Forbes, Maroons survive and advance twice
Butte Central’s girls’ basketball team will play in the Western A Divisional tournament in Whitefish.
The No. 1 reason why the Maroons will be moving on is Rylee Forbes. The 6-foot sophomore post player had the game of her life Saturday as the Maroons pulled off a 44-42 upset win over Corvallis.
In addition to her game-high 17 points, Forbes pulled down 20 rebounds in the win.
When Butte historian Pat Kearney tracked down school records for Butte High and Butte Central, he did not include rebounding records. That is because they were not available in so many boxscores in the newspaper.
However, 20 boards must be at least close to a record for the Butte Central girls.
“Rylee Forbes played the best game of her career that night,” Central coach Quinn Carter said in an appearance on the ButteCast Tuesday.
Forbes, though, was not the only Maroon to come up big as Central won two play-in games to qualify for the Divisional tournament.
In the Corvallis win alone, Carter pointed to the composure of freshman Kenzie McQueary, two key 3-pointers by freshman Braelynn Schelin, big shots by freshman Zayonna Otherbull and a clutch baseline jumper by junior Arika Stajcar.
“Arika Stajcar had the playoff her career so far,” Carter said.
Otherbull finished with nine points in that win, while McQueary scored eight and Schelin tossed in six.
Two nights earlier, McQueary poured in 20 points to lead the Maroons in a 59-13 rout of Stevensville at the Maroon Activities Center.
Otherbull scored 10, while Forbes and Schelin each netted six, Stajcar tossed in five, freshman Evyn Smith scored four, and freshman Jaedyn Maldonado finished with two.
Central will bring seven freshmen with them to the Divisional tournament. That includes Smith, McQueary, Otherbull, Scheliin, Maldonado, Natalie Osterman and alternate Cambri Campbell.
The tournament team also includes sophomores Forbes, Meika Boyer and Marly Mansanti and juniors Stajcar and Caden Tippett.
While BC heads to Whitefish with some momentum on their side, the road to next week’s Class A State tournament in Billings is anything but easy. First up for BC is Bigfork, the regular-season champion from the Northwestern A. That game is set for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The Gunlock sisters — Braeden and Paeten — lead the Valkyries into action. Braeden Gunlock, a 6-foot senior, averages 21.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Paeten Gunlock, a 5-9 junior, adds 17.0 points per game.
The sisters have combined for an incredible 201 steals and 141 assists on the season.
Central enters the tournament at 7-13, while Bigfork is 16-2. The Maroons and Valkyries are on the same side of the bracket as Dillon (17-1) and Ronan (11-7). Those teams play at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Columbia Falls (10-8) will take on Hamilton (5-13), while Browning (11-9) battles Frenchtown (15-3).
The top four teams from the tournament move on to the Class A State tournament.
BC boys open with Wildcats
Butte Central’s boys team rides a little momentum to the Divisional tournament, too. That comes even though the Maroons have battled an unprecedented amount of illness during the season.
Central coach Brodie Kelly, though, said his Maroons are finally healthy for the first time since early January.
That is a good thing. It is also a necessary thing as the Maroons open with 15-3 Columbia Falls at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Wildcats went 10-2 in conference play to secure the No. 2 seed from the Northwestern A. Columbia Falls actually played the Maroons in a tipoff tournament Dec. 14 in Frenchtown.
Cooper Ross scored 19 points, and Reggie Sapa tossed in 16 as the Wildcats beat the Maroons 72-65 that day. Columbia Falls also got 13 points from Bjorn Pedersen and 10 from Easton Brooks.
Petersen averages a team-best 11.8 points per game.
Senior Owen McPartland averages 19.9 points per game to lead the Maroons. Sophomore Joshua Sutton adds 17.1 points per game, while sophomore Ryan Peoples averages 10.9, despite playing through some serious illness.
Freshman Jaxon Hiatt fought his way into the starting lineup along with sophomore GG Fantini. Senior Justus McGee also starts sometimes, as does classmate Patrick Stimatz, who has been a key contributor for multiple seasons for the BC varsity team.
Also making the trip for the Maroons are junior Zander Strand, sophomores Cade “Buzz” Kelly, Burkley Lakkala and alternate Grady Button, and eighth graders Noah Sutton and Henly Mansanti.
Kelly is in his 21st season coaching the Maroons His team has qualified for the Class A State tournament in 18 of his previous 20 campaigns.
The winner of the BC, Columbia Falls game will play the winner between Dillon (17-1) and Bigfork. The top half of the bracket will see Frenchtown (14-4) take on Ronan (13-5), and Hamilton (10-9) battle Browning (13-5).
Butte girls tough it out at Capital, set for rematch
Butte High’s girls’ basketball team is pretty familiar with its Western AA playoff opponent.
That is because the Bulldogs played Helena Capital last Thursday in Helena. Thanks to some clutch free throws by sophomore Cadence Graham, Butte High edged the Bruins in a rough-and-tumble 36-35 contest.
