HELENA — The Helena High boys and girls basketball teams loaded up the team bus and hit the road to Billings on Wednesday as Class AA basketball state tournament action tips off Thursday morning.
The Bengals' girls enter their state tournament as the four seed out of the West after winning a play-in game over crosstown rival Capital Friday. They’ll open tournament play against Bozeman Gallatin, the top seed out of the East Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
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“It’s very exciting, you know,” said Helena guard Lauryn Lieberg. “I’m just grateful to be in the position that we are in. And we’ve worked all year to get to this spot right now. We’ve got to go into it confident knowing that we know what we can do there. So, just go into it mentally strong.”
The Bengal boys enter their state tournament as the three seed out of the West. The boys also won a play-in game over crosstown rival Capital Friday to clinch their spot. Helena plays Great Falls CMR, the two seed out of the East, Thursday at noon.
“We’re coming into this with a confident mind, just playing as a team and controlling what we can control,” said Helena guard Pacer Lybbert. “And I think people have kind of underestimated us at the beginning of the year. But now that we’ve made it, it would be very exciting to make a long run at the state tournament.”
Eight state basketball champions will be crowned Saturday, and MTN Sports will have you covered throughout the tournaments. Class C tips off state tournament action Wednesday in Missoula, and the B, A and AA classifications get going Thursday in Bozeman, Great Falls and Billings. For coverage, including full scores and pairings, click here.
