyssia Vanderburg scored 30 points to help Arlee hand Alberton-Superior its first loss of the season, 57-49, in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament. Vanderburg, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier in the season, scored 17 points after halftime as the Scarlets protected a 34-29 halftime lead. Emily Fiddler added 11 points for Arlee, which will face Twin Bridges in Friday’s semifinal round at 5 p.m. Kenzie Mueller paced Alberton-Superior with 15 points. The Mountain Cats will play Lone Peak in a loser-out game Friday.
Twin Bridges 59, Lone Peak 27
Kailee Oliverson had 33 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks as Twin Bridges rolled to a 59-27 win over Lone Peak in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament. The Falcons blew the game open with a 19-5 second quarter to take a 33-14 lead into the second half. RaeAnne Bendon added eight points for Twin Bridges, which will play Arlee in a Friday semifinal at 5 p.m. Jayleen Cole scored 11 points for Lone Peak, which will face Alberton-Superior in a loser-out game Friday.
