Helena Christian Girls Win Back-to-Back MCAA Titles, Beat Great Falls Homeschool 49-45

Helena Christian School’s girls basketball team defeated Great Falls Homeschool 49-45 to win the Montana Christian Athletic Association girls state championship, with Helena Christian’s Instagram posting "STATE CHAMPS!!! Helena Christian pulls away late from Great Falls Homeschool to go back to back as State Champs!!! #MCAATourney #2026." The game was identified as being played at St. Patrick’s Academy in Great Falls in an Original Report that also tied the win to a repeat championship for the Lady Rams.

MontanaSports, datelined EAST HELENA, carried postgame reaction from head coach Bethany Brownlee and players. Brownlee said, “It’s really rewarding. And I think what’s even more rewarding is we’ve talked all season about not being attached to the outcome and really focusing on the process of the team that we wanted to become. And so, I think even more important than the championship is the bonds that these girls have forged between each other and just the love that they have for each other.” Senior short corner Eliza Dobyns said, “My teammates are my best friends. And so, I think it was just really fun to have one last season playing sports with them. We’re all just really close friends, and I love making memories with them.” Point guard Kalyn Canney recalled the team chant: “It was so exciting because I know we’ve worked so hard for this moment. And after practice we would always chant the title of the state championship, what day it was. So, we’d chant ‘two, twenty-two, twenty-five.’ So, we knew it was the outcome, but we knew we had to give the outcome to God, so that we could enjoy the process. And as soon as that buzzer went off, I just knew that we had overcome. And it was so exciting.”

Sports Yahoo placed the tournament in Great Falls and supplied context for other finishers: Helena Christian beat Stillwater Christian 49-39 in the semifinals; Stillwater then beat Yellowstone Christian 45-38, edged Foothills Community Christian 49-47 to reach the third-place game, and beat Flathead Valley Crusaders 38-33 to take third. Sports Yahoo credited Jasper Bailey with 12 points and named Bailey and Katherine Paolini all-tournament, while Paolini was credited with nine points, 18 rebounds (12 offensive) and three steals; Katelyn Mangold received a Christian Character mention.

Sources disagree on historical and scheduling details. Helena Christian’s official site lists the MCAA Basketball Tournament in Great Falls as February 20–22 and confirms the Lady Rams won 1st place while the boys "played hard, but did not place this year." MontanaSports headlined the story as Helena Christian’s first state title since 2010, while the school’s Instagram and an Original Report described the win as a back-to-back title; Sports Yahoo’s dateline and wording indicate the tournament “concluded Saturday,” creating a separate discrepancy with one report’s Feb. 27 game date. Helena Christian’s school office is listed at 3384 Canyon Ferry Rd., East Helena, MT 59635, phone (406) 442-3821, email office@hcsrams.org.

The Lady Rams returned to Lewis and Clark County with a trophy and a coach emphasizing relationships over results, a theme Brownlee underlined as she celebrated both the title and “the bonds that these girls have forged between each other.”