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CITY (NewsDakota.com)–The first day of the Barnes County Girls Basketball Tournament is in the books.
Valley City 61, Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 26
The Hi-Liners opened strong in defense of their title, led by their post player, Allyson Suhr. Suhr dumped in 26 points and did not score in the fourth quarter. Valley City led 24-6 after a quarter and 31-12 at the break.
Jenna Jacob added 10 for the Hi-Liners, who saw 11 players score.
Brenna Rodin led the Rebels, who played with energy in the fourth quarter. She drained three three-point shots in an 11-point day.
Barnes County North 51, Griggs County Central 39
The early rounds were the rounds the Bison won, and it was enough.
Intense full-court pressure and transition baskets led the Bison to spring out to a 21-6 lead at the end of a quarter. Barnes County North then held on as the Cougars outscored them 33-30 the rest of the way.
Lauren McMillan led the Bison with 10 points, but Cougar Presley Paintner had the big game, pouring in 22 of the Cougars 39 points in the loss.
Northern Cass 60, Finley-Sharon/Hope-Page 29
The Jaguars used their defese to take control early and never let it go. Their pressure prevented the Spartans from ever reaching an offensive flow, and turnovers hurt FS-HP the whole game.
Extra opportunites allowed three Jaguars to hit double figures. Carley Ward led the Jaguars with 17, Whitney Ward and Lexi Zieske each knocked down 12 in the win. Nine Jaguars found the scoreboard.
Madison Koenig led the Spartans with 10 points.
Maple Valley 52, Enderlin 33
The Raiders played tight with Enderlin in the first half, but made a third-quarter move, outscoring the Eagles 16-4 in the frame.
Leading by just two at halftime, the big third quarter saw Rylee Nudell score seven of her co-game high 18 points. Cassie Pautz nailed four threes in the game, also scoring 18.
The Eagles were troubled by turnovers, many of them transition game errors. Hayleigh Lautt led Enderlin with 10 points.
The second round is Friday. Litchville-Marion-Montpelier meets Griggs County Central at 3:00 p.m., followed by Finley-Sharon/Hope-Page and Enderlin at 4:30 p.m. In the semifinals, Valley City faces Barnes County North at 6:00 p.m., and Northern Cass meets Maple Valley at 7:30 p.m. All four games will be heard on Q101 KQDJ-FM.