Pirates headed to state

For the third time in last the five years, Kidder County is heading to the state Class B girls’ basketball tournament, after defeating Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 52-35 for the Region 3 title on Friday in Hazelton.

The Lady Pirates’ Lindsey Sand led Kidder County to the win with a game-high 18 points, four assists and three steals. Sand surpassed 1,000 career points during the championship matchup, and was named the Region 3 Senior Athlete of the Year following her team’s victory.

Kidder County got things rolling right out of the gate, as the Pirates snapped a 7-7 tie with a 10-0 run to go up 17-7 over L-M-M late in the first period. The Pirates’ patented pressure defense forced six of L-M-M’s eight first-half turnovers in the opening period.

Kidder County’s Bailie Ziesch scored eight of her nine points in the game before the second period. Ziesch scored six of those points during Kidder County’s 10-run.

The Pirates led 20-10 after the first and ballooned the lead to 20 points (35-15) at the half. The Rebels converted 6 of 20 shots from the floor in the first half, while the Pirates drained a sparkling 12 of 19 first-half shots for 63 percent.

L-M-M’s Heather Brown scored 10 of her team-high 16 points before the break. Brown also led the Rebels with 12 rebounds in the game.

The Rebels opened up the second half on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a Kayla Rodin steal and score, to cut the lead to 14 points. A pair of buckets by L-M-M’s Sophie Miller, and another two by Rodin helped the Rebels slash the lead even further to 11 points (40-29) at the end of three.

Miller ended the night with seven points, four rebounds and three steals, while Rodin finished with six points and three boards.

But that was as close as the Rebels could get. Kidder County’s Eli Benz tossed in five of her 15 points in the opening minutes of the fourth, as Sand connected for two at the line and sank another bucket to help the Pirates reclaim a 20-point lead in the game (51-31).

The Pirates coasted from that point, improving their current winning streak to 22 games.

The Rebels ended the night shooting 16 of 47 from the field for 34 percent, while the Pirates made good on 17 of 37 shots for 45.9 percent. The Pirates outrebounded the Rebels 30-29, led by Benz with seven boards, and won the turnover battle 16-14.

The Pirates will be moving on to next week’s state Class B girls’ basketball tournament in Grand Forks. Kidder County’s state tournament run will begin at the Alerus Center next Thursday, where they’ll face the Region 8 champion Stanley Blue Jays approximately 25 minutes after the 1 p.m. game between Hankinson and New Rockford-Sheyenne.

Friday night’s loss for L-M-M snapped a 16-game winning streak by the Rebels. Pingree-Buchanan-Kensal coach Cory Mack was awarded Region 3 Coach of the Year honors following the tournament.

Linton 48, H-M-B 45 OT

It took an extra four minutes to decide Friday night’s Region 3 third-place battle between the Linton Lions and the Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Lady Tigers.

H-M-B’s Samantha Fettig sank a pair of free throws with a minute left in regulation to knot the score at 38-38, forcing the extra stanza.

But the Lions jumped ahead 43-38 quickly in OT, behind a pair of Alexis Jasper bonus shots and Whitney Hulm’s fourth trey of the night. The Lions hung on from there.

The Lions were led by Whitney Hulm with 16 points and four steals, while Jasper ended the night with 15 points and seven rebounds. Jasper went 5 of 7 at the free throw line.

Lacey Ryckman and Christa Nagel both chipped in with seven points each for the Lions.

The Tigers were led by Katie Kalberer with 11 points, while Fettig and Heather Brindle each posted nine points. Kalberer drilled three treys in the game, while Jessica Weiser led the Tigers with nine rebounds and four assists.

The Lions made good on 16 of 38 shots from the floor on the night, while H-M-B converted 16 of 47 attempts. The Tigers won the rebounding battled 29-25, but committed three more turnovers in the game (18-15).

Region 3 Girls’ Basketball Tournament

Hazelton

Third place

Linton 48, Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock 45 OT

Linton 9 20 29 38 48

H-M-B 2 12 25 38 45

Linton—Whitney Hulm 16, Alexis Jasper 15, Christa Nagel 7, Lacey Ryckman 7, Nicole Hulm 3. Totals: 16-38 FG, 11-20 FT, 16 fouls (Ryckman). Three-pointers: W. Hulm 4, Nagel 1.

H-M-B—Katie Kalberer 11, Heather Brindle 9, Samantha Fettig 9, Kaylin Sheets 5, Jessica Weiser 5, Kaylee Stoppler 4, Lindsey Voller 2. Totals: 16-47 FG, 8-12 FT, 17 fouls. Three-pointers: Kalberer 3, Sheets 1, Weiser 1.

Records: Linton 19-6, Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock 16-9.

Championship

Kidder County 52, Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 35

L-M-M 10 15 29 35

Kidder Co. 20 35 40 52

L-M-M—Heather Brown 16, Sophie Miller 7, Kayla Rodin 6, Cassie Fick 4, Carly Van Bruggen 2. Totals: 16-47 FG, 3-7 FT, 20 fouls (Amanda Valenta).

Kidder Co.—Lindsey Sand 18, Eli Benz 15, Bailie Ziesch 9, Nicole Biesterfeld 4, Shalee Martin 3, Shauna Slaughter 2, Kayla Pfaff 1. Totals: 17-37 FG, 16-25 FT, 15 fouls. Three-pointers: Martin 1, Biesterfeld 1.

Records: Kidder County 23-1; Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 20-4.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: class b, region 3, kidder county, sports, basketball, girls