C-Falls outlasts Hamilton to take 3rd at Western A

BUTTE — Once again, the Columbia Falls girls survived and advanced.

The Wildkats squeaked by Hamilton 43-42 in overtime of the consolation finals at the Western A divisional basketball tournament on Saturday evening at the Butte Civic Center.

The win gives Columbia Falls the No. 3 seed from the Western division at the state tournament in Great Falls on March 8-10. It will face Hardin, the No. 2 seed from the Eastern division, in first-round action.

Dani Douglas and Hannah Gedlaman headed a balanced Wildkat scoring effort with 11 apiece. Trista Cowan added nine points, and Ryley Kehr threw in eight. Cowan and Kehr contributed eight rebounds each.

Cariann Kunkel poured in a game-high 18 points for Hamilton.

Columbia Falls won the overtime period 5-4.

The Wildkats rebounded from an opening-round defeat versus Butte Central to win loser-out games against Ronan, Dillon and Hamilton.

Hamilton 8 9 9 12 4 — 42

Columbia Falls 8 12 9 9 5 — 43

HAMILTON: Tessa Della Silva 7, Tristan Searle 1, Mallory McGill 10, Cariann Kunkel 18, Lauren Ryter 4, Jordan Taggart 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS: Dani Douglas 11, Hannah Gedlaman 11, Ryley Kehr 8, Trista Cowan 9, LaKia Hill 3, Josie Windauer 1.

Butte Central 54,

Browning 46

BUTTE — Butte Central outlasted Browning in the divisional championship game.

The Maroons will match up with Glendive, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern division, in the first round of the state tournament. The Indians will play Belgrade, the Eastern division’s No. 3 seed.

Stats were not available by press deadline.

Columbia Falls 60,

Dillon 18

BUTTE — Nearly everyone got in on the action during Columbia Falls’ dismantling of Dillon in the consolation semfinals.

Eleven of the Wildkats’ 12 players scored, led by 11 from Trista Cowan. Hannah Gedlaman and Ryley Kehr chipped in nine apiece.

Columbia Falls ran Dillon out of the gym from the start, jumping out to a 23-0 lead after one quarter.

The Wildkats led 38-5 by halftime.

Brynley Fitzgerald scored 12 of Dillon’s 18 points.

Columbia Falls 23 15 11 11 — 60

Dillon 0 5 9 4 — 18

COLUMBIA FALLS: Dani Douglas 6, Savannah Ellis 5, Hannah Gedlaman 9, Ryley Kehr 9, Trista Cowan 11, LaKia Hill 3, Peyton Rhodes 2, Hannah Schweikert 5, Diana Vasquez 5, Graceanne Sevesind 3, Madysen Hoerner 2.

DILLON: Kyndall Peterson 4, Brynley Fitzgerald 12, Josey Jones 2.

Hamilton 42, Frenchtown 39

BUTTE — An early Hamilton lead held up in the Broncs’ consolation semifinal win over Frenchtown.

Kara Nye scored a team-high 14 for Hamilton.

Lauren Ryter boosted the Broncs down low with seven points and 10 rebounds.

Megan Delaney poured in a game-high 16 for Frenchtown.

Hamilton led 22-14 at halftime.

Frenchtown 7 7 12 13 — 39

Hamilton 8 14 5 15 — 42

FRENCHTOWN: Megan Delaney 16, Alivia Williams 10, Calliana Bagnell 5, Kylie Willett 4, Claire Bagnell 4.

HAMILTON: Tristan Searle 6, Mallory McGill 9, Cariann Kunkel 6, Lauren Ryter 7, Kara Nye 14.

Boys

Hamilton 54,

Frenchtown 37

BUTTE — Hamilton pulled away in the second half to capture a double-digit win over Frenchtown and the Western A divisional title.

Tyler Chouinard scored a game-high 13 for Hamilton. Carter Kearns and Carson Rostad added 12 and 10, respectively.

Hamilton outscored Frenchtown 31-17 in the second half after leading the battle of the Broncs by three after two quarters.

