State B: Eureka girls fall to Roundup

BILLINGS — Meghan Eiselein scored 14 points and Tia Stahl added 12 as Roundup beat cold-shooting Eureka 45-22 at the State B girls’ basketball tournament Thursday morning at MetraPark.

Stahl, who went 3-for-3 from 3-point range, scored eight of her points in the first quarter while Roundup bolted to a 12-7 lead. The Panthers extended a 19-11 halftime advantage to 36-20 by the end of the third quarter.

Roundup is in the semifinals for the first time since 1994, when the girls’ season was played in the fall. The Panthers will play fellow Southern B entrant Columbus, which downed Fairfield 45-37, in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Lions, making their first state appearance since 2006 (Roundup's last appearance: 2003), shot just 23 percent from the floor. Katie Schmidt led Eureka with nine points. Rhianna Hawkins had seven rebounds to go with four points.

Eureka (14-6) will battle Fairfield in a loser-out game Friday at 11 a.m.

Roundup 12 7 17 9 - 45

Eureka 7 4 9 2 - 22

ROUNDUP — Bella Klein 1-3 0-0 3, Tia Stahl 4-6 1-3 12, Blythe Sealey 3-9 1-5 7, Makayla Goffena 1-2 0-0 1, Meghan Eiselein 5-8 2-2 14, Cate Cota 1-3 0-0 3, Kennah Jensen 1-3 0-0 3, Emalee Vickers 0-0 0-0 0, Burkley Kembel 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 16-35 5-12 45.

EUREKA — Michael Shea 1-5 1-4 3, Kyla Bohne 3-14 0-0 6, Rhianna Hawkins 2-7 0-2 4, Katie Schmidt 3-9 1-2 9, Reena Truman 0-1 0-0 0, Jadyn Pluid 0-4 0-0 0, Dylan Sharp 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-40 2-8 22.

3-point goals - Roundup 8-19 (Stahl 3-3, Eiselein 2-3, Klein 1-3, Jenson 1-3, Cota 1-3), Eureka 2-16 (Schmidt 2-7). Rebounds - Roundup 33 (Eiselein 7), Eureka 25 (Hawkins 7). Fouls - Roundup 10, Eureka 14. Fouled out - none. Steals - Roundup 9 (Stahl 3), Eureka 5 (Pluid 3). Turnovers - Roundup 13, Eureka 13.

Columbus 45, Fairfield 37

Payton West scored 14 points and Brooklyn Wyllie added 11 for the Cougars.

West’s basket at the end of the third quarter put Columbus ahead 27-26, and the Cougars pulled away in the fourth. They ended up hitting 14 of 27 free throws, compared to Fairfield’s 5 of 7. Columbus took six 3-pointers, and West had the only make.

Tori Jones led the Eagles with 12 points.

Columbus 9 9 9 18 - 45

Fairfield 7 11 8 11 - 37

COLUMBUS — Sawyer Wiggs 8, Payton West 14, Reed Johnson 5, Hannah Obert 1, Brooklyn Wylie 11, Kennette Teske 2, Molly Hamilton 4.

FAIRFIELD — Tori Jones 12, Kyler Bake 5, Emma Woods 6, Cheyenne Maddox 4, Alexa Johnson 5, Natalie Kolste 5.