The Berthold Bombers girls basketball team celebrates its Region 3 championship title with its fans after defeating Tioga 71-61 on Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

In just a few short days, the NDHSAA Girls’ Class A and B Basketball Tournaments will crown this season’s state champions, and the titles are anyone’s to take.

For the Lewis & Clark – Berthold Bombers girls’ basketball team, this season has been one of triumph and redemption.

The beginning of the season was tough for the Bombers. After winning the region title last season and heading into the state tournament seeded first in the state, the Bombers were knocked out of state title contention by the Benson County Wildcats in the second round of competition. The Bombers then went on to play the Central McLean Cougars in the third-place match of the tournament, winning it 50-46 and securing their spot on the podium.

After being so close to their state title, the Bombers came into this season with a lot of expectations. And at first, those expectations did not appear to be met.

The Bombers’ first game of the season ended with a loss against Powers Lake-Burke Central, and though they were able to win their next two games, the Bombers already fell to an even record of 4-4 on the season at the end of December.

Beginning with their decisive 71-48 win against Divide County, the Bombers began a hot streak that lasted through to the end of the regular season.

Earning just two losses through the entirety of the months of January and February, including their title loss in the 2026 Division B, District 6 Girls Basketball Tournament Championships against the Glenburn Panthers, the Bombers went into their region tournament seeded second and with high hopes of defending their title.

The Bombers took on the Divide County Maroons for their first round of the region tournament, soundly securing their win 72-63 to advance to the semifinals.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Bombers sophomore Ella Brown said that night. “We have one senior and we didn’t want that to be her last game, so we wanted to end on a good note and keep going further. It’s been a tough season, but it hasn’t been all bad. I’m just really glad we were able to put our best foot forward and move on to the next.”

And put their best foot forward they did.

The Bombers went out to take on the Kenmare/Bowbells Honkers in the region semifinals. The Bombers eked out last year’s Region 3B title last year with a close 41-40 win over the Honkers, and the Bombers were able to repeat history.

The Bombers staved off a late fourth-quarter push by the Honkers, securing a trip to the region championship for the second year in a row with their 56-49 victory.

In the region championship, the Tioga High School Pirates, District five’s second seed, headed into the tournament.

After a hard-fought back and forth on Thursday night, Feb. 26, the Bombers successfully defended their Region 3 title with a 61-71 victory over the Pirates.

Having succeeded in defending their region title, the Bombers will enter their final stretch of the 2025-2026 season.

The Bombers are entering the 2026 NDHSAA Division B Girls Basketball State Tournament as only the fourth seed team, but they are looking to cap off their season with a fairytale ending.

The Bombers will take on the fifth-seeded Flasher Bulldogs in the last game of the tournament quarterfinals beginning at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 5.

Likewise, the South Prairie-Max Royals are looking to cap off their season with a state title, and also much like the Bombers, the Royals had a tough start to their season.

The Royals, after dropping to the eventual state champions Valley City Hi-Liners in a heartbreaking 60-59 loss in the semifinals of the 2025 NDHSAA Division A Girls Basketball State Tournament, ended the season with a third place finish. Heading into the new season, there was a lot of hope for the team.

After last season’s end, the Royals returned with an all-star cast featuring the likes of seniors Skotti Beck, Maycie Talbott, Brianna Rose and juniors Rylee Routledge and Mya Gunville. Heading into their first game of the season, the Royals were looking up, but the Carrington Cardinals had other plans.

The Cardinals took down the Royals 54-47 in their season opener, and the Royals started the season with an 0-1 record.

Soon enough though, the memories of their season-opening loss felt like nothing more than a bad dream.

The Royals quickly gathered themselves before the start of their next game and have been on an unstoppable drive ever since.

For twenty games straight the Royals dominated North Dakota’s Region 3A. The Royals secured win after win after win to work their way to the 2026 NDHSAA Region 3A Girls Basketball Tournament. Through the tournament, the Royals continued to dominate.

The Royals took down the Stanley Blue Jays 85-44, the Bottineau Stars 72-38 and even the defending Region 3A Champion Rugby Panthers 69-35.

The Royals’ near storybook season is now heading to the 2026 NDHSAA Division A Girls Basketball State Tournament in Jamestown in search of their fairy-tale ending.

The Royals are heading into the tournament as the first-seeded team in the state and will first take on the Watford City Wolves in the State Quarterfinals as the third match of the tournament beginning at 6:30 p.m.

If the Royals were to take on the defending Valley City Hi-Liners, it would have to be in the State Championship on Saturday, Mar. 7.