by ClassBEast » Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:43 pm
Kindred tops Central Cass in battle of undefeated girls basketball teams
CASSELTON, N.D.
By: Heath Hotzler, INFORUM
CASSELTON, N.D. – The Kindred girls basketball team is all about defense.
The Vikings pester opponents with a full-court press, and teams consistently have a tough time getting open looks at the basket.
However, Saturday’s defensive effort was something different. This was pure, dominant perfection in the biggest game of the season.
Casey Allmaras scored 15 points and No. 6 Kindred limited No. 1 Central Cass to 27 percent shooting from the field en route to a 42-31 North Dakota Class B, District 2 victory in a battle of undefeated teams at Central Cass High School gymnasium.
“It was a really big game, personally,” Allmaras said. “We always want to beat Casselton. They have always a rival of ours. One of us had to keep our undefeated record, and I’m just really glad it ended up being us.”
Kindred (14-0) was on top of its game from the start on the defensive end of the court, holding the Squirrels to two field goals in the first quarter.
The Vikings held a 10-4 lead after the opening eight minutes.
Offensive balance was the spark for Kindred, which had seven players score in the first half.
Central Cass (12-1) remained in the game despite shooting woes throughout.
Kindred led 22-15 at halftime.
“They are a good team, and a good defensive team,” Squirrels coach Ryan Mears said. “I told the girls that we probably won’t shoot that bad again. We will be able to rebound from that. It was a night when things didn’t fall for us.”
The Vikings extended the lead in the third quarter when junior Kellie Schmit got hot in the paint. Schmit scored six of her eight points in the third to help Kindred to a 32-24 lead with a quarter to play.
But the game wasn’t decided until late in the fourth.
Central Cass capitalized on a couple Kindred miscues to cut the lead to 34-29 with three minutes remaining.
Allmaras poured in seven points in the fourth, including a timely 3-pointer when the Squirrels appeared on the brink of a comeback.
Braidy Dahl finished with eight points and 11 rebounds for Kindred.
Bethany Voss had eight points for Central Cass, which was also hampered by foul trouble much of the game.
“Everyone’s mental capabilities change,” Allmaras said. “Everyone’s mindset is that we need to be intense all the time for games like this and not slack off. This is definitely the best game we’ve had all year. We stepped it up hardcore on the defensive end.”
Kindred 10 22 32 42
Central Cass 4 15 24 31
KINDRED: Allmaras 3 6-6 15, Graff 2 0-2 4, Schmit 4 0-4 8, Glasow 1 0-0 2, Dahl 3 2-2 8, Otterson 0 1-2 1, Bugner 0 2-6 2, Podolak 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 11-22 42.
CENTRAL CASS: Weber 0 1-2 1, Voss 3 1-1 8, Titus 1 0-0 2, Breske 2 1-2 5, Dixon 3 0-0 6, Tronson 1 1-4 3, Radermacher 1 0-0 2, Wieland 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 8-15 31.
3-pointers: Allmaras 3, Voss. Total fouls: K 15, CC 19. Fouled out: Weber. Rebounds: K 30 (Dahl 11), CC 22 (Weber, Tronson 6).