BUTTE — Charlo’s inside game fell just short when it met the best of the west at the Class-C divisional tourney in Butte this past weekend.

The Charlo Lady Vikings had rivaled Hot Springs all season. But after losing in the first round and winning a loser-out contest, they couldn’t take the match that would have, had they pulled out a “W” against Drummond down the road, given them another shot at the Savage Heat in a challenge game.

It would also have been a shot at going to the state tourney.

But it wasn’t to be. Sheridan, who couldn’t challenge but went on to defeat Drummond in the consolation final just the same, bested the Vikings by a painfully close score of 49-46 and brought closure to Charlo’s season.

The first game the Vikings played was a landslide win in favor of Twin Bridges, which took it 48-27.

“I thought that we could have given them a little better game than what we gave, but that’s all part of it,” Charlo head coach Bret Thompson said.

Senior Shianne Montgomery led with 10 points and freshman Kinley Pope came away with six points and five rebounds. 

Next game, the slope inverted, the steep scoring pile-up in the Vikings favor when they crushed White Sulphur Springs 40-25.

In the second game, Thompson said the improvement wasn’t in field goals but at the free throw line. His team shot 14 of 34 shots at the line, after it came up empty-handed in free throw attempts the night before.

Charlo junior Stephanie Murphy nailed 12 in the game, in addition to her nine rebounds and four assists. Pope didn’t disappoint either, coming away with eight. Junior Stephanie Maughan had seven, Montgomery had six and junior Jaris Kelley scored five.

It was a needed win, but the Vikings had bigger fish to fry, or at least try to.

In the consolation semi, the Vikings met Sheridan, a similar team to themselves in style of defense.

After introductions, the teams proceeded to do battle.

Finally, it was a game to met the tension with a score that fit. After leading early, Charlo couldn’t contain Sheridan in the end, finishing with a 49-46 loss.

Thompson explained how a 5-point lead at half-time fell apart for the Vikings.

“We didn’t get the ball inside very well,” he said. “A lot of it was turnovers at the end of the game.”

And while both teams only missed five free throws, in a close game a few more Sheridan attempts was all it took.

“That was the difference in the game. They shot five more free throws and won by three,” Thompson said.

Montgomery put the end of the season into words.

“It’s kind of one of those things. It’s my last year here and I was hoping to get to the championship,” she said. “I’m over it now - it’s OK. It was a great season for us. I had fun and it wasn’t too bad.”

She complimented her younger teammates on a job well done, saying each part of the puzzle, from Murphy, Maughan, junior Courtney Couture and fellow senior Rochelle Toussaint at the heart of the team’s leadership, to up-and-coming freshman Pope and Dawn Blevins, who showed maturity beyond their years on the court to help the team be a success.