BELT — Great Falls Central girls basketball came searching for their first win since the start of league play but it wouldn’t come easy against a Belt team riding a two game win streak.
Belt came into the game knocking down jumpers and playing with great teamwork as they moved the ball and got good looks at the basket. But the Mustangs had answers for almost everything in the first quarter, playing it tightly and only trailing by eight at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter is where the game began to get away from the Mustangs and started swinging in the direction of Belt. The Huskies began to ramp up the defensive pressure. They forced turnovers and forced the mustangs into tough shots, which led to points on the other end.
By halftime, Belt had built up a 43-20 lead. The lead would be grow throughout the second half as Belt routed Great Falls Central 78-34. Leading the charge for the Mustangs was Kellie MacDonald with 15 points, and Kylee Permann had 15 for Belt.
The No. 3-ranked Husky boys came into the matchup with intents of remaining undefeated in league, and Central looked to improve to a game above .500. Both teams came out with a lot of intensity but took some time to warm up.
Plenty of 3-pointers were flying on both ends of the floor but only few of them were dropping. After each team broke a sweat, shots began to fall and soon their were trading 3 for 3. At the end of the opening frame, Bridger Vogl gave Belt a momentum boost and a seven-point lead with a corner 3 as the time expired.
Central continued to fight and stay within arms reach during the second quarter as they found itself trailing by just ten as they headed into the half time break. But little by little the Huskies continued to pull away and had themselves a fourteen point lead headed into the final quarter.
The Mustangs found a second boost of energy when needed the most and ramped up the pressure on defense. They were able to cut the lead to single digits but nine points was as close as they could get it. Belt held on and picked up its fourth league win by a score of 59-47.
