District 3 Tournament @ Mayville State University

[BasketballMind]

Game 1 - #1 Central Valley vs. #8 Griggs County Central

Central Valley: 59 (Kennedy Henningsgard - 27 points, five rebounds)
Griggs County: 30 (Presley Paintner - eight points, eight rebounds)

Not too much resistance in this one. Kennedy H knocked down a three at the first quarter buzzer to take the lead up to 17-10. Valiants cruised from then on. Taylor Henningsgard was barely shy of a triple-double. 11points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.

[BasketballMind]

Game 2 - #4 Larimore vs. #5 Dakota Prairie

Larimore: 60 (Katie Berge - 19 points, four steals, four assists)
Dakota Prairie: 57 (Brandy Messner - 24 points, 14 rebounds)

This was the ultimate game of runs. DP up one point after the first period, they went in ahead 28-21 at half. Larimore outscored the Knights 24-12 in the third quarter to get back into the game. Dakota Prairie started the fourth on a run, only to be answered by the Polar Bears. Tied up 57-57, Rylee Bernardy hit a shot from the wing with 29 seconds left to give LHS the lead. DP calls timeout and ends up turning it over. Katie Berge hits one of two free throws for a 60-57 lead. Shelby Gillet tried a desperation three before the buzzer, but it didn't go.

[BasketballMind]

**Schedule Change**

District 3 tournament games will start at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, NOT at 3:00 p.m. They moved the start time up as a precaution for any winter weather we may be dealing with tomorrow. Games start at 1:00 tomorrow, NOT 3:00.

[BasketballMind]

Game 3 - #2 Thompson vs. #7 Hillsboro

Thompson: 74 (Bethany Ivesdal - 22 points)
Hillsboro: 30 (Tori Rude - 11 points)

Not much of a contest at any point. Thompson put on a press not too long after the tip that Hillsboro wasn't able to handle. Ivesdal, Demoe, and Weber all played very well for Thompson. Strong effort from the whole team.

[BasketballMind]

Game 4 - #3 Hatton-Northwood vs. #6 May-Port CG

Hatton-Northwood: 47 (Steph Iverson - 13 points, six rebounds)
May-Port CG: 32 (Kari Ust - 15 points, five rebounds)

Don't let the score fool you, MPCG was in this game until later in the fourth quarter. Tied after the first quarter and at halftime, the Patriots showed the progress they have made throughout the year. Kari Ust had a big first half, scoring 13 of her 15 points. MPCG played well defensively and held Hattons offense in check. The Thunder were atrocious at the free throw line going 8-for-23 as a team. The Patriots just didn't have any offense in the second half to keep the game within reach at the end. They played a great half of basketball, just didn't finish what they started.

[BasketballMind]

Game 5 - #8 Griggs County Central vs. #5 Dakota Prairie (Loser out game)

Dakota Prairie: 68 (Brandy Messner - 26 points, 14 rebounds)
Griggs County Central: 26 (Presley Paintner - 8 points, 5 rebounds)

This was never close. DP came out firing on all cylinders and didn't let up once they built a lead. The halftime score was 32-4. Knights played well in a game they had to win to have a chance to get to regionals on Monday. Brandy Messner tied GCC's whole team with 26 points. Dominant effort.

[BasketballMind]

Game 6 - #7 Hillsboro vs. #6 May-Port CG (Loser out game)

Hillsboro: 46 (Rachel Murphy - 15 points, 9 rebounds)
May-Port CG: 47 (Sarah Lorenz - 13 points, six steals, five rebounds)

This came down to the final seconds of the game. Hillsboro took an early lead and were up 16-6 after the first quarter. MPCG made a big second half run to take a 28-26 halftime lead. Hillsboro came out firing in the third and looked like they were going to steal it back from the Patriots. Down 42-40 with 2:30 to play, Kari Ust hit a three-point shot to give MPCG the lead 43-42. After two missed free throws by MPCG, Hillsboro made free throws to regain the lead. A few turnovers later MPCG got the ball back and Megan Walden made a shot off an out of bounds play to give the Patriots the lead 45-44. The Burros came right back down and get two points by Rachel Murphy giving them the lead back 46-45 with 30 seconds left. Kari Ust came down on the ensuing possession to score on a baseline pull-up, giving MPCG the lead 47-46. A turnover on the next Hillsboro possession ended the game and kept the Patriots alive. Great game to watch.

[BasketballMind]

Game 7 - #1 Central Valley vs. #4 Larimore (Semifinal)

Central Valley: 54 (Taylor Henningsgard - 23 points, 8 rebounds)
Larimore: 39 (Katie Berge - 10 points)

Central Valley actually trailed at the half in this game. A rainbow bank-in three by Katie Berge as the buzzer went off sent Larimore to the locker room ahead 24-21. The Valiants played very well defensively in this game, just wasn't their night shooting the ball. For the game they shot 38% going 19-for-50 from the floor. Ugly at times for them but they did the important thing and won the game.

