BELGRADE — Bigfork’s Logan Gilliard and Wolf Point’s Imani Bighorn were named most valuable players of the Class B boys and girls state basketball tournaments over the weekend after leading the Vikings and Wolves, respectively, to state championships.
MTN Sports members voted Gilliard the MVP of the State B boys tournament after the senior averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.3 assists during the three-day tournament, which concluded Friday with the Vikings’ 47-43 win over rival Missoula Loyola in the state-title game. Gilliard scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in the championship win.
Gilliard poured in 27 points and had nine rebounds, six steals and an assist during Thursday’s semifinal win over Poplar, a 75-60 Bigfork victory. He opened the tournament with a seven-point, three-rebound game against Big Timber, while teammate Anders Epperly, who finished runner-up in the MVP voting, had 24 points and five assists against the Herders.
Gilliard and Epperly were joined by Loyola duo Jack Lincoln and Cooper Waters on the all-tournament first team, while Big Timber guard Kell Schwers was also a first-team selection. Lincoln and Waters combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds in the Rams’ championship loss. Fellow Loyola Ram Jacob Hollenback led the second-team selections, which also included Rocky Boy’s Frankie Bacon, Three Forks’ Colter Miller, Bigfork’s Colton Reichenbach and Colstrip sharpshooter Kobee BigBack.
In the girls bracket, Bighorn led Wolf Point to its first state title since 2003, defeating Florence 48-35 on Saturday evening.
Bighorn had a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds in the championship game, while averaging 20.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game during the tournament at the Belgrade Special Events Center.
Bighorn had 18 points and nine rebounds in Thursday’s opening-round win over Missoula Loyola, then had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to help Wolf Point defeat Columbus in the semifinals.
Florence’s Danielle Zahn finished second to Bighorn in the voting, leading the Falcons to a runner-up finish. Zahn, an MSU Billings commit, dazzled fans all three days, totaling 57 points for an average of 19 points per game. Her 27 points, seven assists and four rebounds paced Florence in Friday’s 59-37 rout over Forsyth in the semifinals.
Bighorn and Zahn were joined by Three Forks standout Kyle Olson, a Carroll College commit, as first-team selections, while Forsyth’s Lindsey Hein and Bighorn’s teammate, Mya Fourstar, were also first-team all-tournament honorees.
Wolf Point’s Mary Bighorn led the second-team selections.
The full State B boys and girls basketball all-tournament teams, as selected by MontanaSports.com, are below.
State B boys
First team
Logan Gilliard, Bigfork (MVP)
Anders Epperly, Bigfork
Jack Lincoln, Missoula Loyola
Cooper Waters, Missoula Loyola
Kell Schwers, Big Timber
Second team
Jacob Hollenback, Missoula Loyola
Frankie Bacon, Rocky Boy
Colter Miller, Three Forks
Colton Reichenbach, Bigfork
Kobee BigBack, Colstrip
Honorable mention
Wyatt Caplette, Rocky Boy
Kenny Smoker, Poplar
Blake Finn, Big Timber
Kellen Bighead, Colstrip
Darryl Joe, Poplar
State B girls
First team
Imani Bighorn, Wolf Point (MVP)
Danielle Zahn, Florence
Kyle Olson, Three Forks
Lindsey Hein, Forsyth
Mya Fourstar, Wolf Point
Second team
Mary Bighorn, Wolf Point
Sam Clevenger, Missoula Loyola
Rilee Mangun, Florence
Sydney Koppang, Missoula Loyola
L’Tia Lawrence, Harlem
Honorable mention
Lani Walker, Missoula Loyola
Makenna Miles, Florence
Kendall Lynn, Three Forks
Abby Juve, Wolf Point
Alexa Riveland, Columbus
