BILLINGS — The Billings Central boys and girls basketball teams swept a doubleheader with Eastern A rival Hardin on Friday evening.
The Billings Central girls evened the season series with Hardin with a 62-46 win, while the Rams guys finished off a sweep of the Bulldogs with an emphatic 77-56 victory.
Girls
Billings Central 62, Hardin 46
Billings Central out-scored Hardin 18-4 in the second quarter on its way to a 62-46 win over its Eastern A rival on Friday night.
Central and Hardin were knotted at 14 at the end of the first quarter, but Hardin managed just four made free throws in the second quarter and did not record a made field goal. Central led by 14 at halftime, 32-18, and never let the game get into single digits in the second half.
"There’s no secret to it. We’ve just got a great group of kids that are hungry and want to win," Central head coach Jetton Ailes said of her team's defensive performance. "They do it the right way. They come to compete and as coaches we challenge them every day, and they rise to the challenge, so we continue to raise the bar.”
Mya Hansen poured in 22 points to lead all scorers, while Alaina Woods had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
"(Woods) is a great kid, and she's so athletic and can dominate the glass at any moment. That showed (Friday). We challenged her all week to come in and not back down. She answered the call (Friday)," Ailes said.
Both squads are off for the remainder of the weekend.
Boys
Billings Central 77, Hardin 56
Billings Central made seven of eight 3-point attempts in the opening quarter to lead 27-17 and never looked back en route to a 77-56 victory over Hardin on Friday evening.
Central continued its offensive barrage in the second quarter, piling up 46 points by halftime and still clinging to that 10-point lead. The Rams put the gas pedal down in the second half to quickly stave off any Hardin comeback attempt.
Kyler Northrup, Central's only sophomore on the varsity roster, finished with a game-high 23 points. Hardin's Jadence Archilta and Keenan Wuttunee each had 16.
"When we run a set play for (Northrup) to shoot a 3 or be part of the play to hit a 3 and he does, it makes that play even more potent the next time we run it for the other options we have," Central head coach Jim Stergar said of Northrup. "We have complete confidence in the way he can score. He can definitely can shoot the ball. He’s getting better on defense, so we like seeing him come along with what he’s doing. We’re going to need him down the stretch, for sure.”
