Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Trenton senior guard Kaity Hove (1) looks past Velva freshman forward Olivia Passa (32) in the first half of Saturday’s game in Berthold. The Tigers earned a 59-34 victory over the Aggies.

BERTHOLD — The Trenton Tigers girls basketball team established the ground rules early. The Tigers were not going to allow any easy baskets.

In the final game of Saturday’s Bomber Shootout in Berthold, No. 4 Trenton (16-0, 6-0 District 15) defeated Velva (9-8, 5-1 District 11) in a physical 59-34 contest. Trenton’s unrelenting intensity paved the path to victory.

“This team has character and grit,” Trenton head coach Bob Turcotte said. “In their lifetimes, they’ve probably played 140 basketball games at the varsity level. They play a lot in the summer and in the postseason. All these kids have been starting since eighth and ninth grade at the varsity level. We’re very experienced.”

If nothing else, the game’s onset was scrappy. The Tigers clawed their way to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter.

Although the Tigers forced the Aggies to play catch-up, Velva kept pace. Trenton held a 24-17 advantage.

“We’re pretty consistent with our defense,” Turcotte said. “If we’ve got an idea what another team runs, we can be very stifling. That’s what we hang our hats on. We condition hard. No kid likes to run sprints in practice. We do it a lot, because we know we’re not very deep. Our kids take pride in defense, and I thought we played a solid defensive game.”

Trenton exploded in the second half. The resilient defense gave way to easy transition baskets.

After three quarters, Trenton led 36-23. The Tigers dictated the half’s terms and saved their knockout blows for the last period.

“Defense is one of the biggest things we work on,”said Trenton junior forward Alyssa St. Pierre, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “All day at practice, we try and move as a team. We try to know where everybody is at. We’ve been together since fourth grade, so we all know a lot about each other.”

The Tigers’ synergy was on full display in the final frame. St. Pierre and the squad moved in perfect harmony and made life difficult for the Aggies.

Trenton junior guard Alexa St. Pierre and senior guard Kaity Hove finished with 15 points apiece. None of the Aggies scored more than 6 points.

“We work really hard,” Hove said. “We work pretty well together. Sometimes, you have your ups, and you also have your downs. But we just all work through it. Eventually, we all come together at the end and get a good win.”

Because the teams do not face each other often, both sides had to adjust. Velva struggled to establish an offensive rhythm.

“They’re just a nice team,” Velva head coach Chris Braaten said of the Tigers. “They stayed true to who they were. They run their defense to a ‘T.’ They trust where everyone is supposed to be, and they just execute everything very well.”

Trenton will welcome Stanley at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Velva will host Des Lacs-Burlington at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.

“I’m very proud of my girls for keeping their focus and being ready to play,” Turcotte said. “We left at 1 p.m. this afternoon, so that makes for a long day. And then watching three games ahead of us, I’m very proud of the focus. We talked about it. We’re working our way right to where we need to be coming up for tournament time. We’ve got three games to go, and we’re seeing good improvement right now.”

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.