WORDEN – The Red Lodge girls basketball team picked a good time for a signature win.
The Rams punched a ticket to the District 4B championship game Friday afternoon by stunning top-seeded Columbus 31-27 in a semifinal at Huntley Project.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, playing to a 12-12 tie after the first 16 minutes. Red Lodge was the team to find its offense first, outscoring Columbus 13-8 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead.
The No. 1-seed Cougars began the fourth on a 7-0 run to retake a 27-25 lead but never scored again as the Rams closed the game with the final six points.
Red Lodge’s Taylor Hardiman led all scorers with 12 points, while Camryn Ault led Columbus with 11.
Red Lodge will play Roundup in Saturday’s championship game after the Panthers rolled by Joliet 54-32.
Roundup jumped out to an 8-0 lead and ran the advantage to 11 in the first half. The Panthers put the game out of reach with a 20-10 third quarter.
Faith Nichols led the Panthers with 17 points. The team shot 51.2 percent from the field compared to just 35.5 percent for the J-Hawks.
Saturday’s championship is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Roundup and Red Lodge split two meetings in the regular season, with each winning by 16 points on the road.
The winner is guaranteed a spot at the Southern B Divisional, while the loser can still be challenged if they haven’t played the consolation game winner at the tournament.
