JAMESTOWN — The Linton/Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Lions overcame a poor shooting performance to book their spot in the Region 3 championship game thanks to a 47-36 win over the Kidder County Wolves on Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Jamestown Civic Center.
The top-seed Wolves (18-4) opened the game on an 8-0 run before the No. 3-seed Lions cut into the lead to make it a 10-4 game.
The Lions (14-9) continued to fight back in the second quarter as they went into the half down 13-11. Both teams struggled shooting in the first half as they both shot 9-for-21 from the field.
“We started well; we just couldn’t sustain it,” Wolves head coach Dan Welder said. “For some reason, I think we got tired on the big floor. Linton handled the pressure well and down the stretch they made big shots. So, hats off to them.”
The Lions sprinted out to a 25-17 lead in the third quarter before the Wolves’ Kennedy Harter hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 25-19 with 2:05 to go in the third. The Lions got a huge momentum boost heading into the final quarter when Allie Dockter beat the third-quarter buzzer with a runner to push her team’s lead to 29-22. Dockter said the shot felt good out of her hand and it helped give her team energy.
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The Wolves attempted to claw their way back into the game midway through the fourth when Taylor Zimmerman made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 31-27 with 4:24 to go in the game. A few minutes later, the Lions’ Jersey Vogel put the game away with an and-one conversion to push her team’s lead out to 39-31 with 2:08 to go.
The Lions finished the game shooting 36% from the field after shooting 50% in the second half. The Wolves' shooting struggles continued as they shot 32% in the second half and 26% for the game.
The win means the Lions have booked their spot in their third consecutive Region 3 title game.
The Lions return to the court at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, when they face the winner of the game between Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier and Carrington.
“I think we have to believe in ourself,” Lions head coach Michael Schirado said. “We have to keep this togetherness and believe in ourself and execute. We have really great athletes, we’re going to be at a size disadvantage no matter who we play, we’re playing awesome teams. We just have to trust what we do and trust our process and just play with a ton of energy and you never know what’s going to happen.”
L/HMB 47, KC 36
L/HMB: 4 7 18 18–47
KC: 11 2 9 14–36
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Points leaders:
L/HMB: Jersey Vogel 14, Allie Dockter 10, Emma Weiser 10, Kaylee Weninger 10, Grace Kennedy 3
KC: Kennedy Harter 14, Taylor Zimmerman 8, Avery Rath 7
Assists leaders:
L/HMB: Doctker 4, Kennedy 1
KC: Rath 1, Nicholson 1
Leading rebounders:
L/HMB: Weiser 13, Weninger 10, Vogel 4
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KC: Harter 14, Zimmerman 8, Rath 7
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