BILLINGS — The Lewistown Golden Eagles will meet Billings Central in Friday's girls Eastern A divisional semifinals after both posted convincing opening-round wins Thursday inside First Interstate Arena. On the other side of the bracket, Hardin and Havre have set up a semifinal showdown after winning late Thursday.
Lewistown 53, East Helena 34
After trailing 3-0 less than a minute into their game against East Helena, the Golden Eagles answered and never looked back on the way to a 53-34 win. Lewistown held the Vigilantes to just 27% shooting from the field while hitting nearly 54% of their own 3-point field goals.
The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Riley Roche who netted 23 on 8-for-13 shooting and four 3-pointers. Kenadee Simac added nine rebounds.
Keeley Hamilton and Rori Schoenfeld paced East Helena with 10 points apiece. East Helena will face Sidney in Friday's noon loser-out game.
WATCH how Lewistown and Billings Central played their way into Friday's semifinals:
Billings Central 60, Sidney 48
Thursday's opening round quarterfinal was closer than the final score indicated as Billings Central held off a scrappy Sidney team 60-48.
Each time the Eagles trailed by double digits the seemed to close the gap in a hurry. They were down 14-4 in the opening quarter before rallying to within 17-14 and trailing 33-22 at halftime.
While Central built a 16-point lead in the third quarter, Sidney trimmed it to 51-45 late before the Rams closed on a 9-3 run. Kam Reinker led everybody in scoring with 21 for the Rams followed by Annika Stergar with 16 and Karis Brightwings-Pease with 10. Amaya Lorash hauled in 13 rebounds.
The Eagles also had three players hit double-figure scoring led by Jessica Entz with 16, Kinsey Nagle with 13 and Ave Norby with 11. Teagan Seitzinger was Sidney's leading rebounder with nine.
The Eagles draw East Helena Friday in a 1:30 p.m. loser-out game.
Hardin 44, Miles City 30
Stingy defense helped propel the Hardin girls into the semifinals of the Eastern A divisional basketball tournament. The Bulldogs held Miles City to just 22% shooting, as Hardin topped the Cowgirls 44-30.
WATCH how Hardin and Havre played their way into Friday's semifinals:
Hardin held Miles City scoreless from beyond the arc and forced 18 Cowgirl turnovers. Add on 15 offensive rebounds for the Bulldogs and they attempted 12 more shots than Miles City.
Taylor Slater notched a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Hardin, while Ramsey Pryor led Miles City with 14 points.
Hardin is into Friday’s semifinals against Havre while Miles City will play Laurel in a loser-out contest.
Havre 60, Laurel 45
Survive and advance is the name of the game come postseason play, and Havre did just that on Thursday night.
The Blue Ponies withstood Laurel’s best shot for a 60-45 win in the opening round of the Eastern A divisional tournament.
Havre carried a one-point lead into halftime, 26-25, but were able to outscore Laurel 34-20 in the second half to pull away.
Havre’s Ariana Gary led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Amaya Jarvis added 13 for the Blue Ponies as did Katie Tilleman. Emerson Gunther led Laurel with 14 points.
Havre gets Hardin in Friday’s semifinal, while Laurel will play Miles City in loser-out action.
