Minot's LeeLee Bell (30) shoots a three-point shot during a West Region quarterfinal game against St. Mary's at the Bismarck Event Center on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Tanner Ecker/The Bismarck Tribune

For just the third time in North Dakota history, a girls’ basketball player has achieved 3,000 career points. First, it was Tanya Fischer of Bowman High School in the late 90’s, then it was Rylee Nudell of Maple Valley High School in 2016. Now, Minot High’s own senior Leelee Bell has cemented her name in the North Dakota basketball record book as she earned her 3,000th career point as she led the Majettes to victory in their quarterfinals match against the St. Mary’s Saints 75-40 in the 2026 NDHSAA Division AA, West Region Girls Basketball Tournament.

Walking onto the court Thursday afternoon, Mar. 5, in Bismarck, Bell was just 27 points away from her historic milestone. And with six possible games left to play in the season, there was plenty of time for her to waltz her way to 3,000.

But Bell doesn’t waltz, she sprints.

Like much of the regular season this year, the Majettes, led by Bell, exploded out of the gates. The Minot High girls kept the offensive and defensive pressure high against the Saints. By the time halftime rolled around, the Majettes already held a dominant 40-22 lead with Bell making up half of their first half scoring with 20 points individually. Senior Maggie Fricke followed behind with eight points to her name at the half.

Heading into the second half of the game with just seven points until she cemented her name in the history book, Bell took to the court. She quickly racked up five points, widening the Majettes’ lead to 45-26. Then, with 15 minutes 15 seconds remaining in the ball game, Bell secured an offensive rebound and tipped the ball into the hop to earn her 3,000th point. The crowd cheered, by Bell just jogged back down the court, ready for the Saints’ offense.

The Majettes kept up their dominate performance, finishing the game out strong with a 75-40 victory over he Saints.

“We as a team want to get off to a hot start, get off to a fast start,” said Majettes head coach Jason Schwarz. “There’s many times where Leelee does get us off to a hot start, and she definitely did today.”

Bell was the driving force behind the Majettes’ win on Thursday, scoring more than half of the team’s total points, taking home 39 points individually and leaving her career points at 1315 to end the afternoon. Not only did Bell surpass the 3,000 point milestone, but she also walked away from the game as the new career leading rebounder in North Dakota Division AA/Class A girls basketball history. Bell took down 13 rebounds on the day, breaking the record and giving her a total of 1339 career rebounds.

“I couldn’t have done it without this amazing team that I have this year, last year and every year,” said Bell. “If they hadn’t given me the ball and given me the opportunity and let me play like myself I wouldn’t have got [the milestone], so I am very blessed and I’m really grateful.”

Bell will have the chance to further her scoring and rebound records as the Majettes advance to the semifinals of the 2026 NDHSAA Division AA, West Region Girls Basketball Tournament where they will take on the fourth-seeded Bismarck High School Demons beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Bismarck.