Velva-Sawyer tops Ryan again to reach regional title match
The Velva-Sawyer girls basketball team marched into Tuesday’s night Region 6 semifinals against Bishop Ryan with a swagger and confidence not usually found in the lower-seeded teams.
While Ryan might have been the slight favorites on paper by being the District 12 champions, the Aggies had already beaten them quite convincingly by 15 points on the Lions’ home court earlier this season on Jan. 28.
Velva-Sawyer (20-3) had been there before, and proved the first time wasn’t a fluke with a 48-37 victory Tuesday night over Ryan (19-5) to move one final game closer to reaching the state tournament.
“It was our goal at the beginning of the year,” Velva-Sawyer coach Chris Braaten said. “We wanted to get back here and we felt like we had a lot of key pieces in place and from some of the additions from Sawyer over there that really helped us get to this point.
“The journey, understanding what we are capable of doing and building a trust with one another really carried us to this point in our season.”
The Aggies jumped out to a 12-1 lead to start the contest with five points coming from senior guard Morgan Erickson, which included a successful three-point play after making a shot over 6-foot-2 Ryan freshman Annika Stewart.
That was followed by a pair of Aggie 3-pointers from senior Jonnah Lee and sophomore Hope Brewer.
“That was huge,” Braaten said about the fast start. “Our last two games we have started off a little sluggish. To get the momentum going and putting another team on their heels says a lot. Not only on the scoreboard, but in the mental aspect of the game.”
The Lions were victimized by forcing passes, turning the ball over and were just unable to create any space offensively. Ryan freshman Emma Passa was able to get the offense ticking again at the end of the first half and into the second half with dribble drive penetration.
“We had a slow start and we played really careful to start,” Ryan coach Julie Stewart said. “We weren’t attacking and with that pressure they put on, it got a little chaotic. We just didn’t take care of the ball.”
The Lions turned the ball over 28 times in the contest and shot 36.6 percent from the floor.
Passa finished with 10 out of the Lions’ 14 first-half points. Lee dropped 13 first-half points for the Aggies, as Velva-Sawyer led 24-14 at halftime.
“We were able to mix some things up defensively and change some of their passing angles,” Braaten said. “For us, defense is always the key. We’ve got to be able to keep that solid in order to move forward.”
Ryan inched to within three points twice in the third quarter, 25-22 and 27-24, with the Lions getting a variety of scoring from Stewart, Passa, junior McKinlee Harmon and senior Morgan Kroeger.
However, it was a last-second shot to close out the third quarter by Erickson, despite the Ryan student section trying its best to fool her by incorrectly shouting out how much time was left, that swung the momentum back in the Aggies’ favor heading into the final frame, 29-24.
An 8-2 Velva-Sawyer run at the start of the fourth quarter helped in putting the game out of reached from the Lions. Ryan didn’t help themselves either by getting the Aggies into the bonus for the entirety of the final eight minutes of the contest.
While both teams made 15 field goals on the night, the free throw line proved to be a difference maker with Velva-Sawyer going 14-of-21 and Ryan finishing 4-of-9 from the charity stripe. Passa fouled out with 12 points with 2:45 remaining to play.
Three triples late from the Lions weren’t nearly enough to overcome the cushion Lee, with a team-high 25 points, and the Aggies had built up and held onto for the 48-37 win.
Velva-Sawyer, the District 11 runner-ups, punches its ticket to the Region 6 championship match with a spot in the Class B state tournament up for grabs against District 12 runner-ups in Our Redeemer’s at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Minot Auditorium.
Ryan will play in the consolation third-place game against Rugby at 6 p.m. on Thursday before the regional title match.
“One night, unfortunately defines the season,” coach Stewart said. “Our goal has to change, so now we want to go get third and end on a positive note.”
Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.