Three area teams heading into Division B-Region 3 Tournament semifinals

Feb. 20—KILLDEER — While it was an exceptional night for the Bowman County Bulldogs — who won going-away, 63-22, over New Salem-Almont — it also was a good night for Division B-District 5 at the Region 3 Girls Prep Basketball Tournament on Monday, Feb. 19 as Hettinger-Scranton won over Washburn, 46-38, and Grant County/Mott-Regent gouged Garrison, 53-40. The only outstanding non-District 5 team was Central McLean, who bounced Belfield from the postseason with a resounding 66-36 win.

Tuesday-night's games in the semifinals will feature Bowman County and Hettinger-Scranton at 5 p.m. MST with the GC/M-R vs. Central McLean game to follow in the nightcap. All Region 3 Tournament games are played between District 5 and District 6.

Bowman County herded New Salem-Almont into single-digits in every quarter of the game, more-than tripling-up the Holsteins in the first quarter, 16-5, and extending that lead to 27-11 at the half. Junior guard Sophia Headley stormed to 8 points in the opening 16 minutes and classmate Raegen Honeyman notched 9, while the other member of "The Big 3," Jaci Fischer, connected from behind the arc for a 3-pointer to pace the Bulldogs through the first half.

"I told them: You put the pedal to the metal and you do not let up on that gas; take it to them for four quarters of basketball and continue to prove who we are as a team and what we're capable of," BCHS head coach Jaci Mrnak said. "I was really proud of the effort from everybody on the court tonight."

It was much-the-same the rest of the way, as New Salem-Almont managed only a single field goal in the third and closed out with 9 in the fourth as senior forward Kendra Tomac was the only player even close to double-digits on a team-high 6 points.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, BCHS built a bigger lead with a 20-point third quarter and poured in 16 more in the final eight minutes on their way to the win, as Honeyman dropped a pair of 3s into the iron and Headley connected from outside the arc to finish off her game-high 21 points — with 13 in the second half — and Fischer did likewise with a trey of her own on her way to 7 on the night.

In the Region 3 "battle of the birds," Hettinger-Scranton was scrappy throughout the evening in Game 2 of the quadruple-header, caging the Cardinals for only 3 points in the first quarter and 10 in the second, while soaring to a 20-13 lead at the half. HSHS benefited from a 8-2 run to close out the half — as junior guard Monica Morris scored the final 5 points and converted a 3-point play on her way to 9 points in the opening 16 minutes — and Laela Jensen connected on 4 of her game-high 15 points.

"This has been a team that's fought all year long and we had a rough start — we played a few good teams and won 10 of our last 12 — and we really battled this last part of the season and you saw it out there tonight," Nighthawks head coach Eric Kelner said.

Hettinger-Scranton found their way to 13 more in the third quarter — with Jensen dropping in a trey along the way and converting 8-of-12 from the free-throw line down the stretch in the second half — while Morris found the net from behind the arc on her way to a double-digit total of 12. In all, the Nighthawks converted 15-of-24 from the charity-stripe to keep the Cardinals (18-5) grounded throughout the night. Senior forward Vanessa Oase was 4-of-7 from the line on her way to 6 points in the game, but no other HSHS athlete ended up in double-figures.

No Cardinal athlete ended up with double-digits in the game — displaying the 'Hawks' defensive dominance in the contest — but senior guard Ashlynn Schmitz came in with a team-high 9.

The only blemish for District 5 on the evening came as Belfield (11-9) was cooped-up all-game by a dominating, pressure-defense by Central McLean, who held the Bantams to 18 first-half points while winging their way to an almost-20-point lead at the half, 37-18.

Bantams freshman phenom Hadley Talkington drained a trey in the first half on her way to a team-high 11 points and Cougars junior Reagan Kjelstrup responded with 10 of her 14 points.

"I tip my hat to my girls; I'm really proud of them for really stepping up this year and the turnover from summer to now, it's a different team," Belfield head coach Reggie Fields said. "The mentality and the effort and game IQ on the court and off the court; I can't be more proud of this group ... I just wish we had another game."

Central McLean (22-1) broke loose for 21 points in the third quarter and 8 more to close out the final frame, while BHS scored 18 second-half points. Talkington added another 3-pointer and senior guard Sage Froelich dropped in one more, but Belfield only managed a smattering set of field goals the rest of the way with senior forward Dalys Olson scoring 6 on the night.

The Cougars had three athletes in double-digits, with sophomore standout Sally Heger scoring 11 and freshman Zella Anderson scoring a game-high 15 along with Kjelstrup's total.

In perhaps the most knock-down/drag-out matchup of the evening, GC/M-R's rowdy crowd willed their squad to a solid win, with both teams trading body-blows throughout the first half. The game went back-and-forth during the opening 16 minutes of play, which featured five ties and six lead-changes.

The Troopers dug out a gritty 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and GC/M-R fought back to a single-point advantage of their own, sending the teams into the halftime break with Garrison (15-8) behind, 23-22.

Junior forward Samatha Greff connected from behind the 3-point line twice in the first half and sophomore forward Summer Meyer scored 6 of her double-digit 12 points, while Garrison senior forward Emily Schlehr returned fire to the tune of 12 of her game-high 19 points.

"We came into this game knowing you've got the nerves, the jitters — and all of these games are important — but getting past this first one is a huge step," GC/M-R head coach Sara Seidler said. "We knew it wasn't going to be flawless, but the girls really dug in there and they adjusted and worked through it, and that's what we ask of them all the time."

But the worm turned in the second half as GC/M-R shelled Garrison for 20 points in the third quarter and 12 more in the final frame, while backing the Troopers into their trenches for single-digits in the final two periods at 9 and 9, respectively.

GC/M-R used a significant 11-4 run to open the second half, and benefited from an 11-3 run to outpace the Troopers at the start of the fourth, while walling-up Garrison with an airtight defense during the closing stages.

Senior guard Jazlyn Ottmar dropped in 6 points in the third quarter and Greff poured in another couple of treys in the second half on her way to a team-high 18 points, with GC/M-R converting 6-of-12 from the free-throw line in the last two frames.

No other Trooper found double-figures, but sophomore Cara Schlehr came close with 8.

For more information about prep basketball in North Dakota, please keep reading your Dickinson Press and/or visit the websites at

https://ndhsaanow.com/teams/basketball-boys

and

https://ndhsaanow.com/teams/basketball-girls

.