Carrington's seniors carry Cardinals to third place

MINOT -- A lot of shots were missed during the third-place game of the state Class B girls basketball tournament Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

But what the game lacked in scoring, it made up for in hard work and hustle.

A steal by Carrington's Kenzie Edland in the final 30 seconds spurred a critical foul shot at the line for teammate Hannah Hagel, putting the Cardinals up two possessions, 39-35, against the Wilton-Wing Miners. Carrington would eventually hold on for a 41-38 victory over Hailey Quam and the Region 5 champions.

"I knew we had to get a stop, might as well go for it," Edland said. "Had to try everything."

Edland had just missed the backend of a double bonus before her hustle play, and the Miners' Kiara Johnson promptly buried a 3-pointer following Hagel's make to draw Wilton-Wing to 39-38 with less than 10 seconds to play.

The Miners were forced to foul and Edland went back to the line, this time sticking both to send the Cardinals home with two victories at the state tournament.

"It meant everything to us, especially us seniors," said Carrington's Lexi Page, the Cards' third senior along with Edland and Hagel. "We really wanted to just end with a win."

Page nailed two 3-pointers in the second half that were paramount to a team that shot less than 35% in the game and went 0-for-9 from the field in the first quarter. Page's first flipped a one-point Miners' lead to 15-13 Cards with 5:30 remaining in third, and her second pushed a two-point Cardinals' lead to 32-27 with 5 minutes to play in the fourth.

Hagel went 4 of 6 from the foul line in the final quarter and paced Carrington with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals in her final game. An Edland jumper to finish the third had Carrington leading 29-21.

"All the seniors did something to get us over the hump," said Carrington coach Andy Braaten. "Kenzie made a big shot in that run and then Lexi drilled a few of them and Hannah was Hannah."

The performance was just enough to stave off the Miners' standout sophomore, Quam. The up-and-comer scored 17 of Wilton-Wing's 29 second-half points after a rough 3-for-12 shooting performance in the first half against Carrington's scrappy defense, which boasted length in the post with Hagel (5-foot-10) and junior Sydnie Grager (5-11).

Quam finished with game-highs of 23 points, 15 rebounds and six steals.

"Hey, Quam's nice, isn't she? That's a nice player," Braaten said. "She elevates, and quick elevation."

The sophomore led the Miners to a 21-4 season and their first trip to state in girls basketball since placing fifth in 1977.

"We didn't come out on top, but that's OK because we just worked our butts off in there," Quam said. "Carrington's a really nice team. They've got some length, they've got some shooters, they really ran the court on us, but we played really tough defense and it just seemed lids on the basket tonight.

"We'll be back in the future."

The teams started the game a combined 1-for-17 from the floor as the Miners led 3-1 at the end of the first quarter. Carrington finally got a bucket to go 30 seconds into the second -- a make from sophomore reserve Allison Jarrett -- to draw the score even and would lead 10-9 at the half.

"We've been there before," Braaten chuckled. "It was 18-2 against Kidder County (in the Region 3 semifinals) and it wasn't 18-2, it was 7-3. So let's just keep working hard and we can battle back."

Grager was working through a left wrist injury she suffered during the fourth quarter of Friday's semifinal loss to Central Cass, but she was able to turn in six rebounds while being a presence in the post with the wounded wing. The effort helped hold the Miners to 33% shooting on the night.

"It bugged her, you could tell," Braaten said. "Hopefully, she heals up and we'll see a great Sydnie in the volleyball season."

Carrington finishes the season at 21-6, one of four teams earning a win on Saturday. Starting guard Emma Rindy returns for Braaten and the Cards next season, along with Grager, Jarrett and 5-9 forward Haley Wolsky.

"We lost to a great team last night, but, hey, we bounced back and a lot of that offense in the first quarter might've been three games, three days," Braaten said. "But you suck it up and make some little plays, get Hannah in the lane and make some free throws, Lexi hits some shots ... it's great."

State Class B Girls Basketball Tournament

At Minot State Dome

Third place

Carrington 41, Wilton-Wing 38

CAR 1 9 19 12 -- 41

WW 3 6 12 17 -- 38

CAR -- Hannah Hagel 16, Lexi Page 7, Kenzie Edland 6, Haley Wolsky 5, Sydnie Grager 3, Emma Rindy 2, Allison Jarrett 2. Totals: 12-35 FG, 3-10 3-pointers (Page 2, Wolsky), 14-23 FT, 29 Rebounds (Hagel 6, Grager 6), 12 Fouls, 4 Assists (4 with 1), 20 Turnovers, 3 Blocks (3 with 1), 9 Steals (Hagel 3, Rindy 3).

WW -- Hailey Quam 23, Kesley Backman 6, Kalyssa Schock 5, Kiara Johnson 4. Totals: 17-51 FG, 2-10 3-pointers (Johnson, Schock), 2-9 FT, 37 Rebounds (Quam 15), 16 Fouls (Schock), 5 Assists (5 with 1), 17 Turnovers, 1 Block (Jordan Tooke), 12 Steals (Quam 6).

Records: Carrington 21-6. Wilton-Wing 21-4.

Tournament Awards

All-Tournament Team (Voted on by the state's media): Brenna Stroklund, Kenmare (UNANIMOUS); Hailey Quam, Wilton-Wing (UNANIMOUS); Hannah Hagel, Carrington; Decontee Smith, Central Cass; Sam Oase, Hettinger-Scranton; Carlee Sieben, Grafton; Julia Dusek, Grafton; Morgan Freiji, Langdon/EM; Walker Demers, Grafton; Lorelei McIver, Glenburn.

Co-MVPs: Walker Demers, Grafton; Julia Dusek, Grafton.

NDHSCA Class B senior athlete of the year: Mackenzie Hughes, Thompson.

NDHSCA Class B coach of the year: Lisa Jenkins, Wilton-Wing

(Tournament seeding/records in parentheses)

March 4

Game 1: (2) Grafton 65, Glenburn 33

Game 2: Wilton-Wing 47, (3) Kenmare 40

Game 3: (1) Central Cass 58, Hettinger/Scranton 43

Game 4: (4) Carrington 45 (5) Langdon/Edmore/Munich 39

March 5

Game 5: Kenmare 40, Glenburn 27

Game 6: Langdon/Edmore/Munich 51, Hettinger/Scranton 37

Game 7: Grafton 71, Wilton-Wing 40

Game 8: Central Cass 63, Carrington 51

March 6

Seventh place: Glenburn 59, Hettinger/Scranton 55

Fifth place: Langdon/EM 53, Kenmare 40

Third place: Carrington 41, Wilton-Wing 38

Championship: Grafton 64, Central Cass 50