Robert Brewer/MDN Minot seventh grader Maggie Fricke (right) gets the step on a defender and drives baseline in the early moments of the Majettes' contest against Turtle Mountain on Friday night. She ended the game with 13 points.

With their season on the line, the Minot Majettes (10-11) responded with a home victory in blowout fashion over Turtle Mountain Community to advance to the WDA Regionals, 85-47.

Coming into the game, Minot had already won the two previous season matchups against Turtle Mountain, beating the Bravettes 69-38 on Feb. 2, and taking the second game 83-49 on Feb. 15. In Friday’s contest, the Majettes sputtered briefly to start out the ballgame, falling behind 5-0 to Turtle Mountain. Shortly afterwards, Minot went on a 14-3 run to take control of the game. The Magi run was capped off by an offensive rebound and put back by seventh grader Maggie Fricke.

With the score 22-19 in favor of Minot late in the first period, the Majettes went on a massive 24-3 run to close out the half. A host of players including Fricke, Avery Lunde, Maya Aguilar, Alexis Haider and Taury Hight all scored points during the Minot surge, thanks in large part to good ball movement which resulted in consistent dribble penetration and high percentage looks at the basket. By intermission, the Majettes had built themselves a sizeable 46-22 lead.

Minot further distanced itself from Turtle Mountain with a 15-3 run to start the second half. Not being seriously challenged for the remainder of the evening, the Majettes were on the winning end of an 85-47 final score by the time the final buzzer sounded. Afterwards, MHS girls basketball head coach Jason Schwarz credited his club’s mental approach as being the key ingredient in the victory.

“I thought we played more determined than we had all season in all facets of the game, defensively, offensively and on the boards,” Schwarz told the Minot Daily News. “We pushed the ball in transition and didn’t let them set their defense. We played a complete game, all of the things you want to do in postseason games. We will need to bring that level of play to the court on Tuesday.”

Next up on the schedule, Minot plans to travel to Watford City (16-4) for a regional quarterfinal showdown with the Wolves on Tuesday night. The Magi has lost the season’s two previous matchups against Watford City, falling to the Wolves 57-46 on Dec. 22, and at home 48-36 on Feb. 16.