Summaries for all six holiday tournament games are below.

Bishop Ryan 63, Dunseith 61

Before the opening tipoff, the Hoopster Classic got off to a rather humorous start with the realization that the possession arrow display was missing. The scorer’s table briefly used a Mountain Dew bottle to keep track before finding and setting up the arrow.

Once the first game got rolling, Ryan used a 20-9 first quarter to distance themselves. Dunseith (4-5) got within two points in the fourth quarter, but the Lions (2-4) held on for a 63-61 victory.

Rugby junior forward Brooke Blessum (left) makes a shot over Flasher senior Coral Alt (right) Monday evening inside the Minot Municipal Auditorium. Alex Eisen/MDN

“We don’t like to make things easy,” Ryan head coach Roger Coleman said. “We keep it interesting and like the challenge, that’s what the girls said. I prefer to handle it a little better than that, but a win is a win.”

Dunseith entered the fourth quarter down 52-40 and used a full-court press to get within two points with 22.2 seconds remaining. They had two chances to sink a game-winning basket, but both 3-pointers fell short of the mark.

“We probably shouldn’t have even been in that situation,” Coleman said. “We didn’t take care of our possessions, and they were getting points on theirs. Just getting that one crucial stop at the end was what got it done.”

Four Lions finished in double figures: Nora Kramer (12), Sydney Upton (10), Magee Rovig (10) and Savanah Brintnell (10).

“It was a full team effort,” Coleman said. “The girls played really well at times and other times we struggled.”

Bishop Ryan junior Nora Kramer (4) and Dunseith sophomore Jorja Short (right) fight over a loose ball Monday in the first game of the girls Hoopster Classic inside the Minot Municipal Auditorium. Alex Eisen/MDN

Dunseith was led by Rozalind Strong (20) and Gracie Peltier (12).

Stanley 55,

Our Redeemer’s 48

Stanley soared out of the gates by scoring the first nine points and building up a commanding 15-2 lead.

While the initial cushion evaporated in the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays (5-2) had enough in the tank to fend off Our Redeemer’s 55-48 in the second game of girls Hoopster Classic.

“We came out hot and kind of fell apart,” Stanley head coach Kelly Roemmich said. “The thing that clinched it for us was we buckled down defensively and made it hard for them to get a good look at the end.”

Our Redeemer’s (5-2) pulled even for the first time at 38-38 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after senior Hailey Roberts made a long 3-pointer.

Both teams traded baskets for a while, but eventually, Stanley broke free again. The game-clinching sequence featured a pair of blocks by 6-foot-2 senior center Jossi Meyer, which turned into a three-point play at the other end for junior Leevi Meyer.

“At the end, we were running 35 seconds off the shot clocks,” Roemmich said. “When you are ahead by four points, you can work the clock and make it hard for them to score.”

Taylor Dean (21 points) provided the bulk of the scoring for the Blue Jays, while Roberts led all scorers with 26 points for the Knights.

DLB 63, TGU 36

Both offenses wanted to work inside-out, but the paint was clogged with towering forwards.

Fastbreak points and kick out 3-pointers proved to be the difference, as DLB (5-1) took down TGU (4-5) by 27 points, 63-36, in the third game of the girls Hoopster Classic.

“Our game plan is to work it around,” DLB head coach Tracy Bonn said. “We shot too many outside shots in the first half. In the second half, the girls did a much better job of hitting the post. We might not score from there, but it does make the defense shift.”

The Lakers only led by a point after the first quarter, 15-14, and four points at halftime, 29-25. DLB outscored TGU 34-11 in the second half.

“We knew (Jaidyn) Brummond was kind of their go-to, so we wanted to really focus on her,” Bonn said. “And we wanted to run. The girls executed it perfectly.”

Brummond and Mackenzie Woodall each finished with 12 points for the Titans. DLB got a game-high 18 points from Brooklyn Benno, plus double-digit contributions from MacKenzie Rist (11) and Sara Bonn (11).

Langdon A/E/M 55,

Kidder County 39

The premier matchup on Monday featured a pair of undefeated Top 5 teams in the state: No. 2 Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich vs. No. 3 Kidder County.

The rankings held up, as LAEM outlasted Kidder County 55-39.

The contest lived up to the billing in the first half. LAEM (5-0) raced out to a 13-2 lead, but Kidder County (9-1) battled back to hold a 26-24 advantage at halftime.

The Cardinals took over in the second half, outscoring the Wolves 31-13 over the final 16 minutes.

Kaitlynn Scherr and Callie Ronningen scored 15 points for Langdon. Scherr made four out of the Cardinals’ six triples.

Brittany Rath had a team-high 14 points for Kidder County.

Rugby 50, Flasher 46 (OT)

Chasing after a loose ball with tenacity, Rugby junior guard Sarah Blessum collided with a Flasher defender and dropped on the hardwood. The Minot Municipal Auditorium went silent.

Blessum, after being evaluated by the trainers and head coach Jen Brossart, was taken off the court on a stretcher with 3:07 remaining and the game tied at 38-38.

With heavy hearts, the game carried on. The Panthers prevailed in overtime, 50-46, to win an emotional affair for their fallen teammate.

“Hopefully, (Sarah Blessum) is OK,” Brossart said. “Precautionary, hopefully. Our girls battled back, and that’s something Sarah would have wanted.”

No. 10-ranked Rugby (7-0) trailed 35-21 with a minute left in the third quarter. After being shutout in the frame up to that point, the Panthers scored seven unanswered points — including a buzzer-beating layup by Brooke Blessum — to close the deficit to 35-28 entering the fourth.

“That’s the resolve of this team,” Brossart said. “They have played in some big games, and know what it’s like to go down and have to battle back. Last year, we did it a couple of times.”

Rugby had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but a wide-open layup was missed in the final seconds.

The Panthers got the job done in overtime instead. A clutch 3-pointer by Mykell Heidlebaugh and a handful of pressure-free throws made sealed Rugby’s 50-46 victory over Flasher (5-3).

“Our upperclassmen really stuck it out,” Brossart said. “I thought Mykell Heidlebaugh did a great job. Brooke Blessum really came through for us in the fourth quarter. Bella McCabe, I could go on and on.”

Rugby got double-digit scoring from Brooke Blessum (21), Sarah Blessum (12) and Heidlebaugh (11). Flasher got 30 points from Camryn Alt (17) and Coral Alt (13).

Velva 48, Shiloh Christian 45

Tied 39-39 entering the fourth quarter, every possession mattered.

Points were scored in bunches in the first half. Not so much in crunch time.

Velva (3-3) made the stops needed down the stretch to claim a 48-45 victory over Shiloh Christian (4-3) in the final game of the Hoopster Classic.

“All around it was a really nice effort from all the girls,” Velva head coach Chris Braaten said. “The offense is kind of hit or miss at times, so you just got to stick with it and hope it all works out.”

The Aggies took the lead late on a layup by Olivia Passa and drive to the rim by Rylee Frantsen.

But, it was the defense that buckled down and made multiple stops in the final two minutes that made the ultimate difference.

“A couple of turnovers, a couple of stops and some big rebounds,” Braaten said. “Then, we capitalized on offense. That was the key to what we needed to do.”

Shiloh Christian had a contested 3-pointer fall shot in the final four seconds in an attempt to force overtime.

The Aggies had balanced scoring with Passa (11), Frantsen (10) and Reagan Hildre (10) reaching double figures. Grace Kelly paced the Skyhawks with 15 points.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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