Kari Gibb/MDN Our Redeemer’s junior Mikayla Altringer (3) battles Kenmare-Bowbells sophomore Taya Aufforth (32) for the tipoff while OR senior Maya Vibeto (10) and K-B McKenna Mau (2) and Lilibeth Santizo (25) watch.

Our Redeemer’s Christian School 34, Kenmare-Bowbells 23

The title game between the Kenmare-Bowbells girls basketball team and the Our Redeemer’s Christian School had the energy of a title matchup, along with the adrenaline leading to missed shots early. Both teams worked the defense hard leading to a low scoring first quarter with Our Redeemer’s in the lead 13-4.

“I have never seen the girls that wired,” said Our Redeemer’s head coach Hart Andes. “Kenmare-Bowbells had beaten us before, so the girls were amped to play. I was really glad to see them settle into the rhythm of the game soon after the tip.”

Our Redeemer’s Knights found their rhythm first and built an early 4-0 lead. That lead grew as the shots fell for the Knights while the Kenmare-Bowbell Honkers had the ball bounce off the rim, the glass and at times off the hands of the Knight defenders. The half time score was 17-9.

The Knights carried the energy into the third quarter and kept the surging Honkers at bay. The score to start the final quarter had Our Redeemer’s up 28-18.

Shots were not falling for the Kenmare-Bowbells girls despite solid defense and rebounding. Quick hands by the Knights players kept the ball from making smooth transitions in the passing game for the Honkers and led to the lead being held into the last minutes of the game with Our Redeemer’s taking a 34-23 lead into the final seconds that would be the final score.

Our Redeemer’s had three players scoring being led by seniors Maya Vibeto with 15 points followed by Leah Conway with 11 and junior Mikayla Altringer with 8 points.

Kenmare-Bowbells had five players scoring with sophomores Taya Aufforth hitting for eight points while Anna Peterson had six.

Towner-Granville-Upham (TGU) 67, Lewis & Clark-Berthold 54

In a hard fought battle, the TGU Titans girls basketball team places third over the Berthold Bombers.

“Kudos to Berthold,” said Mattie Schmitt, head coach of the TGU Titans. “We knew the game would not be over until the final buzzer and the girls had to maintain their energy, play together and have fun to have a shot at the win.”

Press defense leads to steals and offensive rebounds give Titans the 15-10 lead at the 2:59 mark of the first quarter. Same level of aggressive play led to turnovers and stretched the lead to 23-10 going into the second quarter.

Berthold started the second quarter under better control and cut into the TGU lead 28-21 at the 2:40 mark. The momentum shifted behind xx from the free throw line. The press defense continued and TGU added some three point shooting, including a buzzer beater to end the first half 38-24.

The third quarter featured a momentum shift and push from Berthold to close the gap, trailing TGU 51-41 going into the final quarter.

Bombers close the gap to 51-47 at the 6:10 mark. Two free throws by the Titans, a steal from the inbounds play by TGU and a defensive rebound leading to a Titans fast break widened the score back to 57-47 at the 5:32 mark.

Renewed efforts by Berthold kept the game in reach despite the offensive rebounding by TGU with a 60-53 lead at the 1:50 mark. Passing and clock management drained the clock and gave the Titans the win in the end.

“It isn’t the path we wanted to take to the state tournament,” said Schmitt. “But we wanted the keep the season alive and we still have a chance.”

Sophie Backmeier led all scoring on the night with 26 points for the Titans. Five other players added to the scoring with two others in double digits. Addison Neshem hit for 13 points while Boston Bailey added 11 points.

The Bombers had five players scoring with three in double figures. Mya Neshem had 18 points while Kasey Simons added 16 and Aubree Schepp hit for 10 points.