Jefferson High’s basketball teams went into last weekend’s District 5B tournament at Manhattan Christian with two very different stories. The girls probably would make it out of the weekend to qualify for Divisionals — but they hadn’t been able to beat top-seeded Ennis. And the boys were a strong squad, but were fighting with at least four other tough teams for the next level.
In the end, both stories had happy endings: The Lady Panthers topped Ennis in a thrilling overtime final to win the conference crown. And the boys showed that they weren’t ready to go home just yet, squeezing out two back-against-the-wall wins on Saturday to take third place.
Now, the Jefferson girls will start the South Division tournament in Billings as the number-two seed, taking on Sweet Grass County, while the boys will begin their tournament in Wednesday’s play-in game against St. Labre.
