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Seaver buzzer-beater lifts Berthold over Nedrose, 26-23

Al Christianson/Special to the MDN Lewis & Clark-Berthold sophomore Ashley Seaver (14) launches a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Nedrose Cardinals Tuesday evening in the first round of the Nedrose Invitational girls basketball tournament.

With 0.6 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Ashley Seaver caught an inbounds pass and heaved up a prayer.

It was answered.

The Lewis & Clark-Berthold Bombers (2-2) survived a low-scoring, 26-23, defensive battle Tuesday evening against Nedrose (0-3) with a 3-pointer made at the buzzer by Seaver.

The dramatic heroics advanced the Bombers to the semifinals of the Nedrose Invitational girls basketball tournament.

“(With) 0.6 seconds left, just get (the ball) in and take care of it,” Berthold head coach Denver Deaver said. “You just got to get it in the air. It worked out. This was a scrappy win.”

A sluggish opening frame featured five combined two-point field goals from five different players.

The final shot of the first quarter was a baseline jumper made by sophomore Alexis Aragon to give Nedrose a slim 6-4 lead.

Nedrose junior A’Lexis Crawford and Berthold senior Toni Hamilton traded points back-and-forth for the first couple of minutes of the second quarter.

A 3-pointer by Berthold sophomore Ashley Seaver tied the score at 11-11. But the Cardinals led at the break, 13-11, following a spinning layup made by freshman Piper Stein and a handful of stops forced by their relentless 2-3 zone defense.

“It definitely makes a difference when we are active — active hands, we are moving side-to-side and talking to each other,” Nedrose head coach Matt Hanson said. “That helps us out because then we are all connected as one unit.”

Deaver added: “Nedrose plays great defense. Their size and physicalness gave us problems. We were careless with the basketball. We just have to take better care of the basketball.”

The third quarter was the highest-scoring frame with both teams making a pair of 3-pointers and a two-point basket. The Cardinals maintained their two-point lead, 21-19.

A layup from Berthold senior Sara Birdsall knotted the score at 21-21 early in the fourth quarter. Then, Crawford got hacked for a potential three-point play, but missed the layup to give Nedrose another two-point lead at 23-21.

One made free throw each from Berthold seniors Kenadi Bredahl and Hamilton had the contest in a deadlock at 23-23 going to the final buzzer.

Both teams had multiple chances over the final three minutes to score the last points of the game. The pressure only intensified as the clock whittled down.

Nedrose threw the ball out of bounds with 20 seconds left. The Cardinals intercepted a bad pass with three seconds remaining by the Bombers swarmed to force a jump ball with 0.6 on the clock.

It was Berthold’s ball off the possession arrow.

Hannah Ibach loft the inbounds pass to Seaver stationed slightly off to the right side of the top of the arc. Without hesitation, Seaver launched. Deaver threw his arms in the arm before the game-winning triple found the bottom of the net.

“We didn’t quit and kept fighting,” Deaver said. “At the end, I guess a win is a win. Doesn’t matter how you get them, right?”

Berthold moves on to face Our Redeemer’s (2-0) in the semifinals of the Nedrose Invitational at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Nedrose gets a consolation date with Lewis & Clark-North Shore Plaza (0-2) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

“I told them to keep their heads up,” Hanson said following the tough loss. “I’d much rather lose a close game than a blowout. We can learn from the little mistakes and turn them into a positive.”

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

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