Northern C girls: DGS, Roy-Winifred advance to divisional title game
When it came to crunch-time, it was an eighth grader that lifted the Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine girls’ basketball team into the Northern C divisional title game.
Emma Smith led all scorers with 20 points and made crucial plays in the final minute to help DGSG (20-3) hold off Belt 54-49 Friday night at the Four Seasons Arena.
The Bearcats will take on Roy-Winifred, which downed Fort Benton 54-30 in the late semifinal, in the divisional title game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The top two teams in the tournament advance to the Class C state tournament on March 6-9 in Great Falls. A challenge game is scheduled if-necessary for Monday at 6 p.m.
Despite leading by as many as 13 in the second half and 12 early in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats saw their advantage dwindle to four with under two minutes to go behind a 15-3 Huskies’ run.
With less than 90 seconds to play, Smith drove baseline and flipped it in to stymie the Belt surge and extend the advantage to four. Addison Urick drew a foul on the other end for the Huskies and split a pair at the line to make it one possession, but DGSG managed to bleed the clock under 30 seconds as it grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss late in the shot clock.
Smith was then sent to the line on an intentional foul, missing the first but sinking the second to put the lead back to four with 23 seconds remaining. A quick stop and a board for the Bearcats essentially iced the contest, with BriElla Becker hitting a pair at the line for good measure.
Smith hit 8 of 14 shots from the field to pace the field in scoring, hitting 3 of 5 attempts from beyond the arc. Sister and fellow eighth grader Ella Smith dropped 10 points to go along with three assists and a two steals, while Becker was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Dezirae Goodman racked up 16 points to lead Belt on top of a game-high nine rebounds, while McKenzie Pogany added 12 points and five steals. Urick chipped in nine points and four assists for the Huskies and Trinity Tinsen put in eight points.
Belt (16-8) will take on Big Sandy at 11 a.m. in a loser-out game Saturday for a chance to move on to the consolation championship at 7 p.m.
Photo provided by Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours.
Belt 11 7 14 17 – 49
DGSG 13 11 20 10 – 54
Belt – Addison Urick 9, Aaliyah Gaylord 2, Dezirae Goodman 16, Trinity Tinsen 8, Danika Lords 2, McKenzie Pogany 12.
DGSG – BriElla Becker 10, Kaitaia Vincent 3, Ella Smith 10, Maddie Skelton 3, Emma Smith 20, Tycee McVicker 6, Reese Von Bergen 2.
3-pointers – Urick; Vincent, Skelton, Emma Smith 3.
Roy-Winifred 54, Fort Benton 30
The Outlaws shutout the Longhorns in the first quarter to pull away early for the triumph in the late divisional semifinal.
Roy-Winifred (19-3), the two-time defending Northern C champions and winners of two state titles since 2020, were led by Isabelle Heggem’s 17 points and three blocks. The 6-foot-4 post shot 8 for 13 from the field and pulled down six rebounds.
Laynee Elness added 13 points and was 6 for 6 at the foul line and added a pair of steals while Dakota Crabtree hit a pair of shots from 3-point range to finish with eight points. Roy-Winifred held Fort Benton to 32 percent shooting from the floor and 3 for 14 from 3, capitalizing on 20 turnovers.
Casha Corder led all scorers for the Longhorns (14-9), hitting three 3-balls while Ang Reiner pulled down a game-best seven rebounds.
Fort Benton faces off with Chester-Joplin-Inverness at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in a loser-out game for a berth in the consolation championship game at 7 p.m.
Roy-Winifred 13 16 9 16 – 54
Fort Benton 0 12 12 6 – 30
RW – Myer Lensing 2, Laynee Elness 13, Kinzlee Wickens 2, Lyla Ewen 3, Lexi Bahnmiller 1, Hannah Ewen 8, Isabelle Heggem 17, Dakota Crabtree 8.
Fort Benton – Casha Corder 19, Sarah Clark 2, Ang Reiner 4, Alexis Clark 1, Addison Reichelt 2, Lauren Crowder 2.
3-pointers – Elness, L. Ewen, H. Ewen 2, Crabtree 2; Corder 3.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Northern C girls: DGS, Roy-Winifred advance to divisional title game
