Kari Gibb/MDN Titans freshman Addison Neshem (10) shoots the ball while junior Lily Lageson watches. Knights junior Mikayla Altringer (3) blocks the shot in the title game between TGU and Our Redeemer’s.

Kenmare-Bowbells (17-6) 49, Lewis & Clark-Berthold (16-6) 34

The game was set up for success by the Kenmare-Bowbells girls basketball team in the first quarter as the Honkers built a 16-4 lead by hitting three clutch three-point baskets early. The Lewis & Clark-Berthold girls fought back to a 26-16 half time score, but the Bombers couldn’t catch up despite their best effort.

“We really wanted to come out and push the pace,” said Kenmare-Bowbells girls head coach Mike Zimmer. “We knew if we did push the pace, they (L&C-Berthold) would have a hard time getting back to defend.”

In the second quarter, the Berthold Bombers switched to a 1-3-1 defense to try and slow the game tempo.

“When they (L&C-Berthold) switched defense, that gave us a chance to work our passing and inside game,” said coach Zimmer. “Our team executed exactly how we planned it.”

The crisp passing and tenacious defense played the entire game by the Kenmare-Bowbells team kept the L&C Berthold girls playing catch up the entire game. The final quarter of play began with the Bombers working against the clock trailing 44-26. The inside rebounding by Kenmare-Bowbells limited second chance shots for Berthold and kept the lead intact to the end of the game.

Honkers sophomoreTaya Aufford led Kenmare-Bowbells in scoring with 14 while junior Mashae Miller added 12 – none bigger than three long range three pointers in the first quarter to build the lead for the winning team. Six players from Kenmare-Bowbells scored for the Honkers.

Junior Kasey Simons led all scoring with 15 for the Bombers. Fellow junior Aubree Schepp added ten in the loss while four players scored for L&C-Berthold.

Our Redeemer’s (15-7) 51, Towner-Granville-Upham (19-4) 46

The second semifinal between the Towner-Granville-Upham Titan girls basketball team and Our Redeemer’s Christian School Knights lived up to the billing of a game to get to the championship.

“We talked before the game and at the half,” said Our Redeemer’s head coach Hart Andes. “We have faced them (TGU) several times over the past couple of years and we know they are very, very good. We knew it would come down to whoever executed the game plan and wanted it more in the end.”

The Titans came out with high energy and pushed hard to limit shooting by the Knights, getting on the board quickly and holding a slim lead right away. Our Redeemer’s capitalized on that aggressive play and at the 3:15 mark of the first quarter, the Knights were already in the bonus from the fouls by the Titans – free throw shooting kept Our Redeemer’s from falling behind further than four points with the gap narrowing to a 10-9 lead for the Knights.

Continued pressure on defense, combined with inside attacking by the Titans led to a half time score of 23-22 for TGU.

TGU started the third quarter by aggressively pressuring the Knights and despite being in foul trouble again, the Titans were able to shoot their way to a 37-31 lead going into the final quarter.

The game would come down to a battle between Our Redeemer’s three point shooting and the inside-outside game by TGU with both squads trading baskets and momentum in the final minutes.

“We really needed to weather the momentum swings and settle on court IQ for the open shooters,” said Andes. “The players wanted this win and it showed in their execution.”

The back and forth had the game tied at 42-42 with 5:40 on the game clock. Senior Maya Vibeto hit a jumper with 45 seconds left to play to give the Knights a 47-46 lead and a jump ball during a rebound on the other end of the court gave the ball back to Our Redeemer’s with 19.5 seconds to play.

The inbounds play burned six seconds and resulted in a traveling call giving the ball back to the TItans with 13.3 seconds to play. The inbounds pass went off the TGU players hands and out of bounds – ball back to the Knights and the fouling began and ended the game.

Vibeto led all scoring with 18 points while junior Mikayla Altringer hit for 11 and sophomore Kadyn Braun added 10 points. The Knights were 18 of 29 from the freethrow line and hit seven three point shots in the win.

Freshman Addison Neshem led the Titans with 15 points. Junior Ashley Martodam added 13 points while sophomore Bostyn Bailey added 11 in the effort. The Titans were six for six from the free throw line in the game and hit four three-pointers.