In the first game of the State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon, Columbia Falls lost to Hamilton 51-48. The Wildkats, the top seed from Northwestern A, entered the tourney with a 13-7 record, while the Lady Broncs, the No. 2 seed from Southwestern A, came in with a 15-6 record. Hamilton advances to face the winner of Glendive and Havre, while Columbia Falls awaits the loser of that game. The Wildkats will play at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and Hamilton’s game is at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night.
Bigfork, the No. 2 seed from Northwestern A, plays tonight against Anaconda at 8 p.m. Anaconda is Southwestern A’s top seed and has a 16-4 record. Bigfork is 15-7. The tournament is held Thursday through Saturday at the Butte Civic Center. The boys tournament will be held at the ExpoPark in Great Falls on March 12-14.
I will update the results for Columbia Falls and Bigfork as they are made available throughout the tourney. Or you can track their progress by clicking on this bracket, which is updated by the Montana High School Association.