BOZEMAN — The first day of the girls State B tournament is in the books and the semifinals are set.
Malta will take on Jefferson in the first semi and Colstrip and Harlem will clash in the other. The Fillies and Wildcats each mustered double-digit wins while the M-Ettes and Panthers had tighter wins.
Here's a recap of Thursday's games.
MALTA 47, COLUMBUS 40
Madison Williamson poured in 12 points and Addy Anderson added 10 as the Malta girls held off Columbus 47-40 in the opening round of the State B tournament on Thursday morning.
The M-Ettes, the top seed out of the Northern B, advanced to the semifinals as they look to continue pursuing an 11th state championship.
Malta led 10-5 after one quarter and 21-17 at the half. After the break, the M-Ettes extened their lead to 35-26 after three quarters.
Columbus was paced by a game-high 13 points from Hannah Obert and 10 from Katelyn Hamilton.
JEFFERSON 61, BIGFORK 55
After a thrilling double-digit overtime comeback at divisionals to clinch a berth at the state tournament, the Panthers followed suit with another impressive win.
Rachel Van Blaricom errupted for 35 points as Jefferson, the third seed out of the Southern B, upset Western B champion Bigfork 61-55 to advance to the semis where the Valkyries will face Malta on Friday.
The Panthers led 13-11 after one quarter and 25-21 at the half and outscored Bigfork in both the third and fourth quarters to hold off the Valkyries.
Bigfork was led by 20 points from Braeden Gunlock and 14 from Emma Berreth. The Valkyries will now face Columbus in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. on Friday.
COLSTRIP 49, GLASGOW 39
Gracie Bradley scored a game-high 12 points and Malea Egan and Canzas HisBadHorse each notched 10 as the Fillies used a strong start and finish to pull past the Scotties.
Colstrip, the top Southern B seed, led 15-8 after one quarter and held a 25-17 advantage at halftime. After the break, Colstrip led by as many as 14 in the third quarter. The Fillies never trailed in the game.
Glasow was paced by eight points from Carly Nelson and seven from Abrianna Nielsen, Tyann Graham and Sabrina Harsh.
HARLEM 61, THOMPSON FALLS 39
Taya Trottier racked up 22 points and Chloe Messerly had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats routed the Blue Hawks to set the stage for a semifinal against Colstrip.
Thompson Falls grabbed a 10-8 lead after the first quarter before Harlem flipped the script and outscored the Blue Hawks 16-5 in the second quarter. Harlem then outscored Thompson Falls 18-13 in the third quarter and 19-11 in the fourth.
Thompson Falls, which will face Glasow in a loser-out game on Friday morning, was led by 15 points from Ellie Baxgerr and eight from Caity Alexander.
