Sports

At the First Interstate Arena in Billings, long-time county rivals met for the first time this year, the Lady Dawgs and the Lady Indians. Dawgs get the tip, Kamber GoodLuck drives and is fouled by Lodge Grass’ J. Jefferson. GoodLuck hits both from the stripe, then on a take away gets fouled again for another 2 from the stripe. The Lady Dawgs relentless full court press did its job and forced turnovers and steals. The ball goes back and forth , until the Lady Indian’s Half hits a field goal. The Lady Dawgs answer right back with a barrage of points from Takes Enemy, B Old Elk and K Good Luck both hitting from behind the arc. Big Man and Old Coyote also contribute to the cause racking up the lead with the Lady Dawgs leading by 36 points at the half. At the start of the 2nd half, LG ball with Hardin in their full court defense, LG’s Reed manages to break through for a bucket, then Shantell Pretty On Top hits another lay in off a steal. Kamber answers right back with a 3 of her own, then a steal by Takes Enemy assisting Big Man for 2. By mid 4th quarter, the Lady Dawgs are ahead far enough to enact the mercy rule, winning the contest by 40 notable points.

In the second game of the stacked schedule betwixt Hardin and Lodge Grass with a decent crowd on hand, many taking a break from their Christmas shopping to get in a game that is usually well worth watching. LG gets the tip, goes back and forth until Troy Hugs hits a 2 answered by a big 3 by LG’s Brown. Stops At Pretty Places hits a 2. At the 3:19 minute mark in the 1st quarter, LG is up by 3. The Dawgs are plagued by early foul trouble sending several Indians to the line ending the quarter with the Mighty Indians up by 9 points. Early in the 2nd quarter, Wuttunnee hits a 2 , followed by another 2 from 3 Irons off a steal. LG’s Damon Gros Ventre makes good off a Dawg foul hitting both from the charity stripe. Hardin’s Taze Rogers hits a 2 closing the gap, tough Hardin defense forces a LG turnover but the Dawgs cannot connect , the Indians miss a shot , and Hardin throws it down to Wuttunnee for a big 2 shutting the spread to 3. Then it’s DC Stewart who is fouled and connects 1:2. Always the opportunist, Rogers hits a 2, then off a missed LG ball, Troy Hugs is fouled and goes to the line hitting 1:2 eating away their point deficit to within 1 point. Then Wuttunnee is fouled hitting 1:2 to tie the game up 23 per. LG off the rebound hits Gros Ventre who is fouled but can’t connect from the stripe. Possession goes back and forth a couple times until Gros Ventre is fouled again hitting both from the free toss line to take the lead. Then its Troy Hugs with a 2 tying the game up again, the Indians can’t connect on their try, and then its the Freshman Sensation Kingston Hugs for a huge 3. On the return the Indians head to the foul line with Damon Gros Ventre hitting both ending the half, the Dawgs up by 1 point.

In the finale of the Indian Tournament at the Metra, Browning Indians faced off against the Hardin Bulldogs who were still smarting from the loss against Central at the pound. It showed. Browning jumped ahead to an early lead, by 17 at the end of the 1st, maintaining the lead well into the 4th quarter. It was freshman sensation Kingston Hugs coming from off the bench to provide that spark the Dawgs needed to get their momentum swinging in the Dubb spectrum. Midway through the 4th, Taze Rogers was fouled and hit both frees for the first lead in the game. That was followed by 2 from Hance 3 Irons. It could have gone either way in the final minutes, at one point, with no defensive coverage at all, the Dawgs just threw the ball away, but it was quickly recouped as Browning did the same thing. The game ended on a pretty tip in from Taze Rogers. The Dawgs were plagued by foul troubles, (many were not warranted from my aspect, but again I was sitting in the nosebleed section).