×

Lions’ defense roars

Ryan takes down crosstown rival ORCS 53-35

Mark Jones/MDN Bishop Ryan’s Shayla Elm drives past the defense of Our Redeemer’s Tessa Olson during the first half of their Class B District 12 basketball contest Tuesday night at ORCS. Ryan won 53-35.

Defense wins games.

And the Bishop Ryan girls basketball team displayed some brilliant defense Tuesday night in a 53-35 road win over Our Redeemer’s Christian School in the Class B District 12 opener for both teams.

Ryan’s defense limited ORCS to five points in the opening period en route to building a 18-5 lead after the opening quarter. The Lions also limited ORCS to just five field goals in the opening half.

“I’m very proud of our defense,” Ryan coach Julie Stewart said. “Defense is a team thing… We had a lot of good alertness from the kids coming off the bench to get rebounds.”

ORCS senior Morgan Olson was limited to six points in the game, including just one field goal after halftime.

“We just played solid man-to-man defense,” Stewart said of the job her team did on Olson. “Again, it was a team effort.”

Despite the solid defense, Ryan held a slim 21-15 lead at intermission.

However, the Lions used a 14-5 surge in the third period to break the game open. Shayla Elm had six points in the period to pace Ryan, while sophomore Sealy Rovig and junior McKinlee Harmon each had four points in the stanza.

“I told the girls we played a quarter-and-a-half of good basketball,” ORCS coach Scott Peterson said. “To beat a team like that, you got to play four quarters.”

Still, the Knights were able to make things interesting in the final period. Consecutive 3-pointers from senior Lauren Hendrickson pulled the Knights to within 37-29 with about four minutes to play.

A basket by ORCS senior Calissa Ree pulled the Knights to within 38-31.

From there, the Knights ran out of gas as Ryan scored seven of the next 11 points to stretch the lead back out to 11 and ice the win.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Peterson said. “Morgan (Olson) was tired, but she played her heart out.”

Hendrickson finished with 15 points in the loss for ORCS.

“This is a real exciting win for the girls,” Stewart said. “Offensively, we had good balance.”

Elm and Harmon each finished with 12 points for Ryan, while Annika Stewart added 10 in the win.

Ryan (5-3) will continue on with district play Friday night with a game at Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood.

ORCS (5-2) will head into one of its toughest stretches of the season. The Knights will play Dickinson Trinity on Friday and Shiloh Christian on Saturday in Bismarck.

“We knew this was going to be a tough stretch,” the ORCS coach said. “But we are still a good team.”

Mark Jones covers high school sports and general assignments. Follow him on Twitter @MarkJones27_MDN.

Mark Jones/MDN Our Redeemer's Christian School's Lauren Hendrickson goes up for a shot over the defense of Bishop Ryan's Sealy Rovig during the third period of Ryan's 53-35 win over ORCS Tuesday night at ORCS. Mark Jones/MDN Bishop Ryan's Shayla Elm drives past the defense of Our Redeemer's Tessa Olson during the first half of their Class B District 12 basketball contest Tuesday night at ORCS. Ryan won 53-35.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today