Big first half carries Bigfork Vals into semis

by Daily Inter Lake
| March 7, 2024 10:41 PM

BUTTE — The Valkyries move on.

Paeten Gunlock scored 19 points, Braeden Gunlock added 13 and the Bigfork Valkyries ran past Lockwood 62-46 in a State A girls basketball first-round game Thursday.

The Vals, 21-1, advanced to Friday’s 8 p.m. semifinal against Miles City, which beat Dillon 50-40.

The 6:30 p.m. semifinal will pit three-time State A champion Havre against Billings Central. The Blue Ponies (19-3) held off Browning 54-44, before the Rams (21-2) squeaked past Frenchtown 49-48 in overtime.

Browning (15-8) and Frenchtown (19-3) will battle in a noon loser-out at the Butte Civic Center.

Bigfork 62, Lockwood 46

The defending State B champs continued to make noise in Class A with a dominant first half.

Paeten Gunlock scored 12 points in the opening 16 minutes, Braeden Gunlock had nine and Bigfork owned a 40-17 lead at intermission.

The Vals also owned the boards 33-26 — Braeden Gunlock had 15 rebounds and Callie Gembala scored 11, to go with eight points — and forced Lockwood into 22 turnovers. Ava Davey had nine points and four steals for Bigfork.

A late flourish let first-time state entrant Lockwood (15-8) close the gap. Tailey Harris scored a team-high 13 points, and Dani Jordan added 12.

Bigfork 19 21 12 10 - 62

Lockwood 12 5 14 15 - 46

BIGFORK — Afton Lambrecht 2-8 1-2 5, Braeden Gunlock 4-7 5-8 13, Callie Gembala 4-8 0-2 8, Ava Davey 4-9 1-4 9, Paeten Gunlock 7-13 2-2 19, Keni Wade 3-8 0-8 8, Haley Schara 0-0 0-0 0, Lille Suffia 0-0 0-0 0, Keegan Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Benson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 9-18 62.

LOCKWOOD — Dani Jordan 4-10 3-4 12, Gracie Kuntz 0-2 0-0 0, Kylie Edwards 1-2 0-0 2, Lanee Casterline 2-3 1-4 5, Lawren DeCrane 2-5 1-2 6, Kannah Franco 1-2 0-0 2, Tailey Harris 4-154 3-3 13, Taysha Little Light 2-3 2-5 6, Karsyn Cookman 0-0 0-0 0, Tysa Jefferson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 10-18 46.

3-point goals — Bigfork 5-15 (P.Gunlock 3-4, Wade 2-6), Lockwood 4-13 (Harris 2-5, Jordan 1-1, DeCrane 1-4). Rebounds — Bigfork 33 (B.Gunlock 15, Gembala 11), Lockwood 26 (Casterline 7). Fouls — Bigfork 16, Lockwood 18. Turnovers — Bigfork 17, Lockwood 22.

Havre 54, Browning 44

The Lady Indians finished strong, but it was too late to catch the steady Blue Ponies.

Ariana Gary scored 13 points and Amaya Jarvis and Sierra Parker added 10 each for Havre, which shot 62 percent in the first half while building a 39-22 lead.

Browning worked its way back into the game, and had a handful of chances to cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter. Havre committed a majority of its 14 turnovers in the final eight minutes, but the Lady Indians’ couldn’t quite get it into crunch time.

Teslin Trombley and Josey Michael scored eight points each to lead Browning, which fell to Frenchtown 57-43 in their only previous meeting, at the Western A semifinals two weeks ago.

Havre 24 15 7 8 - 54

Browning 9 13 10 12 - 44

HAVRE — Amaya Jarvis 2-6 5-6 10, Ariana Gary 3-6 7-8 13, Kyanna Jarvis 1-4 1-2 3, Sierra Parker 3-6 4-6 10, Tierra Parker 3-10 1-2 8, Emilee Chambliss 1-3 1-2 3, Kenzie Kallenberger 0-0 0-0 0, Ela Harbor 3-6 1-2 7, Shea Reber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 20-28 54.

BROWNING — Natalie St. Goddard 2-3 0-0 4, Sugar Spoonunter 2-7 2-3 6, Amari Calf Robe 2-5 1-2 5, Jerel White Grass 2-4 0-0 5, Kalcie Connelly 1-3 0-0 2, Teslin Trombley 3-6 2-3 8, Shaylee Heavy Runner 1-1 0-0 2, Tashlyn Lazy Boy 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Eagle Feathers 2-2 0-2 4, Brooke Blue 0-1 0-0 0, Oceanna Arnoux 0-0 0-0, Josey Michael 3-8 2-4 8. Totals 18-42 7-14 44.

3-point goals — Havre 2-12 (A.Jarvis 1-3, T.Parker 1-5), Browning 1-11 (White Grass 1-1). Rebounds — Havre 32 (Gary 8), Browning 25 (St. Goddard 7). Fouls — havre 9, Browning 19. Fouled out — Calf Robe, White Grass. Turnovers — Havre 14, Browning 18.

Billings Central 49, Frenchtown 48 OT

It was a heartbreaking end for the Broncs, who missed a game-tying free throw, then a put-back in the final 8 seconds.

The Rams didn’t lead until Ryen Hadley (22 points) hit a free throw to make it 47-46 with 1:02 left in overtime.

After Ryan Lucier hit a single free throw for Frenchtown, Billings Central’s Coral Old Bull got an offensive rebound, was fouled and hit both freebies for a 49-47 lead.

Maya Skinner was then sent to the line for the Broncs, and she made the first free throw but missed the second. Mason Quinn (14 points, 13 rebounds) rebounded for Frenchtown, but her hotly contested follow shot missed.

Madi Kaufman had a game-high 25 points for Frenchtown.

BC Rams 11 6 11 11 10 - 49

Frenchtown 17 5 11 6 9 - 48

BILLINGS CENTRAL — Annika Stergar 2-7 1-4 6, Kam Reinker 1-10 1-2 3, GG Hastings 0-3 1-2 1, Ryen Hadley 5-17 8-10 22, Coral Old Bull 1-8 3-4 5, Grace Jagodzinski 0-0 0-0 0, Amaya Lorash 2-5 0-1 4, Lyssa Peterson 2-7 4-4 8, Jori Haugen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-57 18-27 49.

FRENCHTOWN — Mason Quinn 4-11 5-6 14, Madi Kaufman 6-16 11-14 25, Heather Haskins 0-2 1-2 1, Maya Skinner 1-4 1-2 3, Sadie Smith 2-7 0-0 4, Bailey Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Lucier 0-0 1-4 1. Totals 13-40 19-28 48.

3-point goals — BC Rams 5-19 (Hadley 4-10, Stergar 1-5), Frenchtown 3-12 (Kaufman 2-9, Quinn 1-1). Rebounds — BC Rams 40 (Reinker 10), Frenchtown 38 (Quinn 13). Fouls — BC Rams 25, Frenchtown 20. Fouled out — Reinker, Smith. Turnovers — BC Rams 21, Frenctown 25.

Miles City 50, Dillon 40

Alli Glasscock scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Cowgirls, who built a 26-10 lead late in the second quarter.

Dillon had no quit, scoring the last 10 points of the half, starting with a Halle Fitzgerald 3-pointer. The Beavers got as close as 28-24 in the third quarter, but Miles City answered every charge — and it was Glasscock who hit a dagger of a 3-pointer with 2:38 left in the game, putting her team up 46-37.

Jillian Kanduch added 11 points for Miles City.

Kenleigh Graham had 17 points and eight rebounds for Dillon. Sydney Petersen added 10 points and Fitzgerald had six points and seven boards.