More volatility in Class B of 406mtsports.com girls basketball rankings

BILLINGS — Other than the top two spots, the Class B 406mtsports.com girls basketball rankings continue to be a jumble.

Last week, Class B’s Nos. 3-8 and No. 10 all changed. This week, all of those spots and No. 9 are different thanks to continued parity out west.

Missoula Loyola fell from No. 3 to No. 4 because it lost to unranked Bigfork 54-37 on Saturday. The other team that’s beaten Loyola this season is Anaconda, which fell to Thompson Falls 68-52 at home Saturday. Thompson Falls jumped from unranked to No. 6, while Anaconda fell four spots to No. 9.

Thompson Falls will host Loyola on Friday and play a day later at Eureka, which moved up from No. 8 to No. 5.

Big Timber and Colstrip have been Class B’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively, all season. Big Timber showed no signs of faltering last week, when it beat then-No. 10 Columbus by a combined 50 points in two games and handled then-No. 4 (now-No. 8) Whitehall 68-52.

Like Big Timber, Billings Central backed up its season-long No. 1 ranking in Class A with big wins last week — 54-50 over No. 2 Hardin on Friday and 48-43 at No. 3 Havre the next day.

Butte Central replaced Hamilton at No. 5 in Class A after beating the Broncs 38-31 on Saturday.

Missoula Hellgate also stayed at No. 1 in Class AA thanks to crosstown wins over Missoula Big Sky and Missoula Sentinel last week.

Helena fell from No. 4 to unranked in Class AA because of a 60-54 loss at unranked Kalispell Glacier on Thursday. Bozeman moved up one spot to No. 4, and Billings Skyview entered the rankings at No. 5.

The Class C rankings didn’t change this week but have a good chance to shift next week. No. 1 Fort Benton will host No. 9 Turner on Friday, and No. 2 Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale will play at No. 10 Scobey on Saturday.

Class AA

1. Missoula Hellgate (7-0)

2. Helena Capital (5-1)

3. Billings West (7-0)

4. Bozeman (6-1) (+1)

5. Billings Skyview (5-2) (Previously unranked)

Class A

1. Billings Central (10-0)

2. Hardin (7-1)

3. Havre (8-2)

4. Columbia Falls (8-0)

5. Butte Central (6-1) (Previously unranked)

Class B

1. Big Timber (10-0)

2. Colstrip (8-0)

3. Malta (5-1) (+3)

4. Missoula Loyola (9-2) (-1)

5. Eureka (8-3) (+3)

6. Thompson Falls (8-2) (Previously unranked)

7. Roundup (9-1) (+2)

8. Whitehall (6-3) (-4)

9. Anaconda (5-2) (-4)

10. Fairfield (7-3) (-3)

Class C

1. Fort Benton (10-0)

2. Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale (10-0)

3. Melstone (10-1)

4. Seeley-Swan (9-0)

5. Charlo (8-0)

6. Manhattan Christian (11-0)

7. Belt (8-1)

8. Roy-Winifred (10-2)

9. Turner (6-1)

10. Scobey (10-1)