Cardinals upset No. 1-ranked Vikings at UJ Shootout

Kaylee Lowery's confidence was tested in the final 10 seconds Saturday at Harold Newman Arena.

Needing to make at least 1 of 2 at the foul line with less than 10 seconds remaining to upset No. 1-ranked Kindred in the annual UJ Shootout, the Langdon/Edmore/Munich senior needed both shots.

"I've been through tough games before and I was like, 'You've got this,'" said Lowery, who helped the Cardinals win last year's Class B state championship. "First one bounces out ... 'Well, next one.'"

Lowery's "next one" splashed through and fourth-ranked Langdon/EM held on to beat the Vikings 44-43.

The foul shot was the only point scored by the Cardinals over the final 6 minutes, 20 seconds, after an 11-0 Vikings' run erased a 43-32 deficit and tied the game at 43-43 with 1:50 remaining. Kindred pretty much did all its damage at the charity stripe, sinking 9 of 11 freebies in the final quarter.

Kindred's all-state junior Abigail Duchscherer converted 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth and finished scoring a game-high 20 points.

"I think we just got in our heads, we were up by so many," Lowery said. "But we're a fighting team -- a second-half team -- and we gave it our all."

Kindred led 15-10 after one quarter and 23-19 at the half when the Cardinals' Jaya Henderson took over offensively. The freshman guard buried a pair of 3-pointers and scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter, helping the Cardinals outpace the Vikings 20-9 in the frame and take a 39-32 advantage into the final eight minutes.

"I'm going to take all the blame," said Kindred coach Sam Brandt. "They felt like they weren't prepared and that's 100 percent on me.

"(Langdon) took us out of our game a little bit. We like to run, gun, push and have fun, and not getting offensive points from defensive opportunities hurt us."

Both teams turned the ball over north of 20 times in the contest, and Kindred converted just three total field goals in the second half.

But trailing by 11 in the fourth, Kindred received a spark off the bench defensively from 5-foot-2 freshman guard Peyton Gette. The reigning Class B girls state cross country champion came up with four steals during Kindred's 11-0 run.

"The energy changed," Brandt said. "She's been giving it her all in practice. She came in and was our little sparkplug and definitely changed the game for us."

But the Cardinals' Lexis Olson came up with the defensive play of the game tied at 43-43. The senior guard stole the ball away from Kindred in the final 30 seconds, before she'd find Lowery in the paint who'd be fouled and sent to the stripe with the game on the line.

The offensive outburst from Henderson helped offset a six-point night turned in by the Cards' Morgan Freije, who was bottled up most of the evening by Kindred's defense. Kindred sank 14 of 17 foul shots in the second half.

Langdon/EM improved to 2-1 after dropping its season opener to Benson County by three points in Leeds on Dec. 14. The Cardinals ran the table to a 27-0 state title last winter.

"We were trying to figure out who was going to be in new roles," Lowery said. "We kinda came out flat-footed to start (the season), but I'm glad that's over and done with it. I think we're figuring out who we are as a team now."

Kindred (1-1), the state champion in 2019, had won 36 consecutive games before falling in last year's Region 1 title game by seven to Central Cass.

"I'd rather have this here now than when we don't have time to change it," Brandt said. "We got a lot of work to do and we're going to come ready."

(4) Langdon/Edmore/Munich 44, (1) Kindred 43

KIN 15 8 9 11 -- 43

LAN 10 9 20 5 -- 44

KIN -- Abigail Duchscherer 20, Terryn Johnson 10, Jordyn Sunram 4, Kacie Burner 4, Kristine Freier 2, Peyton Gette 2, Charlie McQuillan 1. Totals: 12-35 FG, 0-8 3-pointers, 19-28 FT, 24 Rebounds (Johnson 7), 20 steals (Johnson 7), 17 fouls (Johnson, Burner), 25 Turnovers.

LAN -- Jaya Henderson 14, Kaylee Lowery 9, Lexis Olson 7, Morgan Freije 6, Jalynn Swanson 5, Cora Badding 3. Totals: 17-42 FG, 4-11 3-pointers (Henderson 2, Swanson, Olson), 6-10 FT, 30 Rebounds (Freije 6), 13 steals (Henderson 3, Freije 3), 19 fouls, 27 Turnovers.

Records: Langdon/EM 2-1. Kindred 1-1.

SCORES

BOYS

Midway/Minto 84, Napoleon-GS 61

Kidder County 67, Hankinson 61

Central Cass 79, Barnes Co. North 19

GIRLS

10:40 a.m.: Lisbon 47, Napoleon-GS 43

12:20 p.m.: Medina/PB 57, Hankinson 30

3:40 p.m.: Langdon/EM 44, Kindred 43

5:20 p.m.: Northern Cass 52, Kidder County 48

8:40 p.m.: Edgeley/KM 38, Enderlin 27