[Flip]

Game 6 - #7 Hillsboro vs. #6 May-Port CG (Loser out game)

Hillsboro: 46 (Rachel Murphy - 15 points, 9 rebounds)
May-Port CG: 47 (Sarah Lorenz - 13 points, six steals, five rebounds)

This came down to the final seconds of the game. Hillsboro took an early lead and were up 16-6 after the first quarter. MPCG made a big second half run to take a 28-26 halftime lead. Hillsboro came out firing in the third and looked like they were going to steal it back from the Patriots. Down 42-40 with 2:30 to play, Kari Ust hit a three-point shot to give MPCG the lead 43-42. After two missed free throws by MPCG, Hillsboro made free throws to regain the lead. A few turnovers later MPCG got the ball back and Megan Walden made a shot off an out of bounds play to give the Patriots the lead 45-44. The Burros came right back down and get two points by Rachel Murphy giving them the lead back 46-45 with 30 seconds left. Kari Ust came down on the ensuing possession to score on a baseline pull-up, giving MPCG the lead 47-46. A turnover on the next Hillsboro possession ended the game and kept the Patriots alive. Great game to watch.

Thought it was 16-9. Lorenz hit a 3 at the end of the first quarter in front of the Hillsboro bench. How many did Pastian have? I figured she would have been the leading scorer. She had a lot of layups after MPCG TOs.

[BasketballMind]

Game 8 #2 Thompson vs. #3 Hatton-Northwood

Thompson: 67 (Bethany Ivesdal - 18 points, five rebounds)
Hatton-Northwood: 58 (Abby Sletten - 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists)

Thompson was comfortably ahead most of the game, couldn't put the Thunder away. Every time it seemed like they were on the verge of breaking it open, Hatton would make a little run to keep it within about five points. Abby Sletten played very well in the game, doing what she could to handle the press. Thompson moves on to the championship for round three with Central Valley.

[BasketballMind]

Game 6 - #7 Hillsboro vs. #6 May-Port CG (Loser out game)

Hillsboro: 46 (Rachel Murphy - 15 points, 9 rebounds)
May-Port CG: 47 (Sarah Lorenz - 13 points, six steals, five rebounds)

This came down to the final seconds of the game. Hillsboro took an early lead and were up 16-6 after the first quarter. MPCG made a big second half run to take a 28-26 halftime lead. Hillsboro came out firing in the third and looked like they were going to steal it back from the Patriots. Down 42-40 with 2:30 to play, Kari Ust hit a three-point shot to give MPCG the lead 43-42. After two missed free throws by MPCG, Hillsboro made free throws to regain the lead. A few turnovers later MPCG got the ball back and Megan Walden made a shot off an out of bounds play to give the Patriots the lead 45-44. The Burros came right back down and get two points by Rachel Murphy giving them the lead back 46-45 with 30 seconds left. Kari Ust came down on the ensuing possession to score on a baseline pull-up, giving MPCG the lead 47-46. A turnover on the next Hillsboro possession ended the game and kept the Patriots alive. Great game to watch.

Thought it was 16-9. Lorenz hit a 3 at the end of the first quarter in front of the Hillsboro bench. How many did Pastian have? I figured she would have been the leading scorer. She had a lot of layups after MPCG TOs.

Yep you were right it was 16-9 at the end of one. That three point shot was huge for the Patriots in the second quarter to have a a little momentum. Pastian also finished with 15 points in the game. Those two freshmen played very well.

[BasketballMind]

Game 9 - #3 Hatton/Northwood vs. #5 Dakota Prairie (Region Qualifier - Loser Out)

Dakota Prairie: 58 (Brandy Messner 22 points, 18 rebounds, six assists)
Hatton/Northwood: 67 (Steph Iverson 22 points, 8 rebounds)
F/OT

This was a very back and forth game. Dakota Prairie had the lead at halftime after a stellar start from their senior leader, Brandy Messner. Messner finished the game with an outrageous stat line (22 pts, 18 reb, 6 ast) in what would be her final high school game. Messner fouled out with 2 minutes left on, let's just say, touchy call to foul out a senior. Aside from it being one of the favorites for senior POY. Not a good way to end her career on that call.

Hatton/Northwood had a two point lead, a double bonus free throw situation, and their senior leader Abby Sletter at the line with three seconds left. Didn't look good for the Knights at the time. Sletten missed both free throws and Shelby Gillett was fouled during the rebound process. Gillett went to the line, knocked down both free throws and sent the game to overtime. In overtime the Knights didn't have enough firepower as Messner and Sam Bye had already fouled out. The Knights were outscored 7-1 in overtime. Great game to watch and good gut check by Dakota Prairie, who played without the best player in the district for the last seven minutes of the game.

[BasketballMind]

Game 10 - #6 May-Port CG vs. #4 Larimore (Region Qualifier - Loser Out)

May-Port CG: 44 (Kari Ust - 16 points)
Larimore: 38 (Katie Berge - 14 points)

I don't think too many people around District 3 would've predicted that May-Port CG would make a return to the regional tournament. Maybe not even going into the game today, would many have picked them to win. They found a way to get it done today. Their defense was on point, offense did just enough, and "first year" coach of the Patriots, Wayne Trudeau, got a program he has coached before back to the Region 2 tournament. The reason I say "first year' is because it's Wayne's first year back with the Patriots since the late 90's. This is a group he inherited that I don't think has won 10 games in the past four years and hasn't won a district tournament game since 2008 at best. It was a heck of a job coaching by him and Kelli Smart.

The game itself was close all the way throughout, no lead being more then six points the whole game. The Patriots made the free throws they needed to down the stretch to win. Kari Ust was big for MPCG in this game. The senior scored over 1/3 of the teams points and made big plays in the fourth quarter for the win. The Patriots had to hang their hats on defense in this game. They held Larimore to shooting 25% from the floor for the game. It worked out for them nicely since they only shot 32% themselves. Close, ugly game, but at the end of the day, the Patriots are back in the Region 2 tournament.