At 6 p.m. Friday, the two teams will open a playoff doubleheader at the Butte High’s Richardson Gym.
At 13-6 overall and 9-5 in league play, the Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed out of the Western AA. Capital (8-11 and 5-9) is the No. 6 seed.
The winner of the do-or-die game advances to the Class AA State tournament, which is next week at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman. The loser is done for the season.
Butte High will be going for its third win of the season over Capital. The Bulldogs beat the Bruins 41-34 Feb. 1 in Butte.
Eva Dahlquist, a 5-7 junior, paced the Bruins with 13 points last time out. Madi Emmert, a 5-5 sophomore scored 12 points. Ali Miller, a 5-11 junior, scored nine points to pace Capital when the Bruins played at Butte.
Graham averages 17.9 points per game to pace the Bulldogs. The 5-6 guard also more than 3 steals and 3 assists per game.
Brityn Stewart, a senior who plays much bigger than her 5-8 frame, averages 13.6 points and nearly 6 rebounds per game.
Graham and Stewart will be joined in the starting lineup by seniors Dylann Bartletti and Sidney Whitaker and junior Franki Salusso. Whitaker is stepping in the staring five for senior Addie Hiatt, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s Senior Nigh win over Helena High.
Junior Emma Johnson has been a key contributor off the bench for the Bulldogs all season.
The Dogs have also received contributions form junior Gracie Jonart, sophomores Allie Becker and Autumn Clary and eighth grader Ellison Graham. Fellow eighth grader Saege Grey has also seen varsity time, as has junior Ally Godbout.
The Bulldogs are looking for their first trip to the Class AA State tournament since 2022.
Bulldog boys look for six pack
On the boys’ side, the Bulldogs are looking for their sixth trip to the Class AA State tournament under sixth-year head coach Matt Luedtke.
To get there again, the Dogs will have to do something they could not do in two tries during the regular season. They have to beat Missoula Sentinel.
The Bulldogs and Spartans will clash at 7:30 p.m. Friday, closing out what promises to be an electric doubleheader.
Butte High has won 9 of its last 11 games, building a 13-6 overall record. With a 9-5 mark in conference, Butte High is the No. 4 seed. Sentinel is the No. 5 seed at 10-9 and 8-6.
Sentinel beat Butte High twice in fairly convincing fashion during the regular season. The Spartans won 53-37 Jan. 11 in Butte before completing the sweep with a 60-49 win Feb. 4 in Butte.
Lincoln Rogers, a 6-7 junior guard, scored 24 points in the win at Butte. Carson Towe, a 6-4 senior, scored 27 in the win in Missoula. Those two players figure to be a problem again on Friday.
Three Bulldogs — senior Dylan “Bobby” Bache, junior Hudson Luedtke and sophomore Braylon Larson — average in double figures scoring to lead the Bulldogs. Luedtke leads the way with 19.6 points per game, while Bache follows with 14.4 and Larson scores 10.4.
As of the last counting of the Bulldog stats, Luedtke averages 6.3 assists per game, while Bache (8.2) and Larson (8.1) average more than 8 rebounds per game.
Luedtke, who led the Class AA in assists last season, is in contention to lead the class in scoring and assists this year.
Bache is coming off a 25-point, 12-robound performance in Thursday’s Senior Night win over Capital. The 6-9 Larson has been an emerging force on offense and defense.
The Bulldogs possess a pair of 3-point threats in seniors Torre Tempel and Tocher Lee. Both have come up big for the Bulldogs this season. Tempel shattered the school record with nine made 3-pointers in a win over Helena High, and Lee sank a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a win over Missoula Hellgate.
Lee, who hit the memorable shot to send the Bulldogs to State at the Divisional tournament last year in Butte, will move into No. 2 all time on the Butte High boys’ list with his 83rd varsity game Friday.
Senior Spencer Callaghan comes off the bench. He spent a good chunk of the season in the starting lineup while Lee was out with injuries.
Freshman Brady Hanson, who delighted the Bulldog crowed with a two-handed dunk in traffic last week, has also been turning the corner as a force for the Dogs.
Butte High has also gotten minutes form senior Kylar Kjersten, juniors Kendel Noctor, Rhett Arntson and Ryan Hanson, and sophomores Raeder Grey, Koda Schleeman and Brady Walsh.
Vivian Kingston scores 1,000th
From the files of “we wish she were a Bulldog or Maroons,” we give you Vivian Kingston.
Kingston, a 6-foot senior post player with deep family ties to the Mining City, scored the 1,000th point of her career Feb. 19.
Kingston plays for White River High School in Buckley, Washington. Buckley is about 45 miles south-east of Seattle. Kingston is the first girl in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
She is the daughter of 1992 Butte High graduate Terri Peltomaa. She is the half-sister of Colton Kingston, whose father, Steve, graduated from Butte Central in 1987.
Vivian Kingston scored her 1,000th point in a district playoff win. She added to the title Saturday against Lakeside in the regional round of the Class 3A State tournament. Kingston and the Hornets play Garfield Wednesday morning at the Tacoma Dome.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 