With the win, Hamilton snagged the Western division’s top seed for this weekend’s state tournament in Bozeman. It will face Billings Central, the No. 4 seed from the Eastern division, in opening-round play.

Frenchtown will play Lewistown, the Eastern division’s No. 3 seed, in the first round.

Frenchtown 10 10 11 6 — 37

Hamilton 14 9 17 14 — 54

Frenchtown: Ethan Pyron 4, Cade Baker 2, Zack Baker 11, Adam Botkin 2, Hank Rugg 7, Ty Hoppie 3, Jared Cole 6, Dawson Leishman 2.

Hamilton: Cam Rothie 4, Tyler Chouinard 13, Hunter Omlid 8, Tanner Goligoski 3, Carter Kearns 12, Carson Rostad 10, Bridger Bauder 4.

Browning 66,

Butte Central 62

BUTTE — Browning avenged an opening-round loss to Butte Central by taking the Maroons down in the consolation finals.

Trailing by one at halftime, Browning bested Butte Central 39-34 in the second half to earn the victory.

The Maroons won the first-round matchup 61-54 on Thursday.

Nathaniel Stiffarm and Brandon Aimsback led Browning with 16 points, tied for most in the game. Stiffarm was 6 for 7 shooting from the field. Aimsback controlled the paint with 13 rebounds.

Aaron Richards tallied 16 points and nine rebounds for Butte Central.

The Indians earned the No. 3 seed from the Western division and will face Belgrade, the No. 2 seed from the Eastern division, in the first round of this weekend’s state tournament in Bozeman.

Butte Central will face Hardin, the Eastern division champion, in the opening round.

Browning 15 12 18 21 — 66

Butte Central 15 13 17 17 — 62

BROWNING: Nathaniel Stiffarm 16, Derek Loring 2, Justin Burd 6, Tyree Whitcomb 11, Brandon Aimsback 16, James Gilham 5, Ethan Running Crane 5, Deion Mad Plume 3, Latrell Bull Child 2.

BUTTE CENTRAL: Jared Simkins 4, Luke Heaphy 12, Dylan Sestrich 4, Cade Holter 12, Aaron Richards 16, Braden Harington 5, Trever Neumann 9.

Browning 64, Dillon 48

BUTTE — Browning did most of its damage in the first half of a loser-out win over Dillon in the consolation semifinals.

The Indians carried a 37-16 lead to the locker room.

Tyree Whitcomb scored 23 points to lead Browning. Nathaniel Stiffarm threw in 13, and Brandon Aimsback tallied 10.

Browning 22 15 20 7 — 64

Dillon 10 6 16 16 — 48

Browning: Nathaniel Stiffarm 13, Derek Loring 3, Tyree Whitcomb 23, Brandon Aimsback 10, James Gilham 5, Peytan Crawford 3, Deion Mad Plume 3, Latrell Bull Child 4.

Dillon: Coby King 11, Braden Anderson 1, Bradley Rakich 4, Jace Fitzgerald 5, Clay Allison 7, Jake Ferris 2, Dylan Cervelli 6, Cole Truman 2, Justus Peterson 8, Tyler Walker 2.

Butte Central 63,

Ronan 56

BUTTE — Butte Central bested Ronan in a loser-out game in the consolation semifinals.

The Chiefs took a narrow lead by halftime, but the Maroons held a 37-28 advantage in the second half to oust Ronan from postseason play.

Ezekiel Misa turned in an admirable performance for Ronan in the losing effort, dropping 28 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Anthony Camel added 10 points and five rebounds for the Chiefs.

Dylan Sestrich poured in 24 points for Butte Central.

Ronan 18 10 11 17 — 56

Butte Central 17 9 13 24 — 63

Ronan: Ezekiel Misa 28, Bubba Bush 9, Dallas Durheim 7, Anthony Camel 10, Randy Finley 2.

Butte Central: Jared Simkins 8, Luke Heaphy 5, Dylan Sestrich 24, Cade Holter 11, Aaron Richards 7, Braden Harrington 8.