Winners Bracket

No.3 TGU 44, No. 7 Bishop Ryan 39

Stellar rebounding and a solid inside attack were the difference for third seed TGU, as they survived the initial energy of the lower-seeded Lions for the first quarter and advanced to the district final.

“They (TGU) destroyed us on the offensive glass,” commented Bishop Ryan girls’ basketball head coach Cole Edwards. “We knew we needed to win the turnover and rebounding game to compete. We did well limiting our turnovers but were outrebounded.”

Towner-Granville-Upham freshman Addison Neshem (10) takes a shot while Bishop Ryan sophomore Tochi Udekwe (2) and junior Olivia Demars guard her on Friday at the Minot Auditorium.

The Titans kept their composure and worked the inside game to keep pace with the surging Lions in the first quarter. Tough defense, with a press at the end of the first half helped TGU hang on to a 25-20 halftime lead.

TGU kept the inside attack up and built the lead to 35-27 to end the third and held on for the win. The Titans had four players score. Freshman Addison Neshem led all scoring with 21, while junior Ashley Martodam added 16 points. Bishop Ryan had four players contribute points and were led by juniors Olivia Demars with 19 and Alena Johannson with 11.

TGU will face Berthold in the final today and Bishop Ryan will play MLS in the second consolation game.

No. 4 L&C Berthold 55, No. 1 Our Redeemer’s Christian School (ORCS) 40

The second semifinal of the day was filled with energy by both teams. Down the stretch, that energy lifted the Bombers to the victory.

The first quarter was highlighted by the three point shooting and defense of the Bombers as they took a 15-8 lead at the 1:40 mark. Despite getting steals and open shots, the Knights were unable to close the gap and trailed 17-11 at the initial break. Our Redeemer’s Christian School was in foul trouble early which helped the Bombers keep the pressure going.

The aggressiveness of the Bombers lifted them to a 30-23 halftime lead.

“Our goals were simple,” said Berthold head coach Demver Deavers. “Play aggressive defense, try to hold (Maya) Vibeto to as low a scoring night as possible and then rebound when and if she missed any shots.”

Despite the defensive effort of the Knights in the third quarter, offensive rebounding for Berthold kept the scoring alive. A three point shot in the last seconds of the third quarter by ORCS closed the gap to four points at 42-38. A three point basket, and the foul for a four point game in the first 12 seconds of the fourth quarter gave the Bombers the cushion back.

Senior Maya Vibeto did score 14 while five players scored for the Knights. Six Bombers contributed with three players shooting double digits. Senior Mya Neshem led all players with 20 points while sophomore Shayne Simons added 14 and junior Aubree Schepp hit for 13.

The Bombers will play in the district final against TGU while the Knights will face Surrey in the consolation round today.

Consolation Bracket

No. 2 Surrey 54, No. 11 Velva 30

The game hinged on two factors; Velva Aggies girls’ team couldn’t buy a shot or catch a break and the Surrey Mustangs hit 3-pointers and made steals. While the Aggies kept working, they trailed 25-10 after the initial quarter and 42-15 at the half.

Despite the continued effort through the second half with a press defense, the Aggies fell behind 51-21 to end the third quarter. Velva had five players contributing points with junior Lyla McCasson leading the way with nine. Surrey had six players score with three in double digits. Junior Morgan Anderson led all scoring with 11 points while fellow juniors Makya Gerding and Sienna Klimpel each hit for ten.

Surrey will meet Our Redeemer’s Christian Church in the first consolation game of the night at 4:30 p.m.

No. 5 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 49, No. 8 Harvey-Wells County 30

An evenly contested game between the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (MLS) girls’ basketball team and Harvey-Wells County in the first half opened up in the third quarter for the Mavericks.

The MLS girls had a slight edge in shooting while the Hornets players were slightly better rebounding and playing defense. The score at the end of the first half reflected the tight contest, with a 20-18 for the Mavericks.

MLS came out to start the third period with an even more aggressive approach defensively and worked the inside game against Harvey-Wells to take a 41-24 lead into the final quarter.

The Hornets had five players scoring with sophomore Rachel Neumiller hitting for 10 points. MLS also had five players contribute, three in double digits. Senior Jamie Thompson led all scoring with 16 while fellow senior Jasmine Undilin hit for 11 and eighth grader Archer Ackerson added 10.

MLS will face Bishop Ryan in the consolation round today.