BILLINGS — Jefferson and Baker will meet in Friday's 6 p.m. Southern B girls semifinals after convincing opening-round wins Thursday inside First Interstate Arena.
Jefferson 63, Shepherd 38
Eight 3-pointers in the first half — three by Hanna Stevens — paced Jefferson to a 32-23 halftime lead and past Shepherd 63-38. The Panthers never trailed, increasing their lead to 49-29 after three. The Fillies did build a 9-0 rally, but it was overshadowed by an 18-2 Jefferson run.
Kodee Cummings led everybody in scoring with 20 points complimented by seven rebounds. Stevens scored 17 including five 3-pointers. Josie Oxarart was the game's high rebounder with 11.
Lauren Anderson and Lexie Dennison scored 13 and 12 to pace Shepherd's offense.
WATCH highlights of both first-round games:
Baker 75, Whitehall 22
Montana State commit Madison O'Connor breezed to 23 first-half points and younger sister Avery dropped 19 on the way to a 51-16 halftime lead for Baker. Increasing the margin to 61-18 in the third quarter, Baker forced a running clock.
The Spartans led by 10 after the opening quarter before outscoring Whitehall 32-7 in the second. Madison O'Connor closed with 31 points (12-of-22) and four blocks, while Avery finished with 24 points (10 of 14) and led Baker in rebounding with seven.
Julia Hoagland was Whitehall's leading scorer with 12.
