GREAT FALLS — The Roy-Winifred girls and Belt boys have secured the No. 1 seeds out of District 8C heading into next weeks Northern C divisional tournament.
The Denton-Geyser-Standford-Geraldine girls will have the No. 2 seed, and Belt claimed the No. 3 seed following its consolation win over Centerville. Winnett-Grass Range will be the second seed on the boys side, and Roy-Winifred takes up the final spot at No. 3.
Roy-Winifred girls 52, DGSG 34
The DGSG Bearcats drew first blood as BriElla Becker knocked down a pull-up jumper, but they went nearly ice cold for the remainder of the opening quarter. Roy-Winifred took advantage of those struggles and took a 21-3 lead, ending the first quarter on a buzzer-beater by Dakota Crabtree.
The Outlaws continued their dominance in the second quarter. With a strong defensive showing they were able to force DGSG into multiple turnovers leading to fast-break points, and grabbing offensive rebounds for second-chance points. After another buzzer-beater, this time from Isabelle Heggem, they headed to the locker room with a 31-10 advantage.
Roy-Winifred upped its lead to 40-14 quickly in the third quarter, but the momentum soon began to shift. DGSG went on an 11-0 run to pull within 15 and force the Outlaws into a timeout. Going into the fourth quarter it was a 44-28 lead for Roy-Winifred, and it never allowed the game to get any closer than that in the fourth.
Belt boys 50, Winnett-Grass Range 34
A quick start for Belt saw them get out to 9-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Rams wouldn’t make the game that easy. WGR finished the quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 13-12 lead after the first eight minutes. Three minutes into the third quarter Reese Paulson knotted the score at 16 with an acrobatic finish at the basket.
WGR sophomore Jace Bantz scored four straight points to give the Rams a 20-16 lead midway through the quarter. Paulson, Ethan Triplett and Rylan Davison took over late in the quarter to give Belt a 30-22 halftime lead.
The Huskies outscored WGR in the third quarter and headed to the fourth with a 42-28 lead that they would hold onto for the rest of the game.
