Mike Kraft/MDN Williston’s Averi Austreim looks to get a shot off against Minot North defenders Kinzy Welstad and Kaleigh Williams (0) during the second half on Friday, Jan. 23, at Minot North High School.

It didn’t take long for Friday’s West Region contest between the Minot North and Williston girls basketball teams to turn into a friendly scoring competition between twin sisters.

With the game’s result well in hand before the end of the first half, the only question left to answer before the final buzzer was who would end up scoring more points between Willston’s Averi and Alex Austreim.

Alex Austreimwon that particular battle, netting a game-high 33 points. Averi finished close behind with 29 points, but most importantly for the Austreims and the Coyotes was the 97-49 victory over the Sentinels that resulted from both of their big nights. Williston’s 97 points were a season high, topping the 94 points it scored against Grand Forks Central on Dec. 15.

“We got a lot of points in transition,” Alex Austreim said. “We were uptempo and got steals. Our defense turned into offense and we never looked back from the first horn.”

Alex and Averi Austreim wasted little time putting the ball in the basket, combining to score 12 of Williston’s first 15 points as the Coyotes quickly built a double-digit lead four minutes into the game and never relented. Transition baskets off turnovers allowed the Coyotes to take control of the game right off the opening tip, with Alex and Averi Austreim being the primary beneficiaries of easy layups and close-range shots in the paint.

“Those two are two quality basketball players,” Minot North coach Justin Lauf said. “We had talked about them prior to the game. We wanted to contain them a little bit, but if you look at where they scored it was in transition and credit them, they did a good job of getting out and running and having success there and sometimes that snowballs into a really big night and that’s what it was.”

Averi Austreim won the family battle for more 3-pointers, hitting four compared to one from her sister. Her first gave the Coyotes a 27-11 lead and her fourth and final of the opening half ballooned the advantage to 34 points at 52-18. It ended a stretch where she scored 11 of Williston’s 13 points and came at the tail end of a 27-4 run.

“At the start our energy was really good,” Averi Austreim said. “Right from the get-go we were stealing passes and the press was working really well. I felt like we both knew we were going to have a really big night.”

The Coyotes (7-4 overall, 4-4 WDA) scored 64 points in the first half, knocking down 25 field goals and six 3-pointers as they held a 64-20 advantage at the break. Both Alex and Averi outscored the Sentinels by themselves in the opening 18 minutes. Averi led the way with 23 points and Alex netted 22.

“They played super well today,” Williston coach Jacob Braaten said. “They were super efficient, got a ton of steals. They’re great girls to have and they’re both just sophomores, so it’s exciting.”

Alex won the battle of the second half against Averi, adding another 11 points. Averi Austreim hit three shots for six points.

Williston led by as many as 53 points. The Coyotes finished with 39 made field goals, including nine from behind the 3-point line.

It wasn’t just the Austreim twins providing the offense, though they did combine for nearly two-thirds of their team’s points. Mekiah Klumker finished in double figures with 16 points, scoring 11 in the first half.

Alex and Averi Austreim entered Friday’s game as two of the top scorers in the WDA. Averi was fifth at 19.3 points per game and Alex was eighth at 18.2 points per game.

The top scorer in Class AA was on the opposite side of the court with Elli Laskowski, who averages 26.9 points per game. While Alex and Averi Austreim blew past their season averages, Laskowski came up shy of her typical game, but she still led Minot North with 21 points. Laskowski had to deal with Williston’s best defender in Rylee Irgens.

“Rylee Irgens I believe is the best defender in the whole state,” Braaten said. “She might be a little undersized, but she plays with more heart than anybody. I’m giving all the credit to those girls and her having help defense.”

Kinzy Welstad added eight points for the Sentinels (3-9, 1-8) and Cambree Phillips found herself in foul trouble all game, but managed to score seven points – all in the second half.

The win moves the Coyotes up a spot in the standings to fifth place currently, winners of three of their last four. They are looking to avoid falling into the play-in round at the WDA Tournament.

“Every win is a big win and every game is a big game, so we’re just trying to get some good wins right now to see if we can get up higher so we don’t need to play in a play-in game,” Averi Austreim said.

As for Minot North, the Sentinels have now lost eight straight games and seven consecutive conference matchups. They are still seeking their first victory of 2026, having not won since Dec. 22, 2025, against Devils Lake.

Still a young program at the varsity level, Lauf said it takes time to grow a program, but requires patience.

“It’s a process and when we started it four years ago, it takes time,” Lauf said. “At face value you’re young in spots, you’re inexperienced in varsity basketball. You have to keep watering it. Right now at face value it’s not growing very much per day, but hopefully if you keep that up and you keep the morale and you keep doing those things, later in the season you’re playing your best basketball and we can continue to grow in the future.”

Minot North hosts Bismarck Legacy on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m.