GREAT FALLS — The girls basketball team from Chester-Joplin-Inverness, now 22-1, took home the Northern C divisional championship in a 56-45 win over Belt Saturday night at Four Seasons Arena. But it was by no means an easy path to the title for the Hawks.
After defeating North Star in the quarterfinals 62-40, the Hawks faced halftime deficits of three in the semifinal round against Box Elder and seven in the championship game.
But they fought through the adversity, taking down the Bears 49-38 and defeating the Huskies by 11.
"Knowing that we were able to come back ... at half two times in a row, I feel like that boosts our confidence knowing that we are gritty and that we can do it," junior Brynn Kammerzell said following Saturday's title win. "It's just great to work together."
"We come together as a team," senior MaRae Smail said. "When we're down, we look for each other, we build each other up and we finish together. It's not a one-man show and we are truly a team."
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C-J-I head coach Jordan Miller said coming back after facing those deficits was the most impressive thing she saw in the three wins this past weekend.
"Especially because we were able to kind of go through the regular season a little bit unscathed," Miller said. "It really showed a true testament to the girls' ability to be able to go down not once, but twice, in games and come back and be on top.
"We're just going to try to bring our intensity that we can from the Hi-Line down south and see what we can do."
Kammerzell and Smail, both forwards, each had strong performances in the three wins. Kammerzell recorded double-doubles each game, pouring in 31, 18 and 21 points. Smail contributed, as well, with a combined 35 in the championship run.
But for both, they said the focus is now on next week in Missoula.
"We had an extra fire coming into this tournament," Kammerzell said. "We're super excited to go into state, have big aspirations. We're excited to see how it goes."
"We're going to stay humble going into state, but we're also going to have a chip on our shoulder and cannot wait to play and get on that court," Smail said.
The Hawks, who carry the North's No. 1 seed, begin play in the State C tournament next Thursday, March 12, at Dahlberg Arena against West Yellowstone.
