Jamestown, ND (NewsDakota.com) – The second day of the District 5 Girls’ Basketball Tournament took place Saturday with three games and one team eliminated.  The action will wrap up on Monday with three final games: two region qualifying games, with the losing teams eliminated, and the District championship game.  Game times are scheduled for 4:30, 6, and 7:30 pm, with the championship game as the main event.  Each of those games will be live on Q101 KQDJ and streaming live on newsdakota.com.  The championship game will also be on KDDR 1220 am/95.9 fm The Tornado in Oakes.

(#6) Ellendale Cardinals 43 – (#7) Barnes County North Bison 30

The first game of the day resulted in the first elimination of the tournament, and that unfortunate circumstance fell on the BCN Bison, as they fell to the Cardinals by 13.  The Cardinals jumped out to a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the teams played virtually even for the rest of the game, as the Cardinals’ lead slowly grew.

The Cardinals were fairly balanced, as senior Abby Molan led the team with 10 points, while freshmen Kali Norton and Mackenzie Thorpe each had nine and senior Abby Peterson added seven.  Molan and Thorpe each had nine rebounds and two steals as well.

The Bison had an opposite experience, as senior Ashley McFadgen had a grand finale in her final high school game.  McFadgen had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and eight steals, all of which led all players.  No other Bison player had more than three points or seven rebounds, and the only other Bison to make a field goal was senior Melissa Dobitz, who finished with three points.

While the Bison were eliminated, the Cardinals will get a shot at qualifying for the Region Tournament when they take on the Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier Rebels in the second game of action Monday evening.  The loser of that game will be eliminated from postseason play.

(#1) Carrington Cardinals 37 – (#4) Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier Rebels 25

The top-seeded Cardinals won their first game of tournament action (after getting a first-round bye) by jumping out to an early lead and sustaining throughout the game to hold off the Rebels by 12.  Junior Sydnie Grager dominated and carried the Cardinals by scoring the first seven points of the game on her way to 16 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocked shots, all game highs.  Senior Hannah Hagel helped with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Rebels, while at a disadvantage on paper, came out and played hard all the way to the end, giving the Cardinals a scare in the semi-final matchup.  Sophomore Reagan Teske scored all four of the Rebels’ points in the first quarter, and, while that was the total she finished with, she was an active defender and creator for her team as they struggled mightily on offense.

The Rebels only shot 9/47 from the field, or just over 19%.  The Cardinals were better, but not by much, as they finished at 28% (14/50).  After the fast start, Grager only scored three combined points in the second and third quarters before helping to seal the win with six points in the fourth.

Freshman Mataeya Mathern had the best game for the Rebels by far, leading her team with eight points, nine rebounds, and seven steals.  Mathern did struggle shooting, however, finishing 3/14 from the field.  Junior Emily Kinzler added four points and six rebounds.

The Cardinals advance to the Region Tournament and have a shot at winning the District championship on Monday when they take on the Oakes Tornadoes in the night cap.  The Rebels will take on the Ellendale Cardinals in a Region qualifying game Monday, the second game of the evening.

(#2) Oakes Tornadoes 66 – (#3) LaMoure-Litchville/Marion Loboes 39

The Loboes came out with pomp and circumstance in the last game of the night, as two parents held a banner for the team to run through onto the court, but that spotlight shrank quickly as the Tornadoes had a 10-point halftime lead and extended from there, running away with the 27-point win.

The Loboes employed a zone defense with an assigned focus to senior Sadie Hansen of the Tornadoes, and, possibly at times, sophomore Emma Muggli in the post.  (Quick disclaimer: it looked like the Loboes played either a triangle-and-2 defense or a box-and-1 where one or two defenders key on an offense player while the other three or four play a zone.  This appeared to be what the Loboes were running, but I cannot be sure.)

The strategy worked early, as far as stopping Hansen was concerned, as her only first-quarter points came on a three-pointer from about 30 feet away from the basket as the first quarter expired.  That shot seemed to wake Hansen up, as she had nine first-half points on her way to a game-high 20.  Hansen also finished with 18 rebounds, which led all players by nine.

The rest of the Tornadoes pitched in as well, both in the first quarter, when Hansen was slowed down, and throughout the rest of the game.  Sophomores Emma Muggli (16 points and nine rebounds) and Laikyn Roney (14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists) led the secondary attack, and junior Abby Cox added 12 points and seven rebounds while fighting foul trouble in the first half.

Junior Molly Musland led the Loboes with 14 points, but she greatly struggled while facing the one-on-one defense of Roney, along with plenty of help defense.  Musland finished 5/21 from the field.  Freshman Tessa Rasmusson added 12 points and four steals while showing a fearless trigger, as evidenced by shooting well from three-point land on a high volume, with three makes in nine tries.

The Tornadoes qualify for the Region Tournament and move on to the District Championship game on Monday night in the finale.  The Loboes will face the Griggs-Midkota Titans at 4:30 pm Monday in the first game of the day.  That game is a Region qualifier, with the losing team being eliminated from postseason play.

 

-The results from the first day of the District 5 Tournament can be found here.