Cline's buzzer beater sends Drummond to divisional semifinal

BUTTE – It was as classic as it gets.

29-29 with just 4.0 seconds to play.

Drummond and Manhattan Christian were deadlocked after more 31 minutes of play in the opening round of the 2025 MHSA Class C Girls Western Division Tournament.

The Lady Trojans had the ball at midcourt, thanks to a great defensive play by junior Kimber Parsons to lose it from Lady Eagle guard Sam Veltcamp. A skirmish on the floor and a quick timeout by DHS Head Coach Levi Parsons gave the girls in blue and white one last shot.

“That’s a play we have worked on all year and we were finally able to put it to use,” said Levi Parsons after the win, “and they ran it perfectly.”

Kimber Parsons inbounded the ball to CyLeigh Langton, who quickly handed it to Parsons and she streaked by. As she neared the basket, she drew the defense and found teammate Charlee Cline all alone under the basket. A quick bounce pass followed by Cline layup and the celebration was on.

When the game got underway, it was clear that the Lady Eagles had two main objectives on their agenda: Stop Parsons and Cline.

That strategy worked in large part and forced other players to step and score a combined 12 points while playing stellar defense. Senior CyLeigh Langton and eighth grader Jacklyn Wetsch were tabbed with the task of stopping MCS freshman center Emily Straatman, who at 6-2 had at four-inch advantage over the tallest Lady Trojan. Langton and Wetsch, along with teammates who dropped into double coverage down low, held Straatman to 10 points on the night.

“We started out just a little flat,” explained Coach Parsons, “but were able to rebound and get our defense playing. They did everything they could to keep Kimber and Charlee from scoring, but we got a couple baskets from some other girls.”

Drummond now moves on to play West Yellowstone Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Lady Wolverines defeated Seeley Swan 37-24 in their opening round game.

The game should begin and end during the 7 p.m. program block for the Western Division games and can be found under Butte High School.

SCORING

Manhattan Christian – 8/8/8/5 – 29

Drummond – 8/9/7/9 – 31

Manhattan Christian – Veltcamp 2, Dawe 2, Skillman 7, Triemestra 4, Johnson 4, Straatman 10

Drummond – KParsons 11, James 2, Sawfer 5, Cline 8, JWetsch 2, Langton 3