Rockets finish 5th at District 7 Tournament

The 2022 District 7 girls' basketball tournament kicked off on Friday, Feb. 11 in the Maddock High School gymnasium with the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets versus the Harvey/Wells County Hornets.

The Rockets came out of the gates on fire, with Kaiya O'Connor scoring a 3-pointer and a field goal, along with a 3-pointer from Kennedy Demester. H/WC senior Kalyn Keller scored seven points in the first quarter, to trail the Rockets by three.

The Hornets weren't about to give up this win. Keller drained another field goal and Lexi Fike came in to score a field goal and a 3-pointer, bringing the Hornets ahead 17-16 at halftime.

The Rockets just simply couldn't put in their shots. Kelsie Belquist and Mya Cudworth were the only Rockets' players to score in the third quarter, only adding four points to the score. As for H/WC, Keller put in two more field goals and two free-throws. The Rockets now trailed the Hornets 20-29, for a nine-point difference.

Although the Rockets matched the Hornets 16 points in the fourth quarter, it wasn't enough to take the first round win. Keller sealed the deal with three field goals, one 3-pointer and two free-throws.

A nine point difference is all it took. The Hornets defeated the Rockets 45-36, earning a place in the semifinal round against the Four Winds/Minnewaukan Lady Indians on Saturday, Feb. 12.

The lone double-digit scorer for the Hornets was Keller with 26 points. Fike followed behind with seven. As for the Rockets, Belquist took the lead with 12 total points, with O'Connor not far behind with nine.

The final game of the day consisted of the Nelson County Chargers and the Warwick Lady Warriors. The Chargers went full-speed ahead and took the 30-point win over the Lady Warriors, securing a spot in the semifinal round against the Benson County Wildcats.

Saturday's first semifinal round included the Lady Indians and the Hornets. With FW/M yet to be defeated, the Hornets were defeated 75-41, sending the Lady Indians to the championship round and the Hornets to play the Lady Warriors in the region qualifier game on Monday, Feb. 14.

The second seeded Wildcats came into the game on Saturday longing for a win. With speed, hard work and determination, the Wildcats pulled away for a 66-39 win over the Chargers. The Wildcats moved on to the District 7 Championship vs. the Lady Indians, and the Chargers faced off against the NR-S Rockets to earn a trip to regionals.

Region qualifier games took off on Monday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. with the Lady Warriors versus the Hornets. Although the Lady Warriors knew they couldn't outlast the Hornets, they had fun out on the court playing their final game of the 2021-22 season with smiles on their faces.  

The Hornets defeated the Lady Warriors 69-35, taking third place in the District tournament to move on to the Region 4 Tournament. The Lady Warriors finished their season 3-17 overall.

Next up was our very own Rockets versus the Nelson County Chargers. Back on Jan. 10, the Rockets were defeated by the Chargers by only six points. This would be a very close game, or so everyone thought.

The first half of the game seemed as if the Rockets didn't want to move on to regionals. Eight points were scored in the first half, with three each coming from Ava Peterson and Demester and two from Belquist. The Rockets were sent to the free-throw line four times, and only one of eight shots were swished.

On the other side of the court was a different story. The Chargers excelled at the 3-point line, swishing three in the second quarter, from Marit Ellingson, Nora Johnson and Brandi Lippert. The Chargers led 20-8 at halftime.

The Rockets seemed to come out of their sleep in the second half of the game. Belquist drove to the basket not once, not twice, but five times to secure five field goals in the third quarter. Demester took the opportunity at the 3-point line to swish her final three of the night.

But the Chargers kept fighting back. With yet two more 3-pointers from Krista Lippert and Ellingson, the Chargers still held a 9-point lead over the Rockets.

And now for the fourth and final quarter. Will the Rockets move on to compete in regionals, or will this be the last game of the 2021-22 season?

Unfortunately, the Chargers dominated the court in the fourth quarter, defeating the Rockets 52-37 and earning fourth place in the tournament. Nelson County senior Hollie Emory secured the win with four field goals before fouling out of the game.

Johnson, Ellingson and Emory all scored in double digits for the Chargers with 15, 12 and 10 respectively. Even though she had a slow start to the game, Belquist led the Rockets with a total of 19 points, with Demester coming in behind her with six.

The Rockets finished their season 10-10 overall.

Last but not least, the championship round. Will the Lady Indians remain undefeated and conquer the Wildcats yet again? Back on Jan. 11, the Wildcats were defeated 62-41 by the Lady Indians. But they wanted revenge.

The Wildcats and Lady Indians were neck and neck up until the start of the fourth quarter. With minor mistakes by the Wildcats, the Lady Indians inched away, defeating the Wildcats 67-60, securing their fourth District 7 championship.

After the end of the championship round, awards were given out.

The All Tournament team includes Kalyn Keller, H/WC; Aubrey Kenner and Quinn Neppl, Benson County; Ezura Rainbow and Myona Dauphinais, FW/M.

Mya Cudworth, Kennedy Demester and Kelsie Belquist of NR-S were among 13 other District 7 athletes to make the All District team. Other girls included were Ezura Rainbow, Alionna Lawrence, Mahpiya Jackson, Myona Dauphinais and Mallory Yankton, all of Four Winds/Minnewaukan; Desidy Schwanke and Quinn Neppl of Benson County; Kalyn Keller and Lexi Fike of Harvey/Wells County; and Hollie Emory, Marit Ellingson and Nora Johnson of Nelson County.

Quinn Neppl and Ezura Rainbow earned District 7 Co-Senior Athletes of the Year. Four Winds/Minnewaukan head coach Sean Gourd Sr. was awarded District 7 Coach of the Year and Rick Smith, also of Four Winds/Minnewaukan, was awarded District 7 Athletic Director of the Year.

Congratulations to all teams that competed in the District 7 Tournament and good luck to the Lady Indians, Wildcats, Hornets and Chargers in the Region 4 Tournament in Devils Lake on Feb. 21, 22 and 24.

District 7 Girls'

Basketball Tournament

First Round

Friday, Feb. 11

NR-S 36, H/WC 45

at Maddock

NR-S 10 6 4 16 - 36

H/WC 7 10 12 16 - 45

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 12, Kaiya O'Connor 9, Mya Cudworth 8, Kennedy Demester 3, Ava Peterson 2, Madisen Myhre 2. Totals: 14 FG, 2-8 FT, 15 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 1, Demester 1.

H/WC: Kalyn Keller 26, Lexi Fike 7, Larissa Arnold 5, Emma Dockter 3, Carsyn Ziegler 2, Rachel Neumiller 2. Totals: 12 FG, 9-11 FT, 9 fouls. 3-pointers: Keller 2, Arnold 1, Fike 1.

Region Qualifier

Monday, Feb. 14

NR-S 37, Nelson Co. 52

at Maddock

NR-S 6 2 17 12 - 37

NC 7 13 18 14 - 52

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 19, Kennedy Demester 6, Ava Peterson 5, Kaiya O'Connor 4, Mya Cudworth 2, Madisen Myhre 1. Totals: 12 FG, 7-22 FT, 14 fouls. 3-pointers: Demester 2.

Nelson County: Nora Johnson 15, Marit Ellingson 12, Hollie Emory 10, Krista Lippert 8, Brandi Lippert 5, Sydnee Johnston 2. Totals: 13 FG, 11-14 FT, 16 fouls. 3-pointers: Ellingson 2, K. Lippert 1, B. Lippert 1, Johnson 1. Fouled out: Emory.