Leelee Bell (left) scored 24 points and Maggie Fricke (right) added 26 of her own in a record-breaking win for the Majettes, as they beat West Fargo 107-75 to begin the 2022-23 season. Sean Williams/MDN

Friday marked a new beginning for the Minot High girls’ basketball team, as their state title from the previous year was now officially in the rearview mirror with the 2022-23 season starting. It was a time for them to celebrate all they accomplished before, while getting ready to see if they could have similar success this year.

Their first task involved hitting the road to take on the West Fargo Packers, who are ranked as one of the best teams in Class A. Not letting the early season jitters get to them, the Majettes came out and made a statement, beating the Packers 107-75 in what was a record-setting night in two different areas of the game.

While it was on the offensive side of the ball that the Majettes set new records, head coach Jason Schwarz was pleased with the intensity that his team showed on defense early in Fargo, which helped the team settle in on offense.

“I think just coming out of the gates right away, our defensive intensity really set the tone. We really disrupted things for them right out of the gate. That led to some easy transition baskets, some easy scores, and things just kind of flowed from there,” Schwarz said.

Although the Majettes were not able to maintain the intensity on defense throughout the entire game, they turned up the intensity on offense to say the least, as they set a school-record for most points in a game (107) and most 3-pointers made in a game (19) in their win on Friday night.

Heading into the game, the team did not prepare any differently, however, Schwarz mentioned that they’ve exuded more confidence as individuals and as a team since they won a title last year. This was something he has seen all offseason and during the preseason, so he wasn’t entirely surprised to see it translate into a game setting immediately.

“There’s just a whole different level of confidence within each kid and with the team overall, and wow it just flowed right into that game. We played with that confidence now and it’s really powerful, it’s incredible. Hopefully we keep that rolling,” he said.

Some teams can only dream about the record-setting performance like the Majettes put together. Not only is it remarkable that they achieved this in the first game of the year, but they did it against an extremely talented opponent, perhaps one of the better teams they will face this season.

“To do it against the quality of a team we did it against was quite a statement, they will be one of the toughest teams we face.”

Maggie Fricke scored 26 points to lead the Majettes in the win. Not far behind was Leelee Bell, who poured in 24 points as the two freshmen were the top scorers on the night. Behind them was Taury Hight (17), Maya Aguilar (12), Avery Lunde (11), Presley Bennett (11), Karew Lamoureux (3), and Laney Will (3) rounded out the point total on the historic night.

From beyond the arc, the 19 3-pointers added to their historic night as that is a school-record as well. Hight (5), Bell (4), Bennett (3), Aguilar (2), Fricke (2), Lamoureux (1), Lunde (1), and Will (1) all chipped in to help the team set a second record on the night.

The last time the team was on the court together, they were hoisting the trophy and putting state champions next to their name. With that, Schwarz and the team were feeling a little anxious for the first game this season but getting everyone back together on the court was a good feeling and the statement they made was the icing on the cake.

Coming off a historic night, Schwarz and his message to the team, the way they prepare, and their expectations for themselves will not change. They will continue to find ways to get better and figure out areas for growth as individuals and as a team.

“Our theme this year is we are building for the future. We don’t want to be satisfied with where we are at. We want to continue to build and grow. After the game we talk about areas of growth, we are always going to find some of those areas, so that should be our focus.”

Schwarz added, “we want to keep ourselves grounded in the daily grind and the daily process and that’s what has to be our focus and our message each day.”

The team will be back in action tomorrow when they head to Williston, where the JV team will take on Williston’s varsity squad at 6 p.m. The Majettes varsity team will hit the court again on Saturday, Dec. 10 for their first home game where they will host Dickinson at 3:30 p.m.