Montana

Full Court Press: Montana high school basketball highlights (Jan. 5)

Published

3 years ago

January 6, 2024

Full Court Press: Montana high school basketball highlights (Jan. 5)

Editor’s note: Results are updated as we receive them. We rely heavily on coaches, athletic directors and district managers to input results into our 406 Sports “portal” as our source for Full Court Press. If you don’t see your team’s game(s) here, we encourage you to reach out to your AD and coach. If they don’t have the login and password, we can provide one for them.

BOYS

Class B

• Baker 63, Broadus 58 (3OT): Gentre Coulter was tops with 19 points, Riley Williams was right behind with 18 and the Spartans (5-1) pulled away in the third overtime to nip the Hawks (2-5) in a game that was tight the entire way. Marvin Sobanski added nine points for Baker, which trailed by four after one quarter but pulled within a point at halftime and sent the game into the fourth quarter tied at 31-all. Both teams scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, five in the first OT and six in the second before the Spartans won the third extra session 11-6. Landon Capp scored 16 points, Jaxon Bilbrey 13 and Cooper Zimmer 11 for Broadus.

• Park City 63, Big Timber 34: Zach Downing had the hot hand with 21 points and Gage Witt was right behind with 19 to lead the Panthers past the Herders from wire to wire. Mason Tilzey added eight points for Park City. Sawyer Durfee scored 12 points and Andy Anderson 10 for Big Timber.

• Lame Deer 83, Terry 30: Moses LittleBird was the big gun with 24 points and Markell LittleCoyote provided 14 more to help the Morning Stars (5-2) race past the Class C Terriers. Robert Bearchum III added 11 points and Kymani Fraser nine for Lame Deer, which sprinted to a 34-11 lead after one quarter and was up 52-15 by halftime. Liam Jackson scored 11 points to lead Terry.

• Colstrip 71, Roundup 28: Slade Toscano poured in 18 points and the Colts snapped a four-game skid, going up 46-16 at the half. Jared Killsback netted 13 points and Niyol Medicine Bull hit for 10 points.

• Plains 74, Noxon 39: Anaya Loberg had a stellar game with 24 points and Darren Standeford dropped 20 to lead the Horsemen to their sixth win of the year. Pablo Hernandez hit for 16 points. The Red Devils fell to 1-3 on the season.

Class C

• Sheridan 82, Gardiner 46: Cade Cathey was unstoppable, pouring in 39 points, and Trey Schrank hammered home 24 points as the Panthers (5-4) got back on track after their loss to Harrison. Sheridan exploded for a 32-13 run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

• Fromberg 56, Reed Point-Rapelje 52 (2OT): It took two overtimes to sort it out, but the Falcons emerged with their second win of the season. They trailed 23-19 at halftime and 32-27 going into the fourth quarter, rallying to tie things up as regulation ended. Marshall Ulmer did the heavy lifting with 23 points, Ben Broyles knocked down 13 points and Axel Blodgett added nine.

• No. 7 Melstone 53, Bridger 31: Nolan Kamerman paved the way with 21 points for the Broncs, who improved to 7-1 by breaking free from a tight game at halftime to take care of the Scouts (4-4). Michael Bergin scored 10 points and Niklas Muffler eight for Melstone, which led by three after one quarter and at halftime before taking control in a 21-8 third quarter.

• West Yellowstone 60, Shields Valley 26: The Wolverines improved to 4-2, getting 20 points from Ben Hales, 13 from Noah Flores and 12 from Hayden Turner. No stats were reported for Shields Valley.

• No. 1 Lustre Christian 83, Dodson 28: Johnslee Pierre led the way with 20 points and the unbeaten Lions (8-0) put 12 players in the scoring column in walloping the Coyotes (4-3). Cayden Klatt had 12 points, Terran Joseph and Ife Aniobi nine apiece, and Cam Reddig and Prestyn Klatt eight each for Lustre, which led 47-17 at intermission. Junior Stiffarm scored 13 points for Dodson. The Lions have yet to win a game by fewer than 20 points.

GIRLS

Class AA

• Helena Capital 38, Kalispell Glacier 17: The Bruins picked up their second win of the season, closing out the Wolfpack with a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter. Gracie Mockel and Taylor Sayers dropped 11 points apiece and Anna Cockhill tallied six points. Reese Ramey netted eight points for Glacier (2-3).

Class A

• Hardin 57, No. 1 Havre 54: Dierra Takes Enemy scored 18 points, Karis Brightwings-Pease added 12 and the Bulldogs (4-2) pulled off the surprise of the night, edging the three-time defending state champion Blue Ponies (6-1) in a rematch of last year’s Class A state championship showdown. Kadie Bends scored nine points and Taylor Slater seven for Hardin, which led by seven points entering the fourth quarter and held on.

Class B

• Shepherd 64, St. Labre 20: Lexie Dennison led nine players in the scoring column with 15 points as the Fillies (6-2) ran away from the Braves. Molly Gilbert netted 13 points, and Breelyn Fulton and Wilhelmina Wenz tallied eight points apiece. Ivy Walksalong paced the Braves (2-5) with six points.

• Three Forks 66, Whitehall 32: Maddie Tesoro had the hot hand with 25 points, and Tanaya Hauser and AdaRae Thomas backed her with 12 apiece as the Wolves horsed around with the Trojans. Three Forks (5-3) led by 12 after one quarter, 25 at halftime and 32 entering the final eight minutes. Lindsay Briggs scored 10 points for Whitehall (1-6).

• Ennis 63, Lone Peak 36: Marisa Snider drained 16 points, Megan Knack provided 14 and the Mustangs (5-3) jumped to an 18-5 lead after one quarter en route to trouncing the Class C Bighorns (2-5). Mikendra Ledgerwood chipped in with 12 points and Mikayla Ledgerwood eight for Ennis, which led by 16 at halftime and won each quarter. Astrid McGuire led all scorers with 22 points for Lone Peak.

• St. Ignatius 54, Thompson Falls 38: Kason Page led four players in double figures for the Bulldogs, who improved to 5-2, running out to an 18-10 first-quarter lead and going up 34-21 at halftime. Cora Matt and Ellannah Flat Lip drained 11 points apiece, with Kieran Incashola dropping 10 points.

Class C

• No. 9 Scobey 71, Frazer 23: Chloe Handran hit for 19 points, Kennadi Cromwell netted 12, and the Spartans ran their record to 7-1 with a takedown of the Bearcubs. Mya Green contributed eight points and Claire Lekvold added seven. Bailey Beston drained 10 points to lead Frazer (4-4), with Kassidy Hentges providing five.

• No. 3 Twin Bridges 51, No. 7 Manhattan Christian 20: Allie Dale was the go-to again with 14 points and the Falcons (7-1) led from start to finish in downing the Eagles (4-4) in a clash of District 12C titans. Emma Konen scored 10 points and Ellie Meek nine for Twin Bridges, which led by six after one quarter, 12 at halftime and took full control in a 14-2 third quarter. The Falcons’ only defeat has come against top-ranked Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale.

• No. 2 Lustre Christian 69, Dodson 27: The Lions used 21 points from Kencia Brown and 14 points from Alexa Reddig and Lauryn Holzrichter to swamp the Coyotes and remain undefeated on the season at 8-0. Lauren Fast chipped in with eight points, and Aubri Holzrichter and Grace Brown supplied six points apiece. Kataya KillEagle carried Dodson with 14 points.

• Charlo 54, Arlee 31: The Vikings outscored the Class B Scarlets 33-10 in the first half and cruised to their fourth win (4-2). Brielle Zempel did the heavy lifting on offense with 22 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Seeley McDonald popped for 11 points, and Darcy Coleman supplied eight. Leah Mesteth hit a pair of treys and finished with 14 points to lead the Scarlets (2-4).

• No. 8 Circle 65, Nashua 5: Charlie Moline canned 14 points, Laura Guldborg netted 12 and Allie Kountz 10, and the Wildcats put 11 players in the scoring column as they trounced the Porcupines. Matilda Weeding added eight points.

• No. 10 Bainville 39, Plentywood 30: Elsie Wilson pumped home 17 points and Hailey Berwick did her share with 10 as the Bulldogs (6-1) kept rolling on the strength of a big second quarter to outlast the Wildcats (4-3). Bainville led by four after one quarter but won the next eight minutes 16-2 for an 18-point margin at intermission. Paityn Curtiss scored eight points and April McCabe seven for Plentywood, which made it interesting with a 16-9 fourth quarter.

• North Star 48, Sunburst 42: Kira King scored 17 points and Brea Sattoriva chipped in with 11 for the Knights (4-2), who overcame a monster 33-point night from Claire Bucklin to edge the Refiners (3-3). Adrina Sterner added 10 for North Star, which rallied from a six-point deficit after one quarter to tie the game by halftime and lead by five entering the fourth quarter. Bucklin scored 13 of Sunburst’s 15 points in the final eight minutes to keep it close. Ella Samsal scored the Refiners’ other nine points.

• Melstone 60, Bridger-Belfry-Fromberg 10: Maggie Eike drained 17 points for the Broncs (5-3) in a romp over the Scouts. Avery Eikie netted 12 points and Emma Myhre was right behind with 11 points. Savannah DeJaegher chipped in with eight points. Sidney Frank scored nine points for the Scouts.

20-Point Club

39: Cade Cathey, Sheridan

33: Claire Bucklin, Sunburst

24: Trey Schrank, Sheridan

24: Moses LittleBird, Lame Deer

23: Marshall Ulmer, Reed Point-Rapelje

22: Astrid McGuire, Lone Peak

22: Brielle Zempel, Charlo

21: Nolan Kamerman, Melstone

21: Zach Downing, Park City

21: Kencia Brown, Lustre Christian

20: Darren Standeford, Plains

20: Ben Hales, West Yellowstone

20: Johnslee Pierre, Lustre Christian

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Montana

District court judge blocks new Montana GOP bylaws – WTOP News

Published

8 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists…

A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists out of the party ranks.

Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael F. McMahon issued the restraining order Wednesday morning. The order had been requested by county precinct committees and officers suing the state party organization over the new bylaws. The plaintiffs are the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee, the Choteau County Republican Central Committee, and individual committee members Jeff Essmann, Ted Kronebusch, James Wilson and state Rep. Brad Barker, R-Red Lodge.

At issue are bylaws passed during MTGOP’s June platform convention that the litigating party members say amount to “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” The new bylaws require members to pay $20 in annual membership dues and pledge a loyalty oath, and subject members to removal from elected party positions for nonpayment of dues or for “conduct deemed inconsistent with party purposes,” as determined by executive party party officers. The new bylaws allow charges for removal to be brought by any 20 official Republican Party members.

Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich, the only official spokesperson for the state party, has not responded to voicemails and texts sent to his cell phone Wednesday. Wittich, elected party chairman in June 2025, has long been emphatic about exposing “Democrats disguised as Republicans” — for Wittich a now decade-old battle that spun into a bitter multimillion-dollar war between party hardliners and relative centrists in this spring’s Republican legislative primaries.

The centrists drew the ire of the hardliners in 2025 by collaborating with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and legislative Democrats to pass a balanced state budget and key pieces of legislation, including increased taxes on second homes and property tax reductions for primary residences and small businesses.

What constitutes disqualifying conduct isn’t fully spelled out in the bylaws, but they do specify that “collaborating with Democrats” in the Legislature, the governor’s office, the courts, or elections can get members disciplined or removed.

The lawsuit alleges that “The 2026 bylaws empower a small group within the party to revoke Republican affiliation from candidates or office holders, undoing primary nominations by the electorate.”

The plaintiffs argue that Montana voters, not party bylaws, should determine who represents the Republican Party in general elections and who represents voting precincts on the publicly elected county-level Republican committees that coordinate local political activity.

The Montana Legislature in 2019 passed a bill protecting publicly elected party precinct committee officers from being arbitrarily removed from office and defined attempts to do so as “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” That law, sparked by Republican Party infighting 10 years ago, is the foundation of the current lawsuit.

There has been a surge of public interest in Republican precinct-level politics following a perceived lack of support by party hardliners for Republican candidates in conservative strongholds like Flathead County, where more than 60 new precinct committeemen and committeewomen were elected in June. That wave of new officers was preceded by Flathead County Republican Central Committee members considering an endorsement of Libertarian Sid Daoud for Kalispell mayor over Republican Kisa Davison in late 2025. The Kalispell mayor’s race is nonpartisan, but Republicans have gone to court to secure the party’s right to endorse candidates in nonpartisan races.

Wittich’s own campaign for precinct committeeman representing Whitefish was a casualty of that new wave of public interest. He lost to Republican Giuseppe “G-man” Caltabiano, who serves on the Whitefish City Council.

Caltabiano’s wife, Roxanne Ross, defeated Candace Wittich, wife of the Republican chair, in the same election.

State law gives precinct officers two-year terms and specifies that they can be removed only for death, written resignation or loss of residency. The new bylaws state that participation in party governance, including service as a precinct official, “is a privilege of association, not a right conferred by public office or candidacy. Members must act in good faith to support the Party’s purpose and must not engage in conduct materially inconsistent with the Party’s interests, including conduct that undermines its platform, policy positions, election operations, or internal governance.”

The recent changes to the party bylaws allow precinct officeholders to be suspended from voting in party matters and replaced by party leadership for noncompliance. Empty precinct seats can be filled by the Republican Party chair.

“Every Republican candidate sells their version of Republicanism to the people in a primary campaign, and the voter chooses which version to buy,” the lawsuit states. “The party cannot dictate what brands of Republicanism are on the market.”

Former MTGOP chair Jeff Essmann, a plaintiff who is also a long-serving precinct officer, said in his affidavit that members of the Republican State Central Committee weren’t given a required notification about attempts to amend the bylaws. He said he would have attended the platform convention and argued against amending the bylaws if he had known.

“The 2026 Bylaws empower any twenty members of the Party to recommend any other member of the Party for expulsion from the party, to be determined by the State Central Committee, even people who do not reside in Yellowstone County and who have never met me,” Essmann said in the affidavit.

Other central committee members produced pre-convention emails about potential changes to the bylaws, but no details about the amendments.

In issuing the order, McMahon indicated that Republicans challenging the bylaws are likely to succeed. He set a July 13 hearing on whether to make the order permanent.

“Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with Montana election law and constitutional protections governing candidacy, nomination, speech, association, due process, and elected precinct committee representatives,” McMahon ruled.

___

This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for July 8, 2026

Published

19 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing

12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing

17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing

03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing

06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing

08-16-17-22-27

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing

16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.

This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.

Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.

The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.

NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.

“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.

According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.

“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.

The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.

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