GREAT FALLS — The Belt girls took down District 9C champ Turner to earn a spot in Saturday's Northern C girls divisional championship game.
District 10C champ Chester Joplin-Inverness took down Box Elder in the other semifinal. So it'll be the same matchup for both the boys and girls final.
WATCH: Belt, C-J-I earn spots in Northern C final
Belt 48, Turner 31
Belt turned a tight first quarter into a runaway semifinal Friday night, overwhelming upstart Turner 48-31 at the Northern C tournament to punch its ticket to the divisional title game.
Turner held an 8-7 lead after one quarter, but the Huskies flipped the game in the second quarter. Belt outscored the Tornadoes 20-1 in the period, part of a 19-point scoring run to take a commanding 27-9 lead into halftime. Turner never recovered.
Aaliyah Gaylord provided the spark, knocking down five 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 15 points. She had 12 of those in the first half, shooting 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. June Bock added nine points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting while Zoe Holum chipped in six points and Destinee Goodman finished with five.
Belt’s defense did the rest. The Huskies held Turner to 10-of-38 shooting (26.3%) from the field and just 6 of 23 inside the arc while forcing 16 turnovers. Belt also won the rebounding battle 34-31.
Bridget Reed led Turner with 15 points and seven rebounds, adding three steals. Natali Richman contributed six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
With the win, Belt advancesd to Saturday’s Northern C championship game, where the Huskies will have a chance to secure a return trip to the state tournament for the first time since 2022. Turner — fresh off its first 9C title in 40 years — drops into the consolation bracket to face North Star in a loser-out matchup.
Chester-Joplin-Inverness 49, Box Elder 38
The C-J-I girls got all they could handle from Box Elder and trailed for much of the first half, but they pulled away in the second for a 49-38 win and a spot in Saturday’s divisional championship against Belt.
Brynn Kammerzell recorded a monster stat line with 18 points and 20 rebounds. The junior post had a hard time finding a rhythm from the field, converting only 3 of 7 shots but made up for it with a perfect 12-of-12 shooting from the free throw line.
MaRae Smail joined Kammerzell in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds while Scarlet Sundgren added nine points.
The Bears trailed 14-12 after the first quarter but built a seven-point lead in the second quarter and led 22-19 at halftime. The Hawks responded by outscoring Box Elder 19-7 in the third quarter to pull ahead for good and advance to the final.
Keira Galbavy led Box Elder with 14 points and four blocks. Martay Stiffarm-Rosette added 13 points to go along with four assists and four steals. The Bears only converted four field goals in the second half, and shot 13 for 39 (33.3%) total.
C-J-I only managed to hit 15 for 52 (28.8%) from the field but made up for it at the charity stripe, going 18 for 24 (75%). The Hawks outrebounded the Bears 40-29.
Chester-Joplin-Inverness (22-1) will face Belt (21-2) in Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. title game, while Box Elder moves to the consolation bracket to face Simms.
