Belt knocked off

MISSOULA – Class C will have a new state champion in girls' basketball.

And if Tatum Moore has anything to do with it, her head coach might be getting another tattoo.

"We just want Coach (Amber) Erickson to have to get another tattoo," the Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale junior said, referring to the ink on Erickson's wrist commemorating her first coaching title in 2011.

That path got a little easier Thursday night at the University of Montana's Dahlberg Arena when the Panthers knocked off three-time reigning champion Belt, 56-50.

SWH was last team to knock off the Huskies in a state tournament contest as well – that was 2011 – got 20 points from Moore and 15 more from Keira Simonson in the win.

"We came out confident," Simonson said. "We were so excited to play Belt in the first round. … I knew if we had to play them in the championship it would build up more tension."

So in a way, a loss to Circle in the Eastern C divisional final last week was a blessing for the Panthers; they got the jitters out early.

The knocked Belt off balance early on the court Thursday, storming to a 23-12 halftime lead behind solid defense.

"They just flat beat us up," Belt head coach Jeff Graham said. "We were tentative. We didn't attack or get to the paint. … And that's all because of their defense."

The Huskies shot just 22.7 percent in the first half. Belt never led the game.

Belt made a run in the second half when Bailey Cooper, Addy Martin and Kerstyn Pimperton finally got hot from 3-point range. The trio of juniors hit nine second-half treys as Belt got the lead as low as five points. Martin led Belt with 21, and Cooper had 14.

"We tend to get a lead and then relax too much," said Simonson, but not tonight. "It was kind of scary, but then we kept it."

That was thanks to a 17-for-20 showing at the free throw line for the Panthers after halftime.

The motivation was simple enough, said Moore: Beat Belt.

"This is the one game we wanted," the Panthers' leading scorer said.

Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale will continue its quest for a title at 8 p.m. Friday against Twin Bridges. Belt will take on Park City in the 2 p.m. consolation matchup.

In earlier quarterfinal action, Gardiner defeated Northern C No. 2 seed Cascade 44-39 in a comeback effort.

Battling through the District 11/12C tournament with a lineup that was more under the weather than not, Gardiner had something to prove entering the Western C girls' divisional as its league's No. 4 seed.

Senior Hannah Dean knew it.

"We're going to be the toughest fourth seed that divisional tourney's ever seen," the Carroll College signee said.

The Bruins rolled to a divisional title and started the state tournament the right way Thursday afternoon with a comeback win.

Dean tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in front of the meager state-tourney crowd at the University of Montana's Dahlberg Arena, and junior PJ Thomas dumped in 17 points off the bench for the Bruins.

Cascade jumped out to a 15-4 first-quarter lead, pushing the ball into the post and sending Dean to the bench with a pair of early fouls. The Badger frontcourt of Ember Schwindt and Elsie Carpenter accounted for 14 of Cascade's 15 points in the first. Cascade ended the quarter on an 11-0 binge.

"We were really happy with how the kids started and executed the game plan," said Badgers coach Robin McKnight.

Gardiner controlled the second with Dean's return to the floor and cut Cascade's lead to one before halftime. Nicole Satterwhite hit a jumper from the corner late in the second to enter the break ahead 23-20.

The Bruins came out of the locker room and hunkered down on defense. Dean blocked three second-half shots, and Gardiner took control of the tempo.

"It's a true testament to our girls," Gardiner coach Ben Johnson said. "We never give up, and we're going to chew and chew and chew until it opens back up for us. And we hit some big shots to get us back in that game."

Bruin point guard Tess Thomas sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at the start of the third, and Gardiner controlled things from there on.

"We've played all year not to live and die by the three because we're very successful getting twos all the time," said Johnson. "But at times we can do it, and my girls can shoot well."

The Bruins made eight of 19 3-point attempts while Cascade missed on all 12 attempts from long range.

"We hit a few more of our outside shots and we're up and over the top," McKnight said.

Cascade cut the Bruin lead to 43-39 with Schwindt's basket at 1:06 to play, but the Badgers were slow to foul in the waning minutes.

"A lot of it was we had some fatigue set in, and that is lack of depth," said McKnight, whose rotation features just six girls.

Dean's free throw with 35 seconds remaining reached the final score.

Carpenter, one of Cascade's four senior starters, finished with a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven boards. Schwindt was the only other Badger in double figures with 12. Calies Ludvigson had eight steals and six assists from the point guard position.

McKnight said her team will be back Friday hoping to climb through the consolation bracket.

"We have seniors, and obviously they want to make a stand and get some hardware," McKnight said.

That starts, the coach added, with knocking down the outside shot.

The Badgers' rebound begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday with a date with Circle. Gardiner plays Broadview-Lavina in Friday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal.

Broadview-Lavina 43, Circle 39

The No. 2 seed from the Southern C held off Circle despite the Wildcats' 14-0 second-half run. The Pirates led 24-12 at halftime.

Krista Schott led the way for Broadview-Lavina, posting 11 points and eight rebounds. Brenna Beckett and Kylie Schott each scored 10 for the Pirates.

Courtney Hinneland scored a team-high eight for Circle.

Twin Bridges 53, Park City 48

Cassidy Wetzel led all scorers with 15 points as Twin Bridges rallied from more than 13 points down in the fourth quarter to move into Friday's 8 p.m. semifinal against Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale.

The Falcons ended the game on a 19-4 run fueled by a 50-34 advantage on the glass. Freshman sensation Kailee Oliverson grabbed 12 boards to go along with her eight points while Wetzel pulled down 11 rebounds of her own.

Twin Bridges shot just 26 percent from the field in the game.

Park City's Morgan Popp led the Panthers with 14 points and eight rebounds, but the senior failed to score in the second half. Park City shot just 2-for-16 from the field after the break.