Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood’s Archer Ackerson goes up for a shot as TGU’s Gracyn Johnson defends during a regional qualifier at the Minot Municipal Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 14. Mike Kraft/MDN

There aren’t many instances where being soaked in cold water during the midst of the North Dakota winter feels good.

But for Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood coach Thurstan Johnson, it was the perfect way to celebrate a trip to the Region 3 Tournament.

The Mavericks’ girls basketball coaching staff was given a water bath by its players in the locker room following their 63-30 victory over Towner-Granville-Upham in a regional qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Minot Municipal Auditorium, sending them to regionals for the second consecutive season. M-L-S will take on Tioga – the District 5 runners-up – in the opening round of the regional tournament on Monday, Feb. 23.

“Our girls were just hungry,” Johnson said. “We were disappointed from (Friday) night and to see them come back and put on that performance was a joy to my heart.”

The Mavericks (17-5) were less than 24 hours removed from a 16-point loss to Berthold in the semifinals in which they were outscored 23-4 to end the game. It was their largest defeat of the season.

The good news for M-L-S entering its regional qualifier was the fact that it always bounced back in a big way following a loss. In their four regular-season losses, the Mavericks won their next game by an average margin of 25.3 points.

The Mavericks led for all but the opening moments of the first quarter, growing their lead after each period. By halftime, M-L-S had built a 34-12 advantage.

“You could see it in their eyes that they were determined to not let that game get to them,” Johnson said. “We haven’t lost back-to-back games all year. They’ve come back after losses and played hard the next game. It was a testament to their fortitude and their endearment to each other.”

TGU’s chances at a third straight appearance at regionals in the three-class era was dealt a blow after Bostyn Bailey – the Titans’ lone senior on the roster – dislocated her finger with 5:30 remaining in the first half and didn’t return. The Titans were trailing 18-11 when Bailey exited the game and went the next seven minutes between the second and third quarters without a field goal. The Mavericks went on a 20-1 run during that span.

“Our mindset definitely went south a little bit,” TGU coach Chantel Luna said. “We’re a team full of young players and when your leader is gone, it’s next girl up and we have to learn how to handle those situations.”

Trapper Ackerson had nine of her 16 points during that run, hitting a pair of 3s in the process. Laney Varty also knocked down a couple 3-pointers and had eight points in that span. She too finished with 16 points.

Hattie Varty did most of her damage to the Titans prior to the injury, scoring seven of her 14 points in the first quarter. She also began the run with a 3-point play.

“We knew we had to keep playing strong because she’s one of the good players and they have good players coming off of the bench,” Hattie Varty said. “We knew we had to keep playing strong.”

Avery Johnson ended the scoring drought with a field goal with 6:26 left in the third quarter. The Titans (12-10) made just five field goals after Bailey’s departure. Addysen Jaeger hit a pair of jump shots, Reagan Gotvaslee knocked down a shot and Brooke Best connected on TGU’s lone 3-pointer of the contest. Best and Jaeger led TGU with seven points apiece.

“We relied on Brook to get the job done and Brooke is our point guard and we just asked her to do her job and I thought she did it pretty well,” Luna said.

The Mavericks had three players finish in double figures with the Varty sisters and Ackerson, but also had five others record points. The Mavericks hit 21 shots for the game.

“We have four girls who average double figures all year and we’ve gotten big contributions from Cloe (Weathers) at times,” Johnson said. “She doesn’t always get the points, but she does a lot of the other stuff and she scores when we need her to. They played like a team tonight. They played unselfish and I’m just really happy for them because they are a hardworking group. They want to do the best they can for each other and have success.”

For TGU, this is the first season it will not play in the regional tournament since 2021. The Titans were in the district title game each of the past two years, winning in 2024.

“One of the things I reminded them of is to make sure they remember how this felt and you don’t like how it feels when your season is over, and all good things come to an end,” Luna said. “We’ll think about the things we need to work on so when we come back here next year we’re not sitting in a region play-in game but we’re playing in that championship game.”

Hatti Varty, Ackerson, Bailey and Best were all named to the district’s all-tournament team.