James Jackson/MDN Putting together difference-making plays on both ends of the court, Our Redeemer’s senior center Aubrey Griedl (44) led the Knights to their fifth District 12 victory of the regular season on the road Monday night against Des Lacs-Burlington.

DES LACS- Storming into the final week of Region 6 regular season high school girls’ basketball action, Monday evening saw a battle between District 12 unbeatens as Des Lacs-Burlington hosted an Our Redeemer’s team that entered the night having won six of their past seven contests.

Sitting atop the current District 12 standings with a record of 5-0 entering the night, the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers (9-7 overall, 5-1 District 12) looked to build upon their winning ways before stumbling at home in a 47-28 loss against the also-perfect Our Redeemer’s Knights (14-4 overall, 5-0 District 12) as the adversaries jockeyed for the top spot in the regional hierarchy.

Keeping the gears moving on a stellar season thus far, freshman forward Logen Ystaas utilized a high-percentage turnaround layup in the paint to net the first points of what unfolded as a lightning-paced opening sequence to give the Lakers a quick 2-0 advantage.

However, the lead was short lived, as senior low-post stalwart Aubrey Griedl asserted her dominance in the lane throughout the first quarter, notching the first eight points of the game for the Knights before ending the first eight minutes of action with 11 of Our Redeemer’s 16 total points to give her team a 16-7 edge.

Up-tempo gameplay gave way to a more balanced pace for both teams in the second quarter, with Griedl continuing to serve as the figurative and literal center of the Knights offense as they stretched their lead to double-digits at 21-11 with four minutes left in the half.

Nevertheless, in spite of the Knights’ relentless barrage of buckets driven heavily by Griedl’s 18 points at the halfway mark, the combined scoring efforts of Ystaas, junior forward Paige Berard, and freshman guard Allie Glasoe allowed the Lakers to hold on to hope of orchestrating a dramatic second-half resurgence as they entered the third quarter trailing 31-11.

Yet, continuing to punish DLB in the post, senior forward Elise Altringer used the first possession of the second half to turn a beautiful entry pass to the low block into two points to further fuel the seemingly unstoppable Our Redeemer’s offense entering the early moments of the final 16 minutes of play.

Narrowing the Our Redeemer’s lead to 39-22 entering the fourth quarter, the Lakers diligently scoured the floor in search of the spark needed to ignite their improbable comeback, hoping a quick mid-range jumper from sophomore guard Kaylee Werner could light the fuse on a powder keg of much-needed points for DLB.

Knights head coach Hart Andes, well aware of the circumstances needed by the Lakers to engineer one last surge, strategically transitioned his Our Redeemer’s squad into a half-court offense in a concerted effort to soak up every valuable second remaining to cement his team’s double-digit advantage.

Heading into the final minutes of action with the outcome all but decided, both teams sent in a platoon of bench contributors to accumulate valuable floor time in preparation of the upcoming District 12 tourney, rounding out the night as the buzzer sounded on a 47-28 victory for the visiting Our Redeemer’s Knights.

Standout Aubrey Griedl led all scorers with 20 points in the Our Redeemer’s win, accompanied by nine points apiece for Elise Altringer and Maya Vibeto, five points for Leah Conway, three points for Morgan Thorson, and one point for Mikayla Altringer.

Logen Ystaas paced the Lakers on the night with nine points, followed by seven points for Zannah Bjerklie, and five points each for Paige Berard and Kaylee Werner.

Looking ahead, Feb. 2 marks the regular season finale for both teams this week, as Des Lacs-Burlington hosts Velva at 7 p.m., while Our Redeemer’s invites Bottineau to town for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.