BOZEMAN — Welcome to Day 2 of the Class B boys and girls basketball tournament at Worthington Arena on the campus of Montana State University.
It should be a great night of semifinal action here with four berths on Saturday night's championship games on the line. The girls semifinals pit Florence vs. Baker at 3:30 p.m. and Malta vs. Missoula Loyola at 5, while the boys semis will feature Anaconda vs. Lodge Grass at 6:30 and Harlem vs. Missoula Loyola at 8.
Keep it here for scores, highlights and updates throughout the day. Most recent updates will be shown at the top.
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4:55 p.m. | Falcons not going away quietly
After consulting with other media members, we're not entirely sure what sound a falcon makes. But the Florence-Carlton Falcons made lots of noise to close out the 3rd quarter.
Baker leads 53-50 with one quarter to play. Notably absent for Florence's run were Baker's O'Connor sisters. Both watched from the bench. Both sisters have 4 fouls. Both sisters checked back into the game to start the 4th quarter.
4:25 p.m. | Halftime
Basketball is a game of runs.
The Falcons immediately followed up Baker's 15-2 run with a 10-0 run of their own. They've narrowed the Spartans' lead to 8, trailing 41-33 at the half.
Baker's O'Connor sisters have scored 23 of the Spartans' 41 points — 15 for Madison; 8 for Avery. Florence's Amory Ralston and Maggie Schneiter lead the Falcons with 9 points each.
Even though we saw four lead changes in the first half, Baker has led for 17:47 of a possible 20 minutes. Florence led for 62 seconds in the 1st quarter.
4:14 p.m. | Baker finds another gear
The Spartans opened the second quarter on a 15-2 run. They've dictated the pace of this period, opting to call timeout now up 35-21 with 3:52 remaining in the half.
Baker has thrived at creating points in transition and off turnovers. Meanwhile, the Falcons have struggled to beat Baker's full-court press and set up good looks in the half court.
4:01 p.m. | What. A. Quarter.
The Spartan and Falcon girls came to play.
38 points scored. Three lead changes. Lots of highlights.
Baker leads Florence-Carlton 20-18 after one. Sisters Avery and Madison O'Connor have scored the majority of the Spartans' points. Falcons' ball to start the 2nd.
3:44 p.m. | Officially official
The State B semifinal round has officially tipped off. We'll know which four teams — two girls, two boys — will advance to tomorrow's championship games within the next 7-ish hours.
3:30 p.m. | The countdown begins
We are officially 10 minutes from tipoff for Day 2 of State B.
Our first semifinal matchup of the day features (1W) Florence-Carlton taking on (1S) Baker. These two teams met on Dec. 6 for a non-conference matchup. The Spartans won that game 74-60 — but it was the closest undefeated Baker came to suffering a loss all season.
We'll see how things go this time around.
