Titans close-out Killdeer in regular-season, home finale
Feb. 13—DICKINSON — Trinity ended their regular season on a high note with a big, 52-39 home-win in the final game of 2023-24, and head into the Region 4 playoffs with the wind at their backs. The Titans' suffocating defense proved to be the difference-maker in the game, while two players ended up in double-figures to pace the team throughout the game.
THS reeled off a 22-point opening quarter while holding the Cowboys to only 8, as senior guard Ava Jahner dropped in a trio of treys and classmate Morgan Koffler also connected from behind the arc. Junior forward Nevaeh Tormaschy scored 4 of her game-high 16 points in the opening eight minutes and added 10 more in the second quarter on her way to 14 first-half points to put the Titans out in front, 37-24, at the halftime break.
"I thought the theme of the night was: Making the easy play; we took care of the ball and we just played selflessly," Trinity head coach Jared Scheeler said. "Ava was on fire today from the outside and that was fun to watch."
Trinity took advantage of a 9-2 run late in the second quarter, but senior center Marnie Schmidt closed out the half with a 3-point play for Killdeer.
Killdeer's sophomore standout Mickellyn Walker was on-fire in the first half, scoring 10 to keep the game within reach, and Schmidt scored all 7 of her points in the opening 16 minutes.
In all, Trinity held the Cowboys to single-digits in three-of-four quarters during the game, and the second half didn't fare much better for the visitors as they scored 9 and 6 in the third and final frames, respectively. Meanwhile, senior guard Delaney Deschamp drained a 3-pointer of her own on her way to 7 points on the night as the home-side took a 45-33 advantage into the last eight minutes of the contest. While the Titans themselves didn't get into double-digits for the final two periods, either — in what turned into a defensive struggle for both squads — Jahner notched another treble in the fourth quarter on her way to a double-figure 14.
Trinity posted a 7-3 run to open the final quarter on the way to the win, but Walker converted a 3-point play of her own and Killdeer closed out the scoring with the final 6 points of the night.
Walker wound up with a team-high 15 for the Cowboys, who closed out their regular season at 8-12 overall, but no other player managed to cross the 10-point barrier.
"Our issue has never been 'effort' on our team, it's just the offensive execution," Cowboys head coach Dani Hasek said. "We kind of came in with a different defensive scheme tonight, and I thought with the couple first possessions we locked back into it."
She added, "We build a lot off of our defense, and we're trying to get some steals and get some transitional points, but I'm very proud of them ... and Trinity played very well."
Trinity held a distinct advantage in points-off-turnovers at 21-4 and a 26-18 lead in points-in-the-paint, while the Titans ran away with second-chance points at 14-4 and held a slight lead in rebounding, 36-32. The most notable rebounding stat, however, was the 23-5 lead THS turned in on the offensive glass, which created numerous second-chance points for the home-team.
Individually, Tormaschy led the way with a game-high 10 rebounds and Killdeer's Brooke Pojorlie followed closely behind with 9, while Trinity's Elly McAvoy snared a game-high 6 steals and Jahner followed her up with 3. Deschamp led the way in assists with 3, which was tops for both teams. Titan senior forward McKenna Ernst also was crafty on the boards with 5 while Killdeer's Walker pulled down 6 of her own.
The Region 4 Tournament awaits, and will be played from Monday, Feb. 19 to Feb. 22 at Beulah High School, starting at 3 p.m. MST next Monday.
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
.
