So the play went back to an earlier knock-forward by Montana. Washington then won the scrum and from there flyhalf Kiona took an angle and was over.

Now it was tied and the time was ticking away. With overtime looming Washington received the restart and kept the ball alive. Scrambling to defend, Montana was perhaps just a shade fatigued. Whatever the reason, Hill found some space, made a move, beat a tackle, and race in under the posts. Hill hit the conversion for good measure and that was it.

Kiona Hill with the heroics @RugbyWashington pic.twitter.com/q7t9WPi4lM

— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) June 23, 2024

For Montana this was a coming out party. They showcased a consistently strong group of players—maybe not super-deep but they had good players at every position and a game plan they clearly understood.

Meanwhile, Colorado lost both of their games on Friday and were left shaking their heads when they lost by a try to a surprise Arizona side.

But they came out on fire on Day Two, determined to play more to their potential—a potential that had many thinking they were a preseason favorite. The result was a convincing win over Oregon by the tune of 20-0. They took points early and treated that game for what it was, a lose-and-you're-done game. 

And then in the 3rd-4th match they controlled the narrative. Once again depth showed as there wasn't a lot of time because the first and the second game on Saturday, but the Colorado players were able to handle it. 

With Idahoan Olivie Frusby augmenting a lineup that included Hazel Prom, Kaliyah Schimpf, Jordyn Shannonhouse, and several other talented players, they ran out to an early lead and cruised to 3rd. Arizona took 4th and Oregon took 5th.

Notes: If you want to be glass-half-empty about it, you could point to the three girls teams that pulled out of the U19 bracket. But keep in mind that this sort of tournament has not been happening, really, at all, for a few years now. Five teams, all of which were good—Oregon was winless but trust us, they could play—assembling in Missoula, Montana to play against another state's best is a huge win for the girls game. 

They had coaching staffs and good game plans and talent. With Martha Daines and Sue Whitwell from the USA Rugby pathway programs assessing talent and scouting, and with college coaches there, too, this tournament had long-term implications. We didn't go into detail with Daines and Whitwell, but they did say they had seen players who had earned camp invitations. That's huge.

And there's more. More girls teams need to play 15-a-side rugby, and sometimes it's at this all-star level that the girls get to do that. This was certainly the case for Arizona, as they had played no 15s at all until Friday. They did superbly, beating Colorado on Friday. 

So the tournament was held held. Now we should see more states do something to compete in 2025.