Belt girls hold off Box Elder, advance to Northern C title game

Jeff Graham believes the last time his Belt girls’ basketball team trailed in the fourth quarter of a Class C game was during the 2014-15 season in a loss to Roy-Winifred.

Until Thursday night.

The defending state champion Huskies survived here at Four Seasons Arena, slipping past Box Elder 63-60 after trailing by as many eight points late in the first half and by a point on two separate occasions in the fourth.

“Definitely our closest game,” senior Kerstyn Pimperton said. “It was a good game to have, though. We practice situations every day in practice, so it was kind of fun to finally use them.”

As Box Elder’s shooting accuracy reached levels of a blowtorch in the first half, the Bears started to realize they could compete with the Huskies.

“We just had to withstand the run,” Belt head coach Jeff Graham said. “They are a great team. Withstand the run. Don’t panic. We only had to call one timeout. We knew Box Elder was going to come out ready to rock and roll. They did both times with us last year.”

In a rematch of last year’s Northern C title game and the state title game – contests the Huskies pulled away for double digit victories in both – the Bears hit five of their eight attempts from distance in the first half and shot 53 percent from the floor. Box Elder cooled after intermission, finishing the contest at 46.9 percent and 6-for-17 from deep.

“I think we knew we could compete,” Box Elder head coach Joel Rosette said. “We have a good team. We are talented. They played us man, and I thought we were able to get what we wanted in the man. When they shifted to that zone, we struggled a little bit. (Jeff Graham) did a good job executing.”

The Huskies are 22-1 overall. Its lone loss, a 48-32 decision to Class B Malta and the two-time defending state champs, came all the way back on Dec. 9 of last year.

Belt, which shot 21-for-32 from the line and made just enough late to stave off the Bears, will play in Friday’s championship at 8:30 vs. Roy-Winifred. Box Elder falls into the consolation semifinal on Friday at 11 a.m. vs. Fort Benton.

Graham said the Huskies, gunning for what would be their seventh straight Northern C crown, were supposed to foul when the Bears (21-2) brought the ball up the court in the final seconds down 63-60.

Instead, they double-teamed Lillian Gopher as she crossed midcourt, who dished it off to Nikayla Anderson, whose last-second heave from about seven feet past the 3-point line on the right wing fell well short and failed to touch iron as time expired.

Graham was asked what it was like being in a close game.

“It was good,” he said. “We needed it. You go through games like that and you see what you’re made of.”

Dani Urick scored 15 points, notching several critical second-half buckets when the Huskies needed a lift. Pimperton finished with 18, while Sara Anderson contributed 12 and Kassie Hoyer chipped in 10.

Belt attacked the paint and found open shooters for two critical treys in the fourth.

On the first, Sara Anderson penetrated the Bears defense and located Pimperton wide open in the left corner for a 54-50 lead with just over 5 minutes left.

On the second, Pimperton did the dribbling and eyed Adrian Malek in the right corner. The shot, which touched every inch of the rim, gave Belt a 57-54 lead with 3:41 left after Box Elder had tied the game 25 seconds earlier.

“It was a (huge shot),” Pimperton said of the Malek triple. “It definitely changed the momentum. We needed it. We really needed it.”

When Nikayla Anderson banked one in off the glass in transition with three minutes remaining in the half, the Box Elder section exploded into a head-spinning decibel. The Bears were ahead, 32-24, and gaining confidence every possession.

Standout sophomore Lillian Gopher caught fire for 16 first-half points. A night after winning their opening-round game by 77 points, the Huskies were behind at intermission, 35-30. She tallied a game-high 24 points.

Rosette said he was proud of his girls.

Perhaps none more so than Lillian Gopher.

“She was outstanding,” Rosette said. “She’s been a great player for us this year. She’s made a lot of strides so I’m proud of her. She came out with a lot of fight. Her effort was there.”

Belt 63, Box Elder 60

Belt 12 18 13 20 – 63

Box Elder 15 20 8 17 – 60

Belt – Sara Anderson 12, Briana Wall 3, Dani Urick 15, Kerstyn Pimperton 18, Ryan Schraner 2, Kassie Hoyer 10, Adrian Malek 3. Totals 17 21-32 63.

Box Elder – Minnie The Boy 6, Kiya Morsette 2, Nikayala Anderson 2, Eve The Boy 6, Maddie Wolf Chief 5, Lillian Gopher 24, Tia Russell 8, Joelnell Momberg 7. Totals 23 8-15 60.

3-point – Anderson 2, Wall, Pimperton 2, Hoyer, Malek; Gopher 3, Russell 2, Momberg.