Alex Eisen/MDN Mohall/Lansford/Sherwood freshman Allison Undlin (23) goes after a loose ball Thursday evening in a Class B girls basketball game against Bishop Ryan. The Mavericks won 60-42 in Minot.

On a typical frigid Thursday evening in Minot, North Dakota, both offenses needed a little extra time to warm up inside the Bishop Ryan gymnasium.

After a rough opening quarter, the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood girls basketball team fended off multiple three-point barrages by the Ryan Lions to remain unbeaten in district play.

The Mavericks (10-1, 3-0 District 12) made another case as to why they deserve to be ranked in the state’s Class B media poll with a 60-42 road win over Ryan (3-7, 1-2 District 12).

“In girls basketball, when you go on the road, you don’t know what to expect,” MLS head coach Wayne Brackenbury said. “You just have to get off the bus and have the mind frame to compete in the first quarter.”

A defensive first eight minutes still went in the Mavericks’ favor, 11-6, as both squads worked out some kinks.

The Lions briefly took the lead in the second quarter, but MLS used an 11-3 run to hold a 24-17 advantage at halftime.

MLS 6-foot-2 freshman center Allison Undlin was dominating the glass, and senior guard Leah Feland was controlling the flow of the Mavericks’ offense.

Feland paced all scorers with a game-high 26 points (eight made two-point field goals and 10 converted free throws).

“Sometimes we get into games, and our heads aren’t in it right away,” Feland said about the slow start. “We weren’t moving very fast or working well. But, we finally started to mesh and slowed it down a little bit, and our defense improved.”

The closest the Lions got in the second half was midway through the third quarter when senior guard Maya Wald buried a triple to cut the deficit to 29-27.

The Mavericks, ending another quarter strong, closed out the frame with a dominant 10-0 run. Four different players — Feland, Undlin, Kylie Abernathey and Madison Moberg — all contributed to the scoring spurt.

“For us to be really, really good, then we have to have balance in our attack,” Brackenbury said. “Also, we have to show some patience. We try to shoot the ball way too quick. We keep working on it, and I keep hammering them (about it). It has to sink in pretty soon.”

With desperation setting in, Ryan heavily started to rely on shots from behind the arc. The Lions made eight 3-pointers in the contest (five in the second half), matching the number of two-point field goals they made (eight).

Wald, Sydney Upton and Magee Rovig each made two triples, while Nora Kramer and Grace Candrian had one apiece.

“That’s what we have been doing (this season), I think,” said Ryan head coach Roger Coleman about using 3-pointers to stay within striking distance. “We are going to drive and kick, shoot 3-pointers and crash the boards. (MLS) did a good job of rebounding. We didn’t have as many second-chance opportunities like we usually have.”

Brackenbury added: “We had to contain their threes. I knew they were shooting threes, and we had to get out and defend it. I thought, at times, we lost track of where we were. We were in the paint too much when we needed to be outside of it.”

Free throws made by MLS and three-point plays completed by Feland allowed the Mavericks to inflate the final score, 60-42, in the last few minutes of the contest.

Feland made all six of her free throws in the fourth quarter. MLS went 12-for-17 at the line. Ryan was 4-for-10.

“We held them to 42 (points), so that’s not bad, I guess,” Brackenbury said. “We still have to track down loose balls; we don’t do a very good job of that, I think. We could have held them to less than (42) if we could track down loose balls and not give teams second shot opportunities. We are just being too nice, I think.”

Abernathey ended up 14 points, with Undlin (8) and Moberg (8) also chipping in offensively.

Upton led the Lions with 11 points, followed by Wald (8) and Candrian (8).

“Overall, final score aside, I think this was a step in the right direction,” Coleman said. “We competed, and the girls worked hard. MLS is a good team, only lost one game… It stinks with the final score, but we played better — especially the first half — than we have against anybody, and they’re one of the best teams we have played against.”

Next up, MLS travels to Velva on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest against the Aggies. Ryan heads north to Bottineau for 2:30 p.m. game on Saturday as well.

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