BUTTE — Despite entering the Western C Divisional Tournament as the 14-C’s second seed, the Charlo Lady Vikings knew they would be a tough team to handle throughout the tournament. The team had lost only three games during the year, all to the No. 1-seed Superior Lady Bobcats, and knew they had the talent to challenge any and all comers, which they did in four games in Butte last weekend.

BUTTE — Despite entering the Western C Divisional Tournament as the 14-C’s second seed, the Charlo Lady Vikings knew they would be a tough team to handle throughout the tournament. The team had lost only three games during the year, all to the No. 1-seed Superior Lady Bobcats, and knew they had the talent to challenge any and all comers, which they did in four games in Butte last weekend.

Charlo opened the tournament with a heartbreaking 47-44 defeat to Ennis. The difference in the game?

“Three points,” said Charlo head coach Bret Thompson. “We had a few more rebounds and turnovers, they hit a few more free throws down the stretch because we had to foul.”

In fact, even though each team dominated a quarter in the first half (Ennis led 12-6 after one, Charlo answered with a 16-8 second to take a 22-20 halftime lead), the teams were knotted at 33 entering the final period.

The Lady Vikings nearly matched the Lady Mustangs basket for basket in the fourth, but Ennis got the upper hand, outscoring Charlo 14-11 to wrap up the win and send the Lady Vikings to a loser-out game.

Kinley Pope continued her season-long dominance with 17 points, while Dawn Blevins and Deondra Brown stepped up with 13 and 10, respectively.

On Friday, Feb. 24, with their season on the line, Charlo outscored Manhattan-Christian 12-6 in the final eight minutes to earn a come-from-behind 38-34 win. Rachel Hoyt, Jordan Ludeman and Brown all scored nine points for the Lady Vikings, who trailed by two entering the fourth quarter, but found their groove in the nick of time to advance.

“When we got the lead in the fourth quarter, the girls took care of the ball and made free throws,” Thompson said.

The reward for Charlo’s victory was a date the next day with their nemesis Superior in a second loser-out game. While the Lady Vikings had dropped their first two games against the Lady Bobcats by one point each time, Superior handled them 52-40 at the district tournament two weeks ago.

By halftime, it looked as if the Lady Bobcats were ready for another win over Charlo, but a gritty rally allowed the Lady Vikings to break through and defeat their rivals 55-52.

The Lady Bobcats raced to a 28-20 halftime lead, very similar to the 29-21 edge they held over Charlo in their previous meeting.

The Lady Vikings re-wrote the script in this one, however, cutting the deficit to 39-34 after three quarters before scoring 21 in the fourth to end Superior’s year.

Pope notched 17 points, Hoyt added 14 and Blevins 11 for Charlo. Thompson’s explanation for what changed in the teams’ fourth meeting?

“We scored more points this time,” Thompson said. “The scores were about the same throughout the year. The difference this time was that we held them to 52 and scored 55.”

That win propelled them to yet another loser-out game, this time against Drummond. Unfortunately, the Lady Vikings, running on fumes already, couldn’t outlast the Lady Trojans, falling 36-31.

“We were still making a few shots, but we had costly turnovers which had to do with us getting tired going up and down the court,” Thompson said.

Early on, Charlo kept pace with Drummond, leading 15-13 at halftime. The Lady Trojans turned the tables in the third, taking a two-point lead, 25-23, entering the final stanza and held off the Lady Vikings.

Pope ended her career with one last sensational game, scoring 18 of her team’s 31 points.

“We put her out front, which was a good thing because she’s a good ball handler,” Thompson said.

After a 2-2 appearance at the divisional tournament, Thompson said he was impressed with how his team handled the tough competition.

“The girls played really well in the whole tournament,” Thompson said. “We lost by three and five, won by three and four. Those losses could have flip-flopped. I was really happy with our performance.”

With the season coming to a close, Thompson said that he was proud with his girls and happy they were able to take the court night in and night out, giving their all each time.

“They work hard and don’t give up,” Thompson said. “They were pretty determined to find success and were able to smile all season.” 

CHARLO VS ENNIS

Charlo - 6 - 16 - 11 - 11 - 44

Ennis - 12 - 8 - 13 - 14 - 47

Lady Vikings scoring - Kinley Pope 17, Dawn Blevins 13, Deondra Brown 10, Sienna Brown 2, Jordan Ludeman 2

CHARLO VS M-C

Charlo - 10 - 9 - 7 - 12 - 38

M-C - 10 - 10 - 8 - 6 - 34

Lady Vikings scoring - Rachel Hoyt 9, Jordan Ludeman 9, Deondra Brown 9, Dawn Blevins 6, Kinley Pope 5

CHARLO VS SUPERIOR

Charlo - 9 - 11 - 14 - 21 - 55

Superior - 13 - 15 - 11 - 13 - 52

Lady Vikings scoring - Kinley Pope 17, Rachel Hoyt 14, Dawn Blevins 11, Jordan Ludeman 6, Deondra Brown 5, Aspen Runkel 2

CHARLO VS DRUM.

Charlo - 8 - 7 - 8 - 8 - 31

Drum. - 7 - 6 - 12 - 11 - 36

Lady Vikings scoring - Kinley Pope 18, Dawn Blevins 4, Deondra Brown 4, Jordan Ludeman 2, Haley Berkram 2, Rachel Hoyt 1