The Williston-Elko High varsity girls class 1A playoff run ended Feb. 18 in a 61-53 road loss to McCormick High School during the second round.

Williston-Elko High, coming off an opening round victory over Great Falls High ,played toe-to-toe with McCormick High in the first quarter.

The teams battled to a 14-14 tie in the first quarter. However, in the second stanza, the Lady Blue Devils fell a step behind the Lady Chiefs.

Behind an eight points effort from Lil-Kedia Brown, McCormick outscored Williston-Elko 19-7 for a 33-21 halftime lead.

"We had somewhat of a collapse in the second quarter and it turned out to be the difference in the game," WEHS coach Eva Strong said.

The loss ends Williston-Elko High's season at 13-8 overall.

For the Lady Blue Devils, Charnica Williams was the top player with 19 points, nine steals and five assists. Kyla Coleman had a good all-around performance with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Jalen Reed contributed eight points and six assists while Tierra Richberg and Courtney Corley each added four points each.

On Feb. 15 in the opening round of the playoffs, the Lady Blue Devils reaped good fortunes, sizzling past Great Falls High by a score of 57-44.

Leading 11-9 early in the second quarter, the Lady Blue Devils took control. Williston-Elko went with its inside game and Richberg delivered with eight points in the paint as the team outscored Great Falls 15-3 for a 25-12 halftime lead.

"The girls played with an amazing amount of confidence in this game," Strong said. "We came out a little slow at the start, but as the game progressed we were able to get the ball inside and score some easy baskets."

In the third quarter, the Lady Blue Devils kept the heat on behind the shooting of Charnica Williams. Williams pumped in 10 of her game high 19 points in the period as the Lady Blue Devils widened their lead to 44-19.

Down 46-22 in the final quarter, Great Falls High turned in its best offensive showing, outscoring Williston-Elko 25-13 to end the game.

"We jumped out to the big lead in the third quarter and got a little complacent and sloppy on the court. Others than that, we played a terrific game," said Strong.

Others scoring for the Lady Blue Devils included Richberg with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Coleman had nine points and 10 rebounds while Raven Young and LeKendra James each added four points and four rebounds.