GREAT FALLS — Big Sandy and Belt got the Northern C girls basketball divisional tournament started Wednesday with wins over Simms and Chester-Joplin-Inverness, respectively, at Four Seasons Arena. The Pioneers cruised past the Tigers for a 56-37 win, while the Huskies held off the Hawks for a 61-51 win.
Big Sandy 56, Simms 37
Big Sandy started the Northern C girls basketball divisional tournament off with a wire-to-wire 56-37 win over Simms Wednesday.
The Pioneers, the third seed from District 9C, led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter and 28-15 at halftime before pouring it on in the second half. They ultimately led by as many as 27 points. Big Sandy will play Roy-Winifred at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, with the winner clinching a spot in Friday's semifinal round.
Eva Yeadon scored a game-high 18 points for Big Sandy, which also got big games from Jaihven Baumann and Keira Galbavy. Baumann had nine points, eight assists and four steals, while Galbavy stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, seven steals, three assists and two blocks.
Simms, District 10C's No. 3 seed, was led by Katarina Moris with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers will play Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a loser-out game at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Belt 61, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 51
Four players scored in double figures as Belt held off Chester-Joplin-Inverness 61-51 in a first-round game Wednesday at the Northern C divisional tournament.
The Huskies, District 8C's No. 3 seed, built a 31-24 lead at halftime, but CJI cut the deficit to just 39-37 going to the fourth quarter. Belt, though, scored 22 fourth-quarter points to take down the top seed from District 9C.
McKenzie Pogany scored a team-high 16 points for Belt, which also got 14 points from Dezirae Goodman, 13 from Trinity Tinsen and 11 from Addison Urick. Goodman added nine rebounds, and Pogany had four assists. With the win, the Huskies advance to Friday's semifinal round, where they will play Augusta or Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine at 7 p.m.
CJI was led Wednesday by the duo of Brynn Kammerzell (16 points, nine rebounds, six blocks) and Jayla Ramberg (12 points, seven rebounds). The Hawks will meet Simms in a loser-out game at 11 a.m. Thursday.
