State A girls: Browning falls to Hardin
MISSOULA — Browning’s run at the State A girls basketball tournament ended Saturday morning, with a 71-45 loss to power Hardin at Dahlberg Arena.
The Lady Bulldogs rode 10 points each from Kamber Good Luck and Kylee Old Elk to a 45-24 halftime lead; each player finished with 16.
Browning was led by Jerel White Grass, who scored 15 points and snared nine rebounds. Mecca Bullchild added 11 points and four boards. Lish Spoonhunter added seven points off the bench for the Lady Indians, who were making their fourth State A appearance in five seasons. They ended up 18-7.
Browning 13 11 10 13 - 47
Hardin 25 20 14 12 - 71
BROWNING — Jerel White Grass 6-10 3-7 15, Brailey Racine 2-5 1-2 5, Natalie St. Goddard 0-1 0-2 0, Mecca Bull Child 2-9 7-10 11, Amari Calf Robe 1-4 0-0 2, Sugar Spoonhunter 1-5 3-3 5, Lish Spoonhunter 3-6 1-1 7, Kinsley Bird 0-3 0-0 0, Cara Guardipee 0-3 0-0 0, Kalcie Connelly 0-0 0-0 0, Tashlyn Lazy Boy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 16-48 15-25 47.
HARDIN — Aiyanna Big Man 1-2 2-2 5, Evelyn Old Coyote 1-2 3-4 5, Kylee Old Elk 7-12 0-0 6, Kamber Good Luck 4-11 6-6 16, Breanna Old Elk 3-5 0-0 7, Carlie Plainfeather 0-2 0-0 0, Diamond Amyotte 2-4 2-2 6, Katerena Morrison 1-4 0-0 2, Dierra Takes Enemy 3-3 1-3 7, Kadie Bends 2-3 0-0 5, Macy Uffelman 0-2 0-0 0, Lexis Hogan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-53 14-17 71.
3-point goals — Browning 0-9 (St. Goddard 0-1, Bull Child 0-1, Calf Robe 0-1, Guardipee 0-1, Lazy Boy 0-1, S.Spoonhunter 0-2, Bird 0-2), Hardin 7-23 (K.Old Elk 2-6, Good Luck, 2-6, Big Man 1-1, Bends 1-2, B. Old Elk 1-1, Plainfeather 0-1, Uffelman 0-1, Hogan 0-1, Amyotte 0-2, Morrison 0-2). Rebounds — Browning 33 (White Grass 9), Hardin 31 (Takes Enemy 6). Fouls — Browning 15, Hardin 19. Fouled out — Takes Enemy. Blocks — Browning 0, Hardin 2 (Bends 2). Steals — Browning 8 (Connelly 2, Bull Child 2), Hardin 9 (K.Old Elk 4). Turnovers — Browning 24, Hardin 17.
Hardin 61, Dillon 46
Kamber Good Luck’s 14 points led the Lady Bulldogs (21-5), who had nine players score in their consolation game victory.
Aiyanna Big Man was next with 11 points; Dierra Takes Enemy was next with 10.
Ainsley Shipman scored a game-high for Dillon, which ended up 23-4.
Havre 37, Billings Central 30
Sadie Filius scored 13 points and the Havre Blue Ponies locked down Mya Hansen and Billings Central 37-30 for their second straight State A girls championship.Jade Wendland added nine onits for Havre (22-2), which has won five outright titles since 2015.
It was a rematch of last year’s title game, which Havre won in double-overtime. This had less drama, though two Hansen free throws brought the Rams (20-4) to 28-27, before Filius hit two of her own.
The gap grew to 33-27 on two more Filius throws. Central closed to 33-30 on a Maria Stewart 3-pointer with 1:09, and had a chance to get closer but Hansen couldn’t find the range. The Butler signee finished 4-for-12 from the floor for